Heading into the 2017-18 campaign, fans and critics alike expected this season to be nothing short of a rebuild for the Vancouver Canucks, perhaps a slight upgrade over last year's dismal 69-point finish.
General manager Jim Benning brought in a new coach in Travis Green and signed several free agents over the summer to change the dynamic in Vancouver, adding forwards Sam Gagner, Thomas Vanek and Alexander Burmistrov, defenseman Michael Del Zotto and goaltender Anders Nilsson. There was also a distinct plan to work key prospects into the lineup this season, especially with Green, who coached many of them in Utica of the American Hockey League, now behind the bench in Vancouver.
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Despite the changes, skepticism abounded during training camp and at the start of the season.
Yet, here are the Canucks, off to a 6-3-2 start, sitting in third place in the Pacific Division. They are 4-0-1 in their last five games, owners of a four-game win streak before Monday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars.
Here are the keys to Vancouver's success one month into the season.
Travis Green's Coaching Style
One of the biggest factors in the Canucks' success is the change in their coaching staff. Green pushes many of the right buttons, both with the kids and the veterans. He puts a lot of trust in his players to step up and holds everyone accountable, while helping them grow not only in their individual roles, but as a collective group.
"Try to make players the best they can be individually and as a team," Green told Sporting News Canada over the summer. "For me, that's coaching."
In addition to his ability to serve as a role model and teacher to younger players, he is also focused on making the Canucks' dressing room a more positive environment with a better outlook moving forward.
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"I'm not sitting up here saying, 'Hey, we're going to win the Stanley Cup next year,'" Green said in his introductory press conference on April 26. "But I will tell you we're going to get better. We're going to start the process to building the right culture."
So far, Vancouver has seen a lot more optimism throughout the organization because of Green’s approach, which in turn, translates to more success.
He also deftly manages the shift away from the Sedin twins as the team's focal points. Henrik Sedin has just three assists in the first 11 games and brother Daniel has two goals and five points, yet the Canucks own a winning record, in part, because of the team concept instilled by Green.
Forward Contributions
With the Sedins both 37 years-old, other forwards are, well, stepping forward in Vancouver.
Brock Boeser, the 2015 first-round pick, is, perhaps, making the biggest impact so far.
After scoring 16 goals and 34 points in 32 games in his sophomore season with North Dakota last season, the 20-year-old winger got the chance to join Vancouver for nine games toward the end of the year, where he impressed with four goals, five points and 25 shots on goal.
Not only did he provide a lot of offence and energy in his NHL trial last year, but all of that carried over into this season. After leading all Canucks in preseason scoring, he secured a spot for himself on the opening night roster and earned top-line minutes since.
So far, in only eight games with the Canucks, Boeser has two goals and a team-high nine points, and he made himself a vital part of the team's top six. He averages 1.13 points per game and is also tied for fourth in rookie scoring, already garnering Calder Trophy consideration.
Boeser's linemates, Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi, are also playing well, each scoring four goals to start the season.
"He's off to a great start and does all the little things, especially defensively, and he has the scoring touch," Horvat said of Boeser. "Everybody sees him as a shooter, and most of his assists have come from getting pucks to the net for [Baertschi] and me. And we've been going there to find loose pucks. For him to be able to do that and bring extra offence, it certainly helps his case."
Not only has Boeser been outstanding, but the Canucks are getting an unexpected offensive burst from rugged winger Derek Dorsett. The 30-year-old spent a majority of last season injured, appearing in only 14 games in 2016-17, but he leads the Canucks with six goals through 11 games this year.
Despite struggling over the last few seasons and having a primary role on the bottom-six and the penalty kill, he silenced his critics in October and is proving why he is worth the four-year, $10.6 million deal he signed in 2015.
"A lot of it is opportunity, getting playing time," Dorsett told The National Post. "It gives you confidence. You feel more confident with the puck. I'm not complaining about the ice time I've had in prior years. I know what my role is in the NHL and on teams. I'm a guy who can figure out what needs to be done."
Solid on the Back End
Not only have the Canucks been getting offence from many different contributors, but their team defence is a major upgrade over last year.
Heading into play Wednesday, the Canucks surrender an average of just 2.4 goals per game, the third-best average in the league. Their penalty kill is also solid and ranks eighth with an 83.7 percent success rate. Compare that to last season when the Canucks owned the league's sixth-worst goals against average and ranked third-worst on the PK.
Looking at the Canucks' blue line, their defence corps has been solid, especially in wake of injuries to players like Alex Edler and Troy Stecher. Ben Hutton has surprised on the top-pairing alongside Chris Tanev, showing poise and care with the puck. He is also improving his defensive zone coverage, boasting 12 shot blocks and 11 takeaways, along with a 2.3 relative Corsi.
Del Zotto is also proving to be a strong addition to the Canucks' blue line, especially as he earns more ice time and responsibility. He has five assists, 18 hits and 27 blocks so far, and has also been something of a positive influence in the locker room. Derrick Pouliot, who Vancouver acquired from Pittsburgh prior to the start of the season, is getting his feet wet with increased opportunity due to the injuries on the defense corps.
Along with an improved blue line, the goaltending situation for the Canucks has also been a major upgrade for the team this year. Vancouver put faith in a tandem featuring Nilsson and Jakob Markstrom in net after letting Ryan Miller leave as a free agent, and it proved to be founded.
The Swedish netminders create competition for each other, and in turn, have both started strong this year. Markstrom currently has a 3-2-0 record between the pipes in eight appearances (seven starts) with a 2.41 GAA and .911 save percentage. In four starts, Nilsson won three, posting a pair of shutouts with a 1.88 GAA and .943 save percentage.