There’s no beating around the bush, the Vancouver Canucks have been an incredibly mediocre team for the past few years. If you’re like me, you have been super frustrated that this team didn’t properly rebuild when they had the chance. Instead, they tried to “retool” which hasn’t really worked for most teams that have tried it.
An example of the Canucks doing this is the Filip Hronek trade. While acquiring Hronek isn’t necessarily a bad move, they just aren’t in the position to be giving up high draft picks to get a player like that. This has been a very common occurrence for the Canucks who prioritize building a team that can just make the playoffs rather than building a team that can contend for a Stanley Cup.
So how do the Canucks get out of the cycle of mediocrity? Well, there are three steps I think they could take to improve the team.
Step 1: Commit more to getting younger. The Canucks have been decent at drafting the last little bit, but they have traded away many draft picks just to try and find immediate success. While having veterans are great, they need to be giving more chances to young players and getting more draft picks to keep adding new names. A player like Nils Hoglander should be a regular in the lineup next year considering how well he’s played in the AHL this year. There are some veterans who might get more of a chance than him, but the Canucks should consider giving their young guys more of a shot.
RÄTY ROCKET 🚀
Aatu Räty went bar down last night for @AbbyCanucks to force overtime! pic.twitter.com/sJsjZtBAhY
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) April 27, 2023
Step 2: Don’t give out big contracts during free agency. One of the biggest problems with this team is the bad contracts they’ve signed coming back to bite them. Contracts like the one Tyler Myers or Michael Ferland got are contracts that should be avoided and they should only be signing free agents to short-term contracts unless there is a really good player available like a John Tavares or Artemi Panarin type player.
Step 3: Find an identity: The Canucks are a team that doesn’t really have an identity. A team like the Colorado Avalanche has an identity of being a fast team and skilled team. The Tampa Bay Lightning is a hard-hitting team that will grind you to the bone. The Canucks are just a team with some good players on some lines, but nothing specific for the way they play.
While some of these methods I mentioned may not work, I think it’s worth trying at least because the plan of having no plan is not really working well so far. Canucks fans deserve better than what they’ve got and they have the players to become a great team, but they just aren’t there yet.
What do you think the Canucks should do to improve their team? It’s about time for them to get out of this awful cycle.