Nashville is playing arguably the West’s most complete hockey team
The Canucks may have finished second to the Dallas Stars in 2023-24, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t a more complete hockey team. Vancouver was one of the highest-scoring teams for most of the season and they still finished tied in seventh place in goals scored and fifth in goals allowed, indicating they may even be more complete than the Stars.
Thatcher Demko is a surefire Vezina candidate, and he was far more consistent than Jake Oettinger, Igor Shesterkin, and others, with perhaps only Connor Hellebuyck and Sergei Bobrovsky sitting on a higher rung.
Then there are the scorers for this strong Canucks team, led by J.T. Miller, who put up 103 points and found the net 37 times. Brock Boeser joined the 40-goal club this season with 73 points, while Elias Pettersson is entering his prime with 34 goals and 89 points.
Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek are among the best two-way defensemen in the NHL, and the Canucks also have a pair of stay-at-home blueliners in Tyler Myers and Ian Cole, who always seem to be getting in front of shots. Nashville deserves to be in the playoffs, and sure, they can beat Vancouver, but it will take a lot for this team to overcome the odds.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)