Eye-Opening Claim on the Vancouver Canucks' Defensive Core Leaves Fans Scratching Their Heads
Photo credit: Vancouver Canucks
A pretty bold claim this week regarding the Vancouver Canucks' defensive core heading into the National Hockey League's 2025-26 season.
As we inch closer to the start of the 2025-26 season, the Vancouver Canucks are facing a ton of pressure to perform well, especially after missing out on the Stanley Cup Playoffs back in the spring.
With players like Elias Pettersson, Filip Chytil and Thatcher Demko back at full health and some new additions to the lineup in Evander Kane, Vitali Kravtsov and Pierre-Olivier Joseph, the Canucks have the opportunity to make some noise in the Pacific Division.
One insider opened up regarding the team's defensive group heading into the 2025-26 season and if all goes well in terms of performance and player health, it's honestly quite believable to see this as their best d-core the Canucks have ever had.
Vancouver Canucks' 2025-26 defensive group could be best in franchise history
During an appearance on Canucks Conversation, Harman Dayal discussed the team's defensive group that Adam Foote will have to work with and there's a chance that they could end up being the best d-core the team has had in their 55-year franchise history.
"When your first pair is Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek. If [Marcus] Pettersson and Myers sustain those results, your top-four as a whole is going to win its five-on-five minutes to the degree you would expect from a playoff team. With that said, I would say when we look at the impact Marcus Pettersson had, he was unbelievable on the PK, elite. The way he was shutting down passing lanes, just in-zone defending was rock solid and it's no coincidence the Canucks PK, which was already rounding into form before he was acquired, took that next step once he came into the fold." Dayal said.
It's not too far fetched to say that this could be the best defensive group the Vancouver Canucks have ever had, but the one's they had in their runs to the Stanley Cup Final in 1994 and 2011 were also fantastic.
If the defensive group can play as well as those 1994 and 2011 teams at five-on-five, the power play and on the penalty kill, there's no doubt that the Canucks will be in good shape as the season rolls along and potentially, it could push them towards a playoff spot.
Previously on CanucksDaily
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