Three questions facing Vancouver Canucks

NHL.com is providing in-depth analysis for each of its 31 teams throughout August. Today, three important questions facing the Vancouver Canucks.

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1. Can Elias Pettersson help to replace the Sedins?

Forward Daniel Sedin and center Henrik Sedin combined for 105 points (26 goals, 79 assists) last season, and the Canucks finished 26th in the NHL in scoring. Vancouver was last in goals over the past three seasons with the Sedins mostly playing top-line roles, so it's fair to wonder where goals will come from now that they have retired, especially on a power play that was tied for ninth in the NHL last season (21.4 percent).
Pettersson, the No. 5 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, is expected to pick up some of the slack in his rookie season. He could be an upgrade on the right half-wall of a first power-play unit that improved last season after rookie forward Brock Boeser was moved to a shooting position at the top of the left face-off circle. Pettersson is a much bigger threat as a shooter than Henrik Sedin was coming off the right boards, and although no one expects him to recapture the brother-to-brother cycle magic of the Sedins, the Canucks should have enough weapons with Pettersson on one side, Boeser on the other and forward Bo Horvat in front of the net to be effective on the power play.

2. Will they get more scoring from defensemen?

Not only did the Canucks finish 26th in the NHL in goals-against last season, but their defensemen continued to contribute little to the attack at the other end.
Last season, Vancouver's defensemen combined for 122 points (21 goals, 101 assists), the second-lowest total in the NHL (Buffalo Sabres, 113 points; 19 goals, 94 assists). Coach Travis Green has said he needs more offense from his defensemen, but he'll have to find it from the same personnel.
Even if Christopher Tanev (40 games missed in 2017-18) and Erik Gudbranson (30 games missed) can stay healthy and help lower the goals-against, neither is proficient in the offensive zone. Alexander Edler led Canucks defensemen with 34 points (six goals, 28 assists) and tied Michael Del Zotto for most goals among Vancouver defensemen, but Green pointed to 25-year-old Ben Hutton (six assists in 61 games) and 24-year-old Derrick Pouliot (three goals, 19 assists in 71 games) as young defensemen with more to give offensively.

3. Who will win the final two forward spots?

Assuming Pettersson will be in a top-six role and free agent additions Jay Beagle, Antoine Roussel and Tim Schaller will make the roster, it appears up to eight 25-and-under forwards will be vying for the final two jobs up front in training camp. Jake Virtanen, 22, Markus Granlund, 25, Nikolay Goldobin, who turns 23 on Oct. 7, Reid Boucher, who turns 25 on Sept. 8, and Brendan Gaunce, 24, each would require waivers to be sent down to Utica of the American Hockey League. There also are prospects
Kole Lind
, 19, a second-round pick (No. 33) in the 2017 NHL Draft, Adam Gaudette, 21, a fifth-round pick (No. 149) in the 2015 NHL Draft, and
Jonathan Dahlen
, 20, a second-round pick (No. 42) by the Ottawa Senators in the 2016 NHL Draft who was acquired Feb. 27, 2017, in a trade for forward Alexandre Burrows.
"It's OK if some of those guys start in the American [Hockey] League," general manager Jim Benning said, "because they are going to get a chance to come up and I'd rather see them playing big minutes down there and developing as players, so when they do get their chance, they are ready.
"Everybody gets so worked up about, 'Oh, we've got so many players,' but the last couple years, we have gone through 35 guys, so I think we need that depth in our organization."