Pacific Division 2024-25 Season Preview

Will the Canucks and Oilers battle for the crown again? How will 2024 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini fare in his rookie season?

Welcome back to our series of division previews for the 2024-25 season. We finish our tour out West in the Pacific Division, which houses the 2024 Stanley Cup finalists Edmonton Oilers and the now-contender Vancouver Canucks. It also contains first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini, who will be playing his rookie season in the NHL after getting selected in Vegas a few months ago.

---

Vancouver Canucks

Notable Additions: Jake DeBrusk, Daniel Sprong, Danton Heinen, Derek Forbort, Vincent Desharnais, Kevin Lankinen, Kiefer Sherwood
Notable Subtractions: Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Casey DeSmith, Ilya Mikheyev, Vasily Podkolzin, Ian Cole

Offense

The Canucks should have a potent offense again this season with the likes of JT Miller (103 points), Brock Boeser (40 goals) and Elias Pettersson (89 points) returning to the fold. They also added DeBrusk from the Boston Bruins to hopefully pair with Pettersson and create another dynamic duo on the second line. They have looked promising in training camp and the preseason so far, but it remains to be seen if they can consistently deliver offense together throughout the season.

They also signed Heinen, Sprong, and Sherwood to further bolster their forward group. Heinen has been aligned with Miller and Boeser in training camp, but as of this writing, fans have yet to see it in action in the preseason. Sherwood should add some physicality to the bottom-six in the vein of Dakota Joshua who is currently recovering from surgery after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, while Sprong might start with Pettersson and DeBrusk as a shooter to complement Pettersson’s playmaking.

Defense

The Canucks’ blue line will once again be anchored by 2024 Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes. He led all defensemen last season with 92 points and he already looked in mid-season form during his only preseason game against the Flames last week. He will be joined by Filip Hronek, who just signed a long-term deal in the offseason, and new additions Derek Forbort and Vincent Desharnais. Myers also returns after signing a three-year contract.

The defense was a strong suit of the Canucks last season, and it should be again considering Forbort and Desharnais fit the style of defenseman that Rick Tocchet, Adam Foote, and Sergei Gonchar seem to like patrolling the defensive zone. They both play a physical game and can kill penalties, which will be massive with key penalty killers Zadorov and Cole departing in the offseason to the Bruins and Utah Hockey Club respectively.

Goaltending

The Canucks’ goaltending is a massive question mark right now with Thatcher Demko nursing a unique knee injury that has plagued him since last season. His timeline is currently unknown, so it will be up to Lankinen and Arturs Silovs to hold down the fort until he’s back in the crease (hopefully sooner rather than later).

Projected Line Combinations, Defense Pairings & Goaltenders

Heinen - Miller - Boeser
DeBrusk - Pettersson - Sprong
Hoglander - Raty - Garland
Sherwood - Suter - DiGiuseppe
Joshua**
Blueger**

Hughes - Hronek
Soucy - Myers
Forbort - Desharnais
Juulsen

Silovs
Lankinen
Demko**

**Injured

---

More Canucks Season Preview Content…

Check out the Canucks Season Preview on YouTube!

---

Edmonton Oilers

Notable Additions: Jeff Skinner, Viktor Arvidsson, Vasily Podkolzin, Ty Emberson, Josh Brown
Notable Subtractions: Dylan Holloway, Philip Broberg, Cody Ceci, Vincent Desharnais, Warren Foegele

Offense

The Oilers started the offseason by signing a couple of veteran forwards to complement the superstar duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. As it stands right now, it appears Draisaitl will start the season with both of them as Skinner and Arvidsson are projected to flank him on opening night. Skinner was bought out by the Buffalo Sabres and was signed to a budget-friendly one-year deal and Arvidsson is coming off an injury-plagued season where he only played 18 games. However, they are both proven goal-scorers with multiple 30-goal campaigns on their resumes. If they play with Draisaitl or McDavid all season (and stay healthy), another one is not out of the question.

As for the bottom six, the Oilers lost a promising young forward in Holloway when they decided not to match the offer sheet the St. Louis Blues sent his way. But even without him, it’s still a pretty strong group with the returning Adam Henrique, Connor Brown, and Mattias Janmark leading the way. The trio was a difference-maker in the playoffs last season and could be considered one of the best third lines in the league. The fourth line will also feature some potential goalscoring and physicality with Vasily Podkolzin and Corey Perry, making this Oilers’ lineup possibly one of the deepest in the Western Conference.

Defense

Defense is where the question marks lie for this team. Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard are a formidable top pairing, but beyond that, there are a bunch of unknowns - particularly on the right side. Darnell Nurse and Brett Kulak are strong options on the left, but Emberson is still a little raw in the NHL and Brown and Stecher don’t exactly inspire confidence with their work over the last couple of seasons.

The hope is that Emberson continues his rise as a solid defensive defenseman alongside Nurse or new general manager Stan Bowman adds another proven top-four option in the near future. If not, the Oilers’ chances of making it back to the Stanley Cup Final will be tenuous at best.