3 questions facing Vancouver Canucks

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, three important questions facing the Vancouver Canucks.

1. Can Thatcher Demko stay healthy?

Demko didn't make it to the end of his first full season as a No. 1 goalie in 2021-22 because of a knee injury that required offseason surgery, and then was out for almost three months last season because of a groin injury.

The 27-year-old looked and felt better when he returned from injury after hiring trainer Adam Francilia, whose client list includes Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, and changing how he prepares. Demko's save percentage dropped from .915 each of the previous two seasons to .901 in 2022-23, but he finished strong after returning Feb. 27, going 11-4-2 with a .918 save percentage in 17 games.

"I'm a lot more knowledgeable in that realm," Demko said. "I took the time I had with the injury to learn about my body and things I can do to make sure I'm performing at the level I have to."

Managing Demko's workload also might help, but Vancouver is inexperienced in the backup position, with 41 NHL starts between 28-year-old Spencer Martin (36) and 22-year-old Arturs Silovs (five).

2. Can the new defensemen play up the lineup?

The Canucks remade their group of defensemen by buying out the final four seasons of Oliver Ekman-Larsson's contract June 16 and signing free agents Carson Soucy and Ian Cole on July 1. The expectation is each will play in the top-four with Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek, who was acquired in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings on March 1 but only played four games before being shut down because of a shoulder injury.

Hronek established himself as a top-four defenseman in Detroit and Cole, who is 34 and could start on a top pair with Hughes, was effective playing top-four minutes for the Tampa Bay Lightning last season. But Soucy, 29, primarily has played on a third pair, including with the Seattle Kraken the past two seasons, and likely will face tougher opponents in Vancouver. Even if his defensive game holds up, there are questions about his ability to transition the puck.

"I believe he can take his game to another level," general manager Patrik Allvin said of Soucy. "His size (6-foot-5, 208 pounds), his ability to skate … definitely a guy we can use in a top-four role."

3. Will the penalty kill be better?

The Canucks penalty kill ranked last in the NHL (65.9 percent) through 46 games last season under coach Bruce Boudreau, who was fired Jan. 21. It improved to 78.4 percent in the final 36 games under coach Rick Tocchet to finish at 71.6 percent (last in the NHL).

Vancouver is last on the penalty kill the past two seasons combined (73.2 percent), and hasn't been above 80 percent in any of the past three seasons under three different coaches (Tocchet, Boudreau, Travis Green).

Fixing it will go a long way toward getting back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2019-20 season. The recent additions on defense, including Soucy, Cole, Hronek and Matt Irwin, as well as centers Pius Suter and Teddy Blueger, should help with all being solid penalty killers.