2014-15 LEADING SCORERS
LW Daniel Sedin (20 G, 56 A, 76 P)
C Henrik Sedin (18 G, 55 A, 73 P)
RW Radim Vrbata (31 G, 32 A, 63 P)
LAST SEASON
After a very poor performance during the 2013-14 NHL season that saw them miss the playoffs, the Vancouver Canucks were determined to rebound and return to the playoffs. After trading star two way centre Ryan Kesler to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a 1st round pick, Nick Bonino, and Luca Sbisa the previous offseason, the Nucks hoped this would be enough a shakeup to help them rebound after their unfortunate season.
In the first half of the season, they made two depth trades, first acquiring Will Acton from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Kellan Lain, and then after acquiring prospect Andrey Pedan from the New York Islanders in exchange for Alexandre Mallet and a 3rd round pick. In the second half, they exchanged prospects with the Chicago Blackhawks, acquiring defenseman Adam Clendening in return for defenseman Gustav Forsling. Nearing the deadline, they acquired Cory Conacher from the New York Islanders in exchange for Dustin Jeffrey, and then later acquired Sven Baertschi from the Calgary Flames in exchange for a 2nd round pick.
They finished the season second in the Pacific Divison with a record of 48-29-5 to face divisional rivals the Calgary Flames in Round 1. The Flames would unfortunately come out on top, defeating the Nucks in six games.
OFFSEASON
IN
Brandon Prust
Taylor Fedun
Richard Bachman
Matt Bartkowski
Blair Jones
Brandon Sutter
Adam Cracknell
OUT
Kevin Bieksa
Eddie Lack
Joacim Eriksson
Will Acton
Zack Kassian
Shawn Matthias
Mike Zalewski
Ryan Stanton
Brandon McMillan
Cory Conacher
Peter Andersson
Brad Richardson
Cal O'Reilly
Brandon DeFazio
Darren Archibald
Tom Sestito
Bobby Sanguinetti
Colin Stuart
The Nucks entered the offseason heading into the 2015 NHL Draft, where they used their first round pick at 23rd overall to select forward Brock Boeser from the Waterloo Blackhawks of the USHL. In free agency, they didn't make too many big splashes, besides signing some depth in Matt Bartkowski and Adam Cracknell. They also acquired gritty forward Brandon Prust from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Zack Kassian, and traded forward Nick Bonino along with Adam Clendening and a 2nd round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exhchange for Brandon Sutter and a 3rd round pick. They lost some depth in Ryan Stanton and Brad Richardson, but they didn't lose too much.
NEXT SEASON PT 1. OFFENSE
The Canucks had a high scoring season from their top line consisting of the Sedin twins and Radim Vrbata, who seemed to work well with the famous duo. One of the top storylines will be whether or not Brandon Sutter will be able to perform at the rate that Nick Bonino did. Youngsters Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi will look to produce at a healthy rate for the Nucks' offense, while Jake Virtanen and Hunter Shinkaruk remain the front-running rookies to claim a spot on the offense.
NEXT SEASON PT 2. DEFENSE
The Nucks lost their best gritty veteran defenseman in Kevin Bieksa in a trade that saw him shipped to the Anaheim Ducks for draft picks, so one of the bigger questions could be who is most capable of replacing him on the defensive core. Dan Hamhuis and Chris Tanev will likely lead the charge, with Alexander Edler and Luca Sbisa right behind them.
NEXT SEASON PT 3. GOALTENDING
The Nucks lost fan favourite and backup goaltender Eddie Lack in a trade that saw him shipped to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for two draft picks, so the biggest storyline will be whether Jacob Markstrom has matured enough to secure himself a full time backup job, and if he can perform as well as Lack did. Aside from that, Ryan Miller will get most of the calls between the pipes.
POSSIBLE 2015-16 OPENING NIGHT LINEUP
Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Radim Vrbata
Alex Burrows - Brandon Sutter - Jannik Hansen
Sven Baertschi - Bo Horvat - Chris Higgins
Brandon Prust - Linden Vey - Derek Dorsett
Dan Hamhuis - Alexander Edler
Chris Tanev - Yannick Weber
Frank Corrado - Luca Sbisa
Ryan Miller
Jacob Markstrom
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