PENTICTON, B.C. — The first day of the Vancouver Canucks’ season has arrived.
On Thursday morning in Penticton, three groups of Canucks skaters will take the ice to mark the start of training camp and the official beginning of the 2024-25 campaign.
On Wednesday afternoon Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin, president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford and head coach Rick Tocchet held court on a variety of injury updates (some more thorough than others) and the elevated expectations around their team, among some other pressing topics on the eve of camp. Given what was said during the annual availability to mark the start of Vancouver’s season, here are our five biggest Canucks questions entering training camp:
1. What will we learn about Thatcher Demko’s status?
Allvin cited Demko’s privacy in not disclosing any details about the Vezina nominee goaltender’s health status ahead of camp, aside from the fact Demko wouldn’t join the main group at the South Okanagan Events Centre Thursday morning.
Demko, Allvin noted, is working hard to get back and wanted to address the media directly to discuss his status. With no value judgment placed on the following, it’s worth noting it’s exceedingly rare for an injured player to speak to the media until they’re on the verge of returning to action, much less be responsible for addressing their injured status.
So the mystery that has hovered over the Canucks ever since the club belatedly re-engaged with pending unrestricted free agent Casey DeSmith’s camp in late June will persist for at least another few hours. Demko’s timeline and status remain the murkiest and highest-stakes question still facing the Canucks as the 2024-25 campaign gets set to officially open.
And the implications of what we learn could significantly shape how Vancouver handles their cap situation and roster decisions between now and puck drop on Oct. 9, when the Canucks host the Calgary Flames on opening night. Will the club bring in a free-agent goaltender? The Canucks have already brought in Dylan Ferguson on a professional tryout agreement, but could they consider perusing the waiver wire in the lead-up to Canadian Thanksgiving? Could Ferguson turn his tryout into a full-time job?
2. How will the Canucks handle Elias Lindholm’s departure?
With J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson and Lindholm down the middle of their forward group in the playoffs, the Canucks were able to ice an elite group of centremen when we last saw them in action.
With Lindholm signing with Boston in free agency and Teddy Blueger’s short-term absence to open camp — the club announced he’d be day-to-day on Wednesday, adding that he seems to be about a week away — the centre depth will look very different on Thursday morning.
The Lindholm departure in particular will have some knock-on effects up and down the lineup. Pius Suter, for example, who played with Miller and Brock Boeser in a top-line role and fared very well during the playoffs, is going to be a full-time centre for the club at training camp and when the season opens.
“Pius right now, he’s a centre for us,” Tocchet said. “He’s a smart guy, scored 15-plus goals last year. We need that up-the-middle hockey IQ and he has that.”
While Suter lacks some of the attributes Lindholm brought to the lineup — size and faceoff wins in particular — we know with a high degree of confidence that he’s a capable third-line centre on a full-time basis. Between him and Blueger, Vancouver should be solid down the middle in the bottom six, even if the lack of a right-handed faceoff winner is likely to cost coaches some sleep in the months ahead.
Where things get more interesting is on the fourth line. Nils Åman and Max Sasson, who has yet to make his NHL debut, would seem to be the only credible fourth-line options for the club if Blueger’s recovery lingers into exhibition play.
“Yeah, the tweeners, we want them to push,” Tocchet noted of the fight for the spot. “And I’ve seen some guys in the rookie camp and even in the skates, and these guys are looking really good.”
3. Which Pettersson will show up?
Entering the first year of his max-term, $11.6 million a year extension, all eyes in the Vancouver market will be on Pettersson.
One of the best young pivots in hockey, and one of the best-compensated, Pettersson struggled down the stretch and into the playoffs relative to his usual exceptional form. It was difficult to put one’s finger on precisely why his game fell off, but in the playoffs, Pettersson certainly wasn’t generating scoring chances or getting to the inside at will the way he usually does.
There’s a ton of context for why Pettersson didn’t perform up to his usual standard at the end of last year. He was dealing with tendinitis in his knee, he never really found chemistry with a rotating cast of overmatched options on his wings and it’s possible his contract situation was something of a distraction, even after the matter was settled in early March. Certainly, that’s the factor that Rutherford dwelled on when asked about Pettersson’s mindset heading into the campaign.
“I’m really impressed with how he’s come back (after) the offseason,” Rutherford said. “He seems to be a guy that’s more relaxed and more comfortable and for obvious reasons.
“Last year, whether players say they think about their contracts or not, deep down, they do. Everybody does. This is a guy I believe has worked really hard this summer, he’s done everything he can to play as a top-line player. And everybody here has seen him play and knows how good he is. The expectations for him are to be one of the top players on his team.”
When Pettersson is at his best, he’s a game breaker: the rare centre capable of both feasting offensively and tilting the ice on an every-shift basis as a two-way driver. That’s the version Vancouver is going to need if they’re going to replicate last season’s success.
4. Can Jonathan Lekkerimäki take a run at breaking camp with the NHL team?
Can top prospect Lekkerimäki follow up on an impressive showing at the Penticton Young Stars tournament and challenge for a spot on Vancouver’s 23-man roster at his first NHL training camp?
It’s a high bar, but Tocchet name-checked him specifically — in addition to intriguing 6-foot-6 winger project Vilmer Alriksson and Pettersson — when discussing giving young players an opportunity.
“Lekkerimäki, he’s a buzz saw, great shot, be anxious to see him play with some good players,” Tocchet said.
While Lekkerimäki is an impressive young offensive winger with some pro-ready attributes — his shot and puck-carrying through the neutral zone especially — the step up from playing in the SHL to the NHL is a steep one. It’s of no concern if Lekkerimäki ultimately requires some seasoning in the AHL before he’s poised to make an NHL impact.
That said, the Canucks need more finishing talent on the wings. They signed Daniel Sprong in mid-July with that in mind. Can Lekkerimäki perform to a level that forces management and coaches to make a difficult decision about where he should start the year?
5. Which wingers will fill out the top six forward group?
In describing what his lineup for the first day of training camp might look like, Tocchet suggested, “You can’t really read into it too much.”
That’s good advice and true, even if it’s not our style.
“I’m going to switch some things,” Tocchet continued. “I rely on Patrik and Jim and they say ‘maybe give this guy a chance’ … Obviously Miller and Boeser, they have great chemistry. Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk together, I’d like to see them get some time together. And it’s OK to rotate wingers … It’s important you have different puzzle pieces that fit together in different ways.”
Tocchet also said Conor Garland and Dakota Joshua are a hard pair to break up, although as Joshua recovers from a testicular cancer diagnosis and the surgery to remove a cancerous tumour, that first-choice duo on the third line won’t be an option for the club.
In any event, as Tocchet has sketched it out, two key jobs in the top six will be up for grabs as training camp begins: first-line left wing and second-line wing (not a side-dependent job, since DeBrusk can line up on either side).
There are a variety of contenders for these roles. Holdover players like Nils Höglander and Phillip Di Giuseppe should be in the mix. Young players like Lekkerimäki and Arshdeep Bains could potentially force their way into the club’s consideration with a strong camp. And a host of incoming free-agent wingers like Sprong, Danton Heinen and Kiefer Sherwood could win significant opportunities.
Whoever wins the job for opening night — and the competition could be fierce — will have a plum opportunity to flank some of the most gifted point producers in the sport.
(Top photo of Elias Pettersson: Codie McLachlan / Getty Images)
