Canucks Projection for 2025/26 Season

Canucks Projection for 2025/26 Season

JOIN PROPICS TV FOR A FULL EPISODE DEEP DIVE INTO WHAT IS AHEAD THIS SEASON. WHAT DOES AI THINK? July 28, Episode of Live Chat with James on ProPics TV. Here is an AI overview of the episode.

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to the deep dive. Today we're diving into, well, a
real roller coaster. The Vancouver Canucks just the
season ago, Pacific Division champions, then boom, a total
collapse. So what happened and why is this
upcoming 2526 seasons such a such a massive gamble?
It really is. It's not just another 82 games
for. Them, No, definitely not this

(00:21):
deep dive. It's all about that story.
Redemption, maybe huge risks, certainly A-Team, you know,
really at a crossroads will impact that fall.
Big offseason changes and what'sreally on the line for them.
So let's get into it. OK, so to grasp what's at stake
now, you absolutely have to lookback at 2425.
It just, it completely fell apart.
They went from winning the division 2324 to A383014, record

(00:44):
10th in the West No. Playoffs.
That's a stunning drop. Just statistically it's huge.
But what's going on? Was it just bad bounces
strategy? Or systemic.
The whole core imploded. Look at their top five scores,
their collective plus minus rating, you know, goal
difference when they're on the ice.
That went from like an amazing plus 146 the year.
Before plus 146. Wow to a disastrous -49 last

(01:07):
season -49. Off.
That's not just a slump, that's that screams problem.
Exactly. It's the stat signature of
losing structure, losing commitment.
Their best players were getting heavily outscored.
And wasn't there talk about locker room issues a fractured?
Room. Yeah, that was the undercurrent,
most notably that rift between Elias Pettersson and JT Miller.

(01:30):
Very public. Right.
Which led to Miller getting traded.
And then Coach Touchett was gone, too.
Just chaos. Pretty much.
So management had to react and react.
Big. OK, so how did they respond?
A fractured room, A seasoned down the drain.
What's the plan? Well, they started behind the
bench, right? Promoting Adam.
Foote Yep, the hard nosed formerdefenseman.
The mandate seemed clear accountability.

(01:50):
He literally said it's their room trying to get the players
to police. Themselves a different approach
for sure and roster wise they lost suitor.
That hurts. It does 25 goals walking out the
door, but look what they did keep.
They committed hard to the guys still there.
Brock Boser massive 7 year deal,over 50 million extensions for
Connor, Garland and crucially Thatcher, Demko and Net.

(02:10):
Betting big on that core, Yeah, but then the Evander Kane move.
That one raised eyebrows. Just a fourth round pick to
Edmonton, but they took on his whole $5.125 million cap hit.
Yeah, he scores goals. He brings toughness, no doubt.
But his history, the office issues, bringing that into a
locker room they're trying to fix that feels like playing with

(02:32):
fire. It's a huge gamble.
There's really no other way to put it.
Is the potential reward worth that risk to the team culture
they're trying to rebuild? We'll see.
So connecting that gamble to therest of the roster, what does
this team actually look like, you know?
Well, I describe it as a barbellroster for 2526.
You know, strong at the ends, maybe a bit thin in the middle.
Barbell explain. That heavy strength and goal and

(02:54):
on defence but centre depth, that's the weak spot.
Their strengths are clear though.
Goaltending is elite. Thatcher, Demko, he's Vezina
quality. Kevin Linkin is a solid backup
and the defence led by captain Quinn Hughes and Phillip Ronick,
it's deep. Marcus Peterson solid.
Tom Melanders promising that parts good.
Strong D, great goalie. High floor maybe, but the

(03:18):
middle, the centres, that's where the $92.8 million question
comes in, right? Elias Pettersson.
Exactly, he draw from 89 points to just 45 after signing that
massive ext 45 points. They need him to bounce back
desperately because behind him. Well, you're relying on Philly
staying healthy, which has been an issue.
And then unproven guys like Akshu, Radi, it's thin.

(03:39):
It's a significant gamble down the middle.
So where does that leave them? Bubble team.
Absolutely a quintessential bubble team and the Pacific
Division is tough. You've got Edmonton, Vegas just
added Mitch Marner. It's a gauntlet.
So like you said, high floor because the goalie indeed
they'll be in games. But that Senate depth issue
really limits their ceiling, doesn't it?
Make sustained offence harder. Leads to lower ceiling, yeah.

(04:01):
Makes them maybe more reliant onspecial teams or individual
brilliance. So this season feels pivotal.
More than just one year, it feels like a test for this
entire core group. Oh for sure, those 1st 2025
games, they're going to tell us a lot, not just about playoffs
this year, but the whole direction, jobs, cap space and
belief it's all tied up in. This a real make or break feel

(04:24):
to it. Definitely.
So for you listening, here's thethought.
After that huge fall, after these high stakes offseason
bets, can this Canucks team actually find its identity
again? Or is this current past just,
you know, kicking the can down the road before a much more
painful full scale reset becomesunavoidable?