It took until the eve of the final game of the season, with the Vancouver Canucks already prepared to rest stars and head coach Rick Tocchet hinting that he may not play goaltender Thatcher Demko for the entirety of Vancouver’s 82nd contest, but Vancouver’s playoff matchup is set.
Vancouver will host a Stanley Cup playoff game for the first time in nine years, and it’ll pit Vancouver against a Nashville Predators side that generates scoring chances at will and has run red hot in the second half of the season. It’s been far too long for Vancouver’s wildly loyal and passionate fan base, and this weekend promises to be a celebration.
We’ll get into the nitty gritty of previewing the series in detail in the days ahead, but first, let’s finish up our 2023-24 Canucks report cards by grading the individual contributions of Vancouver’s goaltenders and defencemen. We previously evaluated Vancouver’s forwards in Part 1.
(Note: Grades are handed out relative to a player’s expectations. If Player X has a better grade than Player Y, it doesn’t mean X has been more valuable than Y.)
Defencemen
Quinn Hughes: A+
2023-24 statistics: 81 games played, 17 goals, 74 assists, 91 points
We have never seen a season quite like this from a Canucks defenceman before.
Hughes was among the dominant individual skaters on the planet over 82 games this year, levelling up his all-around game and his goal-scoring prowess, in particular, and elevating his teammates while sliding into the role of team captain without a single seam showing.
The 17 goals pop off the page. Hughes had never previously scored more than eight in a season, and it’s a credit to Vancouver’s captain that the majority of them were scored with a wrist shot he developed during the offseason and weaponized frequently. Hughes’ evolution into a meaningful scoring threat has altered just about everything about his gravity in the offensive end. Almost every shift, defencemen panic to gap up against him, only to fail to adjust as he worms his way into a shooting or passing lane.
Paired all season with Filip Hronek, Vancouver’s top pair handled the toughest assignments and dominated. The Canucks were arguably too reliant on Hughes’ minutes to manufacture five-on-five offence.
Hughes is the heavy favourite to win the Norris Trophy, which no Canucks defenceman has ever accomplished, and will be on some Hart ballots as well. And he’ll deserve it. Hughes wasn’t just Vancouver’s most important player this season, he was indisputably all-world.
Filip Hronek: B+
2023-24 statistics: 81 GP, 5-43-48
On the surface, Hronek had had a stellar first season in Vancouver. He’s racked up a career-high 48 points despite minimal first-unit power-play time, ranks top-30 among all defencemen in averaging 23:26 per game and the Canucks have outscored opponents by a whopping 30 goals during his five-on-five shifts.
Hronek’s results are inflated from riding shotgun with Hughes, though, so evaluating his play requires a deeper dive. The eye test will tell you Hronek has had occasional defensive lapses, which is reflected in Evolving Hockey’s RAPM model. This tool isolates a player’s play-driving impact after accounting for teammate quality, and, in Hronek’s case, it says he’s been a positive offensive driver but has had a modestly negative defensive impact this season.
(Courtesy of evolving-hockey.com)
Hronek’s offensive vision, passing and decision-making have made him a terrific fit next to Hughes. He hasn’t proven himself capable of driving a pair without Hughes, though: Hronek has controlled just 44.5 percent of shot attempts and 45.4 percent of expected goals in 323 five-on-five minutes away from Hughes. Hughes’ five-on-five numbers, on the other hand, are slightly better without Hronek, as he’s controlled 62.7 percent of scoring chances and outscored opponents 19-8.
Overall, Hronek has excelled as a complementary top-pair defenceman. He even destroyed the Calgary Flames bench with the best chirp of the regular season. Vancouver will face a summer dilemma regarding the price of his next contract, though.
Ian Cole: B+
2023-24 statistics: 78 GP, 2-9-11
Brought in to bring some winning know-how to Vancouver’s blue line and stabilize the penalty kill, Ian Cole’s contributions have exceeded those expectations.
The veteran blueliner has logged top-four minutes for the Canucks this season and led all Vancouver skaters in shorthanded ice time this season. His work on the kill played a major role in driving the Canucks’ massive improvement from dismal to respectable when shorthanded.
Cole’s defensive impact was also pronounced, and all three of his regular defence partners (minimum 150 minutes) fared better with Cole than they did away from him by unblocked shot differential. The Athletic’s Net Rating model rates Cole’s defensive contributions this season in the 87th percentile among all NHL blueliners.
Tyler Myers has improved his two-way play this season. (Derek Cain / Getty Images)
Tyler Myers: B+
2023-24 statistics: 81 GP, 5-24-29
Myers gets too much flak in this market. Yes, he’s prone to the big mistake, takes a lot of penalties and carries an inefficient cap hit. But after a rough first month of the season, he’s settled in as a dependable middle-of-the-lineup defenceman.
Myers has averaged just shy of 19 minutes per game (third among Canucks blueliners). He has handled matchups slightly tougher than the league average, according to HockeyViz. And yet, the Canucks have controlled a positive share of shot attempts, scoring chances and a plus-10 goal differential during his five-on-five shifts. He’s chipped in with 29 points in 76 games, and his egregious defensive mistakes have been few and far between since about mid-November.
Myers’ decision-making on breakouts has improved drastically compared to last year. He doesn’t panic and give the puck away on defensive zone retrievals anymore. He’s also made far fewer mistakes defending the rush.
As the environment around Myers has improved, his two-way play has been cleaner and sharper. He’s played to the level of a $4.3 million defenceman this year, according to Dom Luszczyszyn’s Net Rating model.
Noah Juulsen: B
2023-24 statistics: 53 GP, 1-6-7
This season, Noah Juulsen established himself as an everyday-calibre NHL defenceman.
In 53 games, Juulsen’s work at five-on-five was solid and precisely what every winning NHL team is looking for from a third-pair blueliner. He plays physical, responsible hockey and has the size to stop the cycle and deceptively good feet for a stay-at-home defenceman.
What set Juulsen apart was his work on the penalty kill. He has emerged as a genuine shorthanded specialist, and, when the penalty kill struggled, would be re-inserted into the lineup, where the kill would quickly stabilize.
A team rarely makes a deep playoff run without calling on a depth blueliner to contribute. Based on what we’ve seen from Juulsen, you can bet Tocchet and assistant coach Adam Foote will feel confident leaning on Juulsen if that time comes.
Nikita Zadorov: B
2023-24 statistics: 53 GP, 5-9-14
Vancouver’s blue line construction is quite fascinating: After the elite, dynamic top pair of Hughes and Hronek, they’ve cornered the market on big, rangy, physical No.4/5 defencemen. Zadorov fits that bill to a T.
The rugged 29-year-old blueliner made an instant impact stabilizing the Canucks’ bottom four in December without Carson Soucy. Zadorov has offered an intimidating physical presence, smooth skating and just enough skill to break pucks out effectively. He ranks sixth among Canucks defencemen in average ice-time (17:02) and has been prescribed matchups softer than the league average, which suggests the coaching staff may not have quite the same level of defensive trust in him compared to his peers.
Zadorov’s underlying numbers aren’t quite as rosy as the eye test, either, as the Canucks have been narrowly outshot and outchanced during his five-on-five minutes. Ultimately though, he’s a luxury to have as a third-pair defenceman considering his combination of size, physicality and skating. There’s no doubt he’s been worth the modest acquisition cost of a third-round pick.
Carson Soucy is 94th percentile in defensive impact. (Candice Ward / Getty Images)
Carson Soucy: B+
2023-24 statistics: 39 GP, 2-4-6
Carson Soucy’s first Canucks season was partially waylaid by two different medium-term injuries. When the tall, intelligent two-way defenceman has been in the lineup, however, he’s been a consistent, adept two-way option, with his defensive impact rated in the 94th percentile among all NHL defenders this season according to The Athletic’s Net Rating metric.
Soucy’s long reach and overall defensive impact are at such a high level that he’s on watch as a possible outlier defenceman who may meaningfully impact opposition shot quality over large samples. Dating back five seasons, Soucy ranks 10th among NHL defencemen in on-ice save percentage, no small feat given the quality of Seattle Kraken goaltending during his two seasons there, and led all Vancouver defencemen by on-ice save percentage, as well. The shot location data would seem to add fuel to our suspicions in Soucy’s case:
(Courtesy of evolving-hockey.com)
Mark Friedman: B-
2023-24 statistics: 22 GP, 0-1-1
It’s easy to forget now, but Friedman successfully played a steady, crucial run of games early in the season. By the end of November, Friedman already logged 18 serviceable games at a time when Soucy was hurt, Zadorov hadn’t arrived and Juulsen hadn’t stabilized yet. Friedman was heavily sheltered, averaging just 12:23 in that stretch, but he played his part about as well as you could have asked. He didn’t make egregious defensive mistakes, moved pucks efficiently and meshed well with Cole.
Friedman controlled 56 percent of scoring chances and carried a plus-four goal differential during his sheltered five-on-five shifts, which is tidy work. He’s appeared in just four games since December, as Juulsen has improved considerably and emerged as the clear-cut No.7 defenceman. Friedman has kept his head down and remained a good soldier through it all.
Thatcher Demko is back. (Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
Goaltenders
Thatcher Demko: A+
2023-24 statistics: 35-13-2 record, .918 save percentage
In a higher-scoring NHL environment, starting 50 games and posting a .918 save percentage is outrageously difficult.
Demko, however, generally makes the impossibly difficult look easy when he’s on his game. And he was on his game when healthy.
Demko has been at the level of a Vezina nominee. Even with his six-week absence toward the end of the season, Demko was the second-most-valuable puck stopper in the NHL behind only Connor Hellebuyck, by whatever metric you prefer.
If you parcel the season out in segments, Demko’s performance through the first six weeks, in particular, stands out as essential. Along with Vancouver’s power play going nuclear in the first month of the campaign, Demko was the MVP of the Canucks’ hot start, arguably paving the way for the meaningful structural and two-way strides they took as the season progressed.
Demko looked dominant in his return to action against Calgary this week. Yes, it’s just one game, but a healthy, rested Demko going into the playoffs is a potential ace in Vancouver’s hand.
Casey DeSmith: B
2023-24 statistics: 12-9-6, .896 sv%
DeSmith’s surface-level .896 save percentage may not look impressive, but there’s more than meets the eye.
Vancouver’s backup has managed a .915 save percentage or higher in 15 of his 29 games, which includes dandy performances like Saturday’s critical win over the Oilers. DeSmith’s save percentage has been dragged down by extreme games like the eight goals against the Minnesota Wild — if you take out that performance, his season save percentage shoots up to .903, which is the league average.
But even if you include that game, he’s posted a slightly positive goals saved above average number for the season according to Evolving-Hockey’s model. This means that DeSmith, when accounting for the quality of chances he’s faced, has performed slightly better than NHL average.
Tocchet has raved about how DeSmith is adored by his teammates because of his attitude and personality, which is important given backup goalies’ influence on locker room chemistry. Overall, DeSmith has done a commendable job behind Demko, even if his form slipped a little following the All-Star break.
Arturs Silovs: B
2023-24 statistics: 3-0-1, .881 sv%
Consistency was something of an issue for Silovs down in Abbotsford this season, and we got a glimpse of that in his four-game cup of coffee with the Canucks this season.
Silovs’ size and explosiveness showed up on occasion in his four NHL starts, but there were some growing pains as well. Still, he gave the Canucks a quality start in half of the four games he played, and while the save percentage numbers don’t look great, he battled, looked ready for spot start duty when needed and earned a point in all four starts. That’s all you can reasonably ask for from a young third-string goaltender with a bright future ahead of him.
(Top photo of Quinn Hughes: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
