Canucks' Wild Card Hopes Dashed, Rebuild in Motion

0:00It's March 23rd. Welcome in. This is NHL News today, where team coverage meets AI. The Vancouver Canucks are officially out of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second year in a row. They got eliminated Sunday when the Nashville Predators beat the Chicago Black Hawks 3-2 in overtime. The Vegas Golden Knights topped the Dallas. Stars 3-2 and the Los Angeles Kings picked up a point in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth. That left the Idol Canucks 25 points behind Nashville for the second wildcard spot in the Western Conference with just 13 games left. This season has been rough offensively for Vancouver as they ranked second to last in goals scored per game at 2.52 and they have the league's worst goal differential at minus 78. Things took a turn in December when they traded star defenseman Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild for young forwards, a prospect defenseman and a first round draft pick. They also moved a few veterans at the trade deadline, shifting focus to the future and their record since the Hughes deal sits at 10 wins, 23 losses and 5 overtime losses.

1:07Fans and analysts point to key struggles like Elias Pederson's dip to 41 points in 61 games after his 102 points season A. A couple years back and brought bozers dropped to 36 points. Gold tending hurt too, with that Chidemco sidelined by injuries and surgery, leaving backups with shaky stats and Vancouver allowing the most goals in. The league at 2.55. Looking ahead, there's hope from the young pieces acquired in the Hughes trade like 20-year-old defenseman Zeeve Boom and forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ogren, who are already producing. Plus, Vancouver has 10 picks in next year's draft, including two first rounders, giving them a strong rebuild foundation. If Dimco stays healthy next season on his new deal, he could anchor things like he did when he was a Vazina finalist. A solid draft might get the conucks competing in the Pacific division sooner than expected.