Canucks eager to build on playoff run as new NHL season begins

The Vancouver Canucks got a taste of playoff hockey last season — now they're hungry for more. 

Battling through two gritty post-season matchups is an experience the team will draw on as it heads into a new campaign, said right-winger Brock Boeser. 

"Playoffs is a blast, and it was awesome that we had success," he said at training camp in Penticton, B.C. "And I think it's only going to help us for this year."

The Canucks finished the 2023-24 regular season atop the Pacific Division with a 50-23-9 record and, in April, Vancouver hosted its first playoff game since 2015.

After dispatching the Nashville Predators in six, the Canucks met the Edmonton Oilers in the second round. Both teams slugged through a seven-game series where Edmonton emerged victorious. 

Vancouver made strides last year, but head coach Rick Tocchet has challenged his players to up their game once again this season. 

"To get to the next plateau, there's higher expectations and it's going to be hard," he said. "We know that." 

It was a busy summer for the Canucks front office as general manager Patrik Allvin tinkered with the lineup in free agency. 

Instead of signing key midseason acquisitions Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov to big deals, Allvin inked left-winger Jake DeBrusk to a seven-year, US$38.5-million contract. 

Lindholm and Zadorov both landed with DeBrusk's former team, the Boston Bruins, while Vancouver said goodbye to backup goalie Casey DeSmith, veteran blue liner Ian Cole and depth forwards Sam Lafferty and Ilya Mikheyev.

DeBrusk, who had 19 goals and 21 assists for Boston last season, is expected to line up with star centre Elias Pettersson and provide the star centre with some offensive assistance. 

It's a role DeBrusk relishes.

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