The Vancouver Canucks hope to build off their recent success when they open the season against the visiting Calgary Flames on Wednesday night.
The Canucks won the Pacific Division last season and, outside of the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign, reached the postseason for the first time since 2015 and won their first playoff series since advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in 2011.
“Playoffs (are) a blast, and it was awesome that we had success, and I think it’s only going to help us for this year,” Vancouver right winger Brock Boeser said.
To supplement the core forward group of J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson and Boeser, the Canucks brought in Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen from the Boston Bruins, Kiefer Sherwood from the Nashville Predators and forward Daniel Sprong from the Detroit Red Wings.
To help strengthen a back end anchored by Quinn Hughes, Vancouver acquired Derek Forbort from the Bruins and Vincent Desharnais from the Edmonton Oilers.
“It’s a lot of speed, a lot of character. The new guys seem to fit in really great. Great guys off the rink as well,” Miller said.
DeBrusk should be the biggest difference-maker after totaling 19 goals and 21 assists last season.
“I personally don’t really care how I do personally in terms of statistics. If we’re winning, that’s why I’m here, to help. But in saying that, I feel like I can add some elements to the team,” DeBrusk said. “There’s obviously lots of great players already, but I think that I could fit in pretty seamlessly. That’s why I chose to come here.”
The Flames, meanwhile, remain a team in transition after missing the postseason for a second straight year.
Calgary is already facing adversity after losing last season’s leading goal-scorer, Yegor Sharangovich, to a lower-body injury in its final preseason game on Friday. He was placed on injured reserve on Monday and his recovery timeline is listed as week-to-week.
“There’s very little expectation being placed on this team right now,” Flames forward Blake Coleman said. “It’s an exciting way to play when there’s no pressure, no expectations. Inside the room, we have a much different view of ourselves than outside.”
The Flames still have several core players up front in Coleman, Mikael Backlund, Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri and defensemen MacKenzie Weegar and Rasmus Andersson.
“We need them to be the guys that go out and lead by example every time,” Flames coach Ryan Huska said.
The youngest players for the Flames will also be expected to contribute right away, namely Connor Zary, Matt Coronato and 19-year-old Samuel Honzek, who contributed two goals and five assists in the preseason.
“We have a lot of young guys who want to show they can be good players in this league,” Backlund said. “As veterans, we want to drive this team, and we want to get back to playoffs after missing two years.”
A key to Calgary’s success will be Huberdeau, a center who the Flames acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Florida Panthers two years ago. However, he has not played to the same level in Calgary.
“He changed how he did things this summer because he hasn’t been happy with the way things went for a couple years,” Huska said of Huberdeau. “He’s come back with a really good mindset, and he’s in shape right now and that’s something that we need.”
–Field Level Media