2014-15 Season Preview

Brady Stark
Team Member

he 2013-14 season was certainly an

interesting one for the Vancouver
Canucks. The team didn’t make the
playoffs, but they were sure entertaining.
Their new coach, John Tortorella, only
lasted one season (probably because
trying to fistfight other teams’ coaches
is generally frowned upon, and failing to
make the playoffs just isn’t enough for
most Canucks’ fans).

On the ice, the Roberto Luongo saga finally
came to an end as he was shipped back to
Florida after a few seasons of unhappiness.
Rumours that Ryan Kesler was wanted
proved to be true as the versatile center
was shipped off to Anaheim before the
draft. The only thing the Canucks ended up

winning last season was a high draft pick.

Forwards: At first glance, the Canucks
appear to have less firepower than last
season. Losing Ryan Kesler is a big blow.
One of the players received in the Kesler
trade, center Nick Bonino, actually had

6 more points than Kesler over the last
season. David Booth’s departure was no
big loss, but the loss of Mike Santorelli
could be a problem. The addition of Radim
Vrbata will be helpful as he has scored 60
points in multiple seasons. If Alex Burrows
can get back into form, it will greatly

help his usual linemates, the Sedins. With
the potential ascension of prospects like
Bo Horvat and Hunter Shinkaruk along
with the Canucks’ other additions, they
should score more goals this year.

Defense: There’s not a whole lot different
on the Canucks’ backend. Jason Garrison

was shipped out after a mediocre defensive
season that was masked by good offensive
numbers. Newcomer Luca Sbisa can fill
Garrison’s defensive duties, but probably
won't reach the same kind of point totals.
Rookie Frank Corrado could develop into

a solid top-4 defender. As he has been for
the last couple of years, new Prince George
Cougars part owner Dan Hamhuis is the
most consistent d-man on the blueline.

Goaltending: The Canucks decided in the
off-season to replace two-time Olympic
gold medal winner Roberto Luongo with
free agent Vezina Trophy winner Ryan
Miller. Luongo and Miller have posted
similar numbers in recent years, but
Miller was playing for years on a bottom
feeding Buffalo team. Another positive
is that unlike Luongo, Miller wants to be
here, which counts for a lot. Eddie Lack
suffered under John Tortorella, being

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thrown to the wolves after Luongo’s
departure. Jacob Markstrom, who was
received in the Luongo trade is surplus to
requirements and will be traded or waived.

Many of the Canucks’ moves this
offseason appear to be sidegrades rather
than upgrades. New GM Jim Benning
helped build a perennial contender as
the assistant GM in Boston, new coach
Willie Desjardins has had success at
lower level leagues, and new president
Trevor Linden is someone who Canucks’
fans can be sure will put the needs of the
team first. If this new management team
can motivate old players to get back to
playing their best hockey and motivate
new players to live up to their potential,
then they might be contending again

in a couple years. This year though, I
predict the Canucks making it no higher
than a seventh or eighth playoff seed.