Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

How Good Are The Canucks?

02/19/2013 at 9:39am EST

from Ed Willes of the Vancouver Province,

There are 25 other NHL teams who'd kill to have the Canucks' problems but, for this team, the issue this season is the same as it's been for the last four seasons.

They're good, but are they good enough to win the Stanley Cup?

You know they're close and, this half-season, they've addressed some big areas of concern. They're about to add David Booth to their lineup, which makes them deeper than the teams of 2009 through 2012. They're also bigger and tougher, and there is still the tantalizing prospect of what a goalie trade might bring.

But, for everything that's changed about the Orcans, there's still something about them that makes you wonder. Is Alain Vigneault the coach who can bring out the best in this team? Is Mike Gillis the GM who can make the killer move that puts them over the top? Are Henrik and Daniel Sedin exceptional regular-season players but lacking the stuff of a Cup champion? Is Ryan Kesler really the player we saw in 2010-11 or was that simply a career year?

It's the same for virtually every member of this organization. They're good but are they good enough? The Canucks have four tough road games coming up over the next six days against teams from the Central Division. It won't tell the whole story of their season but it will tell us a lot about this team.

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About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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