I feel it is
predictable that if you ice a
very small team they will be run in this division. You need to have some sort of deterrent or you will lose many players to injury and others will play through them, badly.
On this basis I believe the Canucks will keep returning the same result they have for years, now. Duh!
The Canucks have more issues than just being little. They are
soft as a philosophical thing. They compound this with inappropriate coaching. You cannot play a slow, brittle top line in unsheltered situations and
expect season long success. Repeating the process every year while spinning it as a new approach with new expectations is
the definition of insane.
Canucks, in order to make the playoffs this season must first return intact from the new preseason tournament.
That will happen! Then, they must get the coach fired. Going winless into game twenty should do it. Then, with new deployment the Sedin line must blossom and approach point a game production from all. Secondary scoring will need to emerge if they are going to work their way back into contention. Unlikely candidates must fill the uncast enforcer role, every night, without injury. Team toughness is unlikely unless the vets buy into it and lead by example. This possibility is
extremely remote!
If these very unlikely events occur, they still need a hot goalie to go on a godly run and maintain it under playoff conditions. Several players must have a career year. If they do it, the playoffs can last as long as the frail old men can withstand it.
None of these things will happen and certainly not in concert. WD won't be fired until , IMO, February. JB won't be replaced in time to bolster the team's roster at the deadline. There are no weaker teams to feast upon, as in past playoff seasons.
It is very, very bleak.