After a disappointing second round playoff exit at the hands of the Chicago Blackhawks for the 2nd straight year, the Canucks made one of the most concerted efforts to become one of the teams most worthy of being called a contender this year. With a set of healthy Sedin twins leading the way, one of the deepest defensive corps in the league and an all-world goalie between the pipes, the Canucks should be set for a deep playoff run, if nothing else.
*Offense:’ There’s no question the Canucks’ offense starts with a couple of Swedes that you can’t tell apart without checking the back of their jerseys. Henrik Sedin is coming off of an Art Ross and Hart Trophy winning season as the league scoring leader and MVP, while Daniel managed to put up a career high 85 points despite missing 19 games. Alex Burrows led the team with 35 goals, and continues to show excellent chemistry with the twins to form one of the top lines in all of hockey. Offseason additions Manny Malhotra, Raffi Torres and Jeff Tambellini would be a solid 3rd line on most teams, but ice time might be hard to come by. Mikael Samuelsson (30-23-53) and Mason Raymond (25-28-53) both look like they’ve developed into legitimate top six scorers, and there won’t be many goalies getting a good night’s sleep when the Canucks are coming to town the next day. The Canucks scored more goals and powerplay goals than any other team except Washington last year, and there’s no reason to expect much difference this year.Grade: ADefense:One of the biggest criticisms of the Canucks’ performance in the playoffs was the play of their blueline. Prone to taking poorly timed penalties (see: Andrew Alberts) and missing the services of Willie Mitchell, the Canucks had no answer for the Hawks’ attack, especially big Dustin Byfuglien. They went out and changed that this offseason, grabbing two of the top five defensemen on the UFA market, veterans Keith Ballard and Dan Hamhuis. Adding those two to the blueline gives Vancouver nine d-men that played at least 49 NHL games last season, making them the deepest defensive team in the NHL. The PK gets the job done well enough, and Burrows and Ryan Kesler are still two of the top killers in the league, even if they have developed their offensive games a bit more in the last year or two.Grade: A+’'’Goaltending:’’’ Sometimes you gotta feel bad for Cory Schneider, a top-rated goalie prospect in the Canucks’ organization that would have at least gotten a shot at the starting role in most other programs. With Roberto Luongo firmly entrenched between the pipes, it doesn’t look like that will be happening any time soon. The only criticism that can be leveled against Luey is the fact that he has yet to prove he can perform under pressure. He melted against Chicago in the 2009 postseason and gave up 21 goals in the series they lost last year. With a much-improved defense in front of him and plenty of scoring to provide cushion, there will be no excuses this year.*Grade: A’
Key Additions: Keith Ballard, Dan Hamhuis, Manny Malhotra, Raffi Torres Key Losses: Willie Mitchell