Canucks Midterm Report

A few games pass the midway point of the 2007-08 season, the Vancouver Canucks stand at 24 wins, 16 Losses and four overtime/shootout losses. Good for second place (tied in points with the Wild but behind in wins) in the Northwest division.

While they look like they're in a very good spot in their division, it's the Western Conference standings that counts when it comes to their seeding for the playoffs. The Canucks sit in the middle of the pack and is within reach of teams from the sixth to 12th spots. Winning the division is crucial to the Canucks if they want home ice advantage in the playoffs. 

Where do they need to improve? Let's go through each category starting with the one that needs the least improvement...

You've guessed it, it's in goal.

What more can be said about Roberto Luongo aka Bobby Lou (here in Vancouver)?  He's done it all and done it well. Louie can be found in the top five of every major goaltending statistics. With a .929 save percentage (second), 20 Wins (fifth) and 1.99 goals against average (tied for second) means that Luongo is one of the front runners for the Vezina and Hart trophies. Awards for the top goalie and MVP, respectively.

Living in someone's shadow is not something many people would ask to do, just ask Mika Norrena and Dany Sabourin. Both bolted out of Vancouver as soon as they got a chance. But Curtis Sanford did exactly the opposite when he signed on to be the backup goaltender with the Canucks. Though he has almost literally lived in Luongo's shadow, Sanford has done a decent job when he got the chance to be in the spotlight.

The Sandman had a 4-0-1 record after his first five games as a Canuck. Though he has gone 0-3 since, he can't be totally faulted when the team in front of him decided to take some unscheduled time off. The only improvement the Canucks can ask for in goal is for Roberto Luongo to go 36-0 with a 0.00 GAA and 100 percent the rest of the way.  On some nights, that doesn't sound too far-fetched.

Moving out to the Defense. The Canucks have arguably one of the deepest defensive core in the league. Many experts may not agree but how do you explain a team fighting for first place without their top two defenseman (in Ohlund and Bieksa)? This injury ridden defense also includes Sami Salo and Lukas Krajicek, both having missed time due to medical reasons.  Off season signings, Mike Weaver and Aaron Miller have filled in nicely in the fourth to sixth spots.

The top defensive defender, Willie Mitchell is having a decent season though he is not using his (oft-mistaken) "8 feet long 2x4" as well as he was in his first campaign as a Canuck. Former first Rounder, Luc Bourdon, looked like the stud he was back in the 2005 World Junior Championship during his first call up to the back club after being cut in training camp.

The best player to be called up from the AHL Moose has to be Alex Edler. Unlike an expensive and fragile bookshelf from IKEA, this product of Sweden has been relatively solid on the Canuck's backend. Edler leads not only the team but also all NHL rookies in plus minus. The Swedish rookie also ousted the "Finnish MacInnis" Sami Salo as the hardest shooter on the team.

The much maligned offense of the Canucks seems to need the most improvement.  With 119 goals, the Canucks are still outscoring first place teams like San Jose and New Jersey as well as the once-high-powered New York Rangers. Vancouver's plus-14 goal differential has allowed them to compete even without being a high scoring team. 

The bulk of the team's offense is carried on the weight of the Sedin twins. Daniel leads the team with 20 goals while Henrik's 37 assists and 45 points are also tops on the team. After the Twins, the Canucks do not have an established second or third line so everyone else chips in with the odd goal. Naslund, Kesler and Pyatt are the only other players with goals in double digits. Cooke and Burrows rounds out the regulars up front but neither are considered high scoring forwards. Call ups like Raymond, Jaffray and Rypien have all contributed but still not quite enough to allow them to stick on the big blub.

The problem upfront since the previous season seems to be aggression and size.  Though the likes of Rypien, Ritchie, Brown and Cowan have thrown their weight and even fists around, the Canucks lineup does not strike fear into the hearts of their opponent. More often or not the forwards have been bounced around when they matched up against bigger teams like Anaheim or even St. Louis.

In this league, size still matters and the Canucks need to get bigger and meaner.

On special teams, the Canucks is a middle of the pack team. The powerplay and penalty kill are both ranked 15th in the NHL. The powerplay seems to be something the franchise has never been good at with exceptions in the West Coast Express era.  Even with two cannons from the point, the powerplay seems to not get many shots on the goal. Instead there is far more cycling in the corner than getting pucks to the net.

During the 2006-07 season, the Canucks were the kings of the penalty kill in the NHL. To Canuck fans, that seemed like ages ago. Without Jan Bulis and Trevor Linden making irregular starts, the only regulars up front on the kill are Cooke and Kesler.

On the backend, with Ohlund and Bieksas' injuries, more pressure has been put on Mitchell and company. Pressure need to be put on the points and coverage in the slot needs to tighten up.

Love it or hate it, the shootout is now an important part of the regular season. This is the most surprising stat with the Canucks. The top point-getters on the team were not getting the job done so the opportunity were given to players like Edler and Linden who are both better than 80 percent.

Canucks fans have waited 37 seasons for a Stanley Cup championship, it could be 38 if the club doesn't step up on some crucial areas.