The Vancouver Canucks, currently top-10 in the NHL standings, have a very unique opportunity sitting on their doorstep.



Expected merely to compete for the playoffs, the Canucks have a conceivable path to not only qualify for the postseason but to even to make some noise should they get there thanks to a weak division. Consider that colleague Dom Luszczyszyn‘s model has Vancouver advancing to the second round in nearly half of his simulations and a 23 percent chance of them running to the Western Conference finals.



Vancouver is in a tough position to buy given their salary cap constraints and the fact that they already moved a first-round pick last summer for J.T. Miller, but if the opportunity presents itself to acquire another top-six forward with term beyond this season, it’s a possibility general manager Jim Benning will be sure to explore. As well as Bo Horvat’s line has clicked over the last month or so, Loui Eriksson doesn’t provide...