NHL Season Preview: Vancouver Canucks

Welcome to the NHL FanHouse 2008-09 season preview. While other sites are previewing "30 teams in 30 days," we decided to take advantage of the extra time off before the start of the season to bring you all 30 previews over the next three weeks. We're counting down in reverse order of finish from last season in each conference every weekday from now until October 3. Look for an Eastern Conference preview every morning and a Western Conference preview every afternoon. Click here to read them all.

Who's In: Pavol Demitra, F (FA-MIN); Kyle Wellwood, F (FA-TOR); Steve Bernier, F (trade-BUF); Nolan Baumgartner, D (FA-DAL); Darcy Hordichuk, F (FA-NSH)

Who's Out: Brendan Morrison, F (FA-ANH); Markus Naslund, F (FA-NYR); Trevor Linden, F (retired)

What's Changed: The change in Vancouver involves the loss of veterans Naslund and Linden. Those guys were mainstays of the franchise for many years, and it's not going to be the same without them. However, did the Canucks adequately address their goal-scoring problems? It was a major issue down the stretch as Vancouver collapsed, but it was largely lost in the talk of goaltender Roberto Luongo's own personal slump.

Is Demitra ready to help? On one hand, Jacques Lemaire has a reputation for sucking the life out of the offensive side of hockey. On the other, Demitra was in a contract year, spent much time playing on the same line as 40-goal scorer Marian Gaborik, and still could only produce 15 goals. Lemaire's system can be suffocating, yes, but he also gets a lot out of players who are pretty average.

(A good example of this is Marc Chouinard, who scored 14 goals in 72 games for Minnesota in 2005-2006. He signed in Vancouver, posted two goals in 42 games, and hasn't played in the NHL since.)

Which will it be for Demitra? Canuck fans hope Lemaire - and not Demitra - is to blame for his poor season last year.

Who's On The Hook: The Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel. The duo combined for 44 goals and 140 points a year ago, and may actually be counted on to do more this time around. New general manager Mike Gillis probably didn't make a good first impression with the Sedins when he questioned the grit of his forwards and talked as if the Sedins were not necessarily part of his long-term plans. You can debate the intelligence of those kinds of statements if you'd like, but the reality is that he doesn't appear to be high on the twins.

Who skates on their line? One of the top candidates will be Bernier, who has a ton of potential but only scored 16 goals last year. It stands to reason that the Sedins will be expected to make their linemate better, something you could argue wasn't always happening a year ago. In their defense, you could also argue that the talent on this team just doesn't mesh with the Sedins' speed or skill. Bernier and Taylor Pyatt aren't great fits, but second-year pro Mason Raymond is. In fact, Raymond might be the fastest player on this team. Look for him to get another shot with the Sedins at some point, especially as he matures into a better NHL player.

To be honest, the entire Vancouver offense is on notice. They were 23rd in the NHL in goals scored last year, 18th on the power play, and a pedestrian 19-13-18 in one-goal affairs. That's 50 one-goal games out of 82. My belief has always been that - like with one-run games in baseball - one-goal games leave too much to chance. If you get hot and win a bunch of them, it's probably more dumb luck than anything else. To be an elite team in the NHL, it doesn't matter how good your defense and goaltending are. You have to score goals, and you have to have the ability to do so in bunches. Vancouver just doesn't have that.

The power play will struggle a bit again, in part due to the fact that Vancouver lacks the puck-moving defensemen it takes to really get it clicking. Kevin Bieksa and Lukas Krajicek aren't out of their element trying to quarterback the power play, but it's not their strength, either. Vancouver is loaded with capable hitters like Willie Mitchell and Sami Salo on the backline, so physical defensive play is not usually a problem for this group. They're severely challenged on the offensive end, however.

Luongo melted down late last season, and while many (including Luongo himself) questioned his focus after his wife's pregnancy, it stands to reason he'll bounce back with a big year. He's too talented and too fundamentally sound not to.

Where They'll Finish: The Canucks placed 11th in the final Western Conference standings last year. There's a harsh reality looming. Of the ten teams to finish ahead of them, only Colorado, Calgary, and Nashville figure to have the potential to fall significantly. Ninth-place Edmonton and tenth-place Chicago are both looking significantly better, and Phoenix figures to improve on their 12th-place finish from last year.

What am I saying? I'm saying Vancouver will be lucky to break tenth in the West this year. Gillis has some work to do to prove that former general manager Dave Nonis was the real problem with the Canucks.

Blogs To Watch: Hockey Rants, Canuck Nation, Canucks Fan Girl, Canucks Hockey Blog, Canucks and Beyond, Canuckleheads