*This is purely my opinion. No trades assumed. Only RFAs Vancouver has the rights to are signed.
Vancouver is really improving nicely in their group of forwards. Guys like Jake Virtanen, Elias Pettersson, Jonathan Dahlen, Nikolay Goldobin, and Anton Rodin aren't even in the top 12 forwards yet but are a big part of this team's future. For now guys like Horvat, Baertschi, Granlund, and Gagner can help the Sedins with some necessary secondary scoring. Brock Boeser should also be an interesting player to watch this year as he has shown in his small sample size that he can be a top 6 player if he can be consistent over a full season. I am actually really happy with this team's future at forward and the group they can put forth this season. As of right now, though, they're just a step behind other teams who have only gotten stronger, especially in the now ultra-competitive Pacific Division. Their defence and goaltending are what keeps the Canucks near the bottom of the barrel. Guys like Ben Hutton and Troy Stecher have shown that they are more than capable NHL dmen and I'm sure with time, they'll get even better. The addition of Del Zotto adds another potential offensive weapon to quarterback the powerplay but there have always been questions in his game and we'll see if they become even more noticeable in Vancouver or if his style fits right in with the Canucks. Tanev and Edler are good d-men as well but just not a top pairing on a competitive team. Juolevi will be coming to the rescue soon enough. In goal, Jacob Markstrom has never had to handle the bulk of the workload. (Most games played in a season was 32 two years ago.) He has decent numbers for a good backup/lower level starter but can he elevate his game as a starter? Anders Nilsson is a capable backup but nothing more and should be ready to spot Markstrom when need be. He had a breakout year with a .923 save percentage in 26 games with Buffalo last year but that is not a career norm for him. Look for him to be nothing more than a stop gauge until the Canucks are confident Thatcher Demko is ready for the big time. The Canucks have a very bright future but I believe the best times will be in the post-Sedin era. As for this coming season, it will likely be more learning and growing and developing each player's strengths. That's not a bad thing but I can understand the impatience of Canucks fans.
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