For the Vancouver Canucks, the end of 2024 has been a little bumpier than they’d like. Their alarming/hilarious collapse against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday was a perfect cap to 2024, whatever happens against Calgary.
Vancouver Canucks Start Great, End Disastrously
The Canucks had a lot to live up to after last year, we get it. They lived up to Jim Rutherford‘s declaration that they’d make the playoffs if “everything goes right”. Well, just about everything went right, and Vancouver pushed the Stanley Cup finalist Edmonton Oilers to seven games in the second round.
Most prognosticators – us included – said that level was going to be hard to reach this time around. Hockey is a game of chaos management as much as anything else, with luck playing a big role. Last year, luck broke Vancouver’s way. And boy howdy, is it making up for it this time around!
The Canucks had Edmonton against the ropes with two chances to finish them off and just couldn’t do it. Saturday against the Kraken, they held a three-goal lead in the last five minutes and lost in overtime. For, it should be noted, the first time in their history that they blew such a big lead so late.
Giving up late leads hasn’t been uncommon this season, unfortunately. Sometimes they’ve been able to get away with it, like when they gave up two against Ottawa in November but held on for the win. They did that again against San Jose just before Christmas for a 4-3 win. Saturday’s match was a spectacular demonstration of what happens when the bounces go the other way.
Not Just Bounces
Don’t get us wrong. The Canucks at the end of the game made plenty of mistakes. Just about everyone in the defensive corps misread a play or botched a pass. Carson Soucy, Noah Juulsen, and Tyler Myers all handed pucks over. Forbort abandoned a puck in the corner with less than a minute left. Heck, Thatcher Demko had a major gaffe himself on the first goal.
One, even two of these bad plays resulting in goals is pretty much par for the course. All of them leading to goals is unfortunate. That four happened in seven minutes at the end of the game is just silly. Missing their top two defensemen showed in new pairings and a lack of control. Quinn Hughes is one of the best in the league at chaos management and his absence is noticeable.
The truly miserable thing is that the pair of Soucy and Myers had been playing much better of late. They were relied on last season to face hard minutes, and they were fine. After an awful start, their game had improved through the past two weeks or so. With Hughes and Filip Hronek gone, Soucy was paired with Juulsen and Myers with Derek Forbort, and it showed.
The Canucks best pair on Saturday was the two defencemen we haven’t mentioned yet, Erik Brännström and Vincent Desharnais. Mostly they were at their best getting the puck out of the Canucks end and pushing it forward. At this point, they’ll take not getting scored on as a win. But moving forward into the year, it might be a slice of hope for their future.
Changes in the Canucks End Coming Up
Everyone and their dog knows Vancouver is looking for an additional top-four defender. Unfortunately, so is half the league. Desharnais is rumoured to be on the block despite his recent signing. Rutherford and general manager Patrik Allvin do not hesitate to move on from perceived mistakes. But if he and Brännström are working together this well, then that might ease some pressure.
The large-but-mistake-prone Juulsen can be sent back to Abbotsford, making the defence a bit more reliable in his absence. Forbort is a defensive specialist who will play his tenth game with the team in Calgary. Where he fits is still unknown at this point, but there’s space until Hronek returns.
If Soucy and Myers can keep progressing – mostly Soucy, as Myers is who he is right now – then that’s not a miserable set. Brännström is capable on the power play, taking the PP1 role in Hughes’ absence. But he isn’t a top-pair defenceman, and shouldn’t be used like one. Used like he was against the Kraken, he can be a very useful part of the team the rest of the way.
If the management team misses out on their ideal targets before the trade deadline – whoever that happens to be – it might not be too bad. As for the New Year’s Eve game? Even if the Flames lose, as long as it’s not in a blowout, they’ll have a party. The best Vancouver can hope for is ending the year on a 2-1-3 run and a brief reprieve from criticism.
More than added depth, the Canucks desperately need a clean slate.