<p>Now that the Christmas holiday has passed, it&#8217;s safe to say the Vancouver Canucks don&#8217;t have that same magic they had last season.</p>
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<p>Through the Christmas break, the Canucks hold a 17-10-7 record, sit fourth in the Pacific Division, first in the Wild Card and 13th in the league standings with 41 points. Looking at where this team was during the Christmas break last season, the Canucks held a 23-9-3 record, sat first in the Pacific Division, first in the Western Conference, and first in the entire league&#8217;s standings.</p>
<p>Although the results on the ice haven&#8217;t been as exciting this season, there has been a lot going on around the team. So, to be in the position they&#8217;re in now, despite facing all the adversity, is encouraging. If they can figure it all out moving forward, the team will be just fine.</p>
<p>One thing we can point to as a potential reason the team has struggled is the blue line. It hasn&#8217;t been up to the same level as it was last season. Also, possession is a significant factor. And getting possession starts in the faceoff dot. The Canucks sat eighth in the league in the faceoffs last season, winning 52.4% of their draws. However, this season, that has dipped down to 19th in the league at 50.2%.</p>
<p>So, why not take a look at their offseason departures and see how they&#8217;re doing this season and which of those players they&#8217;re missing most from last season:</p>
<h1>Forwards</h1>
<blockquote><p>Elias Lindholm</p></blockquote>
<p>Elias Lindholm signed a seven-year, $54.25 million contract with the Boston Bruins this past offseason, which pays him $7.75 million annually. However, like in Vancouver, he has struggled offensively in his 36 games with the Bruins. In his 18:00 minutes of average ice time per game, Lindholm has six goals, 12 assists, and 18 points, with an even plus-minus rating.</p>
<p>What the Canucks miss most about Lindholm is his faceoff ability. The centreman was 58.7% in the faceoff dot with the Canucks, and has a solid 55% with the Bruins this season. Here are the faceoff percentages for the main five centremen the Canucks have used this season.</p>
<ol>
<li>JT Miller &#8211; 59.75%</li>
<li>Aatu Räty &#8211; 56.25%</li>
<li>Teddy Blueger &#8211; 49.25%</li>
<li>Elias Pettersson &#8211; 45.65%</li>
<li>Pius Suter &#8211; 45.35%</li>
</ol>
<p>So, do the Canucks miss him? Yes and no. The players definitely do, considering they fought hard to convince him to stay. Although, where would he play right now on this Canucks team? Back centring the third line between Dakota Joshua and Conor Garland? At $7.75 million, that&#8217;s an expensive price tag for a third-line centre who has struggled to produce in a top-line role in Boston.</p>
<blockquote><p>Ilya Mikheyev</p></blockquote>
<p>Ilya Mikheyev was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks before free agency, along with Sam Lafferty and a 2027 second-round pick in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round pick, in what was just a salary dump move. Mikheyev has turned it on as of late for the Blackhawks, with five goals and six points over his previous five games, with a plus-four rating. However, on the season, he sits 10th on the team in points with seven goals and five assists in 33 games.</p>
<p>His contributions in Vancouver were basically a net negative. He failed to produce in a top-line role beside Elias Pettersson, all while making a whopping $4.75 million per season. His departure freed up the cap space for Vancouver to re-sign Joshua. Would Mikheyev be a lineup lock on the Canucks&#8217; current team? He would just be in the way of getting these young guys glimpses in the NHL.</p>
<p>So, it&#8217;s safe to say the Canucks do not miss Mikheyev.</p>
<blockquote><p>Sam Lafferty</p></blockquote>
<p>As mentioned above, Lafferty was traded to the Blackhawks in the Mikheyev deal. He did not re-sign in Chicago but signed a two-year, $4 million contract with the Buffalo Sabres, which pays him $2 million annually. Saying Lafferty has struggled would be an understatement. Through 25 games in Buffalo, he has just one goal and zero assists, with a minus-one rating in sub-10 minutes of ice time per game.</p>
<p>In Vancouver, Lafferty was a producing power forward. He scored a career-high 13 goals and 24 points and brought the physicality night in and night out with 192 hits on the season. However, the Canucks have already a budding star on their hands with power forward Kiefer Sherwood. He has 12 goals and 19 points through 34 games this season with 200 hits. He&#8217;s nearly hitting Lafferty&#8217;s career-best in 45 fewer games.</p>
<p>Had they re-signed Lafferty, they likely would not have brought in Sherwood. And for that reason, like Mikheyev, the Canucks certainly don&#8217;t miss Lafferty.</p>
<h1>Defencemen</h1>
<blockquote><p>Nikita Zadorov</p></blockquote>
<p>Nikita Zadorov signed a six-year, $30 million contract that pays him $5 million annually with Lindholm and the Bruins. This was probably the entire Canucks fan base least favourite departure, as he brought so much playoff magic to their two-round playoff run. He scored four goals, but most of them came at massive moments while also being the big bully to play against, laying big hits and getting under the skin of the opposition.</p>
<p>Through 36 games with the Bruins, Zadorov has two goals and seven assists for nine points with a plus-six rating in 19:50 of ice time. He is on pace for similar point production as he had in his 54 games in Vancouver, all while averaging nearly three minutes of average ice more in Boston.</p>
<p>Physicality-wise, that&#8217;s probably what the Canucks miss the most about Zadorov. The club was able to replace his 6&#8217;6&#8243; 248-lb frame with Vincent Desharnais (6&#8217;7&#8243; 226-lb) and Derek Forbort (6&#8217;4&#8243; 216-lb); however, these two aren&#8217;t able to meet Zadorov&#8217;s level of intimidation or physicality.</p>
<p>Zadorov has 100 hits this season, while Desharnais has 32 and Forbort has seven. But that&#8217;s not really fair, considering Desharnais and Forbort have missed games. But in terms of hits per game, Zadorov still leads by far with 2.78, with Desharnais at 1.45 and Forbort at 0.88 per game.</p>
<p>With the state of this current defence corps, of course the Canucks miss Zadorov. But with that contract and his age, he wouldn&#8217;t be my pick for who the Canucks miss the most on the backend.</p>
<blockquote><p>Ian Cole</p></blockquote>
<p>Ian Cole signed a one-year $3.1 million deal with the Utah Hockey Club. He struggled at the end of his Canucks tenure, and some fans had his head on a stick for his performance during their season against the Edmonton Oilers. But let&#8217;s not forget how reliable defensively he was in the season.</p>
<p>Last season, he finished with a plus-10 rating and controlled expected goals for, scoring chances and high-danger scoring chances for at 5-on-5, finishing with above 50% in all three categories. He does see his analytics dip a bit in Utah, but that&#8217;s a worse defensive team (I think), and his role has changed. He averages nearly 2:30 more minutes of ice time per game at 21:30, which is the highest of his career.</p>
<p>But what we aren&#8217;t used to seeing is Cole&#8217;s point production. That has spiked to nine points through 38 games. He is just two points away from tying his point total (11) with the Canucks through 79 games.</p>
<p>Cole was a reliable penalty-killer for the Canucks last season. However, they are actually statistically better on the penalty kill this season (80.8%) than last season (79.2%) but by a very small margin. Desharnais and Forbort have done great holding the fort in that regard.</p>
<p>But where I think the Canucks miss him the most is his reliability. He&#8217;s never flashy, but he consistently made the right play in the defensive zone and was able to move the puck out of the zone. That&#8217;s something this defence corps has really struggled to do this season.</p>
<p>While Noah Juulsen and Tyler Myers have done an admirable job of stepping up in Filip Hronek&#8217;s absence, wouldn&#8217;t it just seem a bit more comfortable defensively having Cole back in the lineup? Having Soucy and Cole as your shutdown pair would give this author a lot more confidence in the blue line. And in terms of puck-moving ability, where would Cole rank on the current team? Fourth? Behind only Hughes, Erik Brännström and Myers?</p>
<p>At a cost-efficient one-year deal, the Canucks certainly miss the defensive reliability of Cole.</p>
<h1>Goalies</h1>
<blockquote><p>Casey DeSmith</p></blockquote>
<p>Casey DeSmith signed a three-year $3 million deal, paying him $1 million per season with the Dallas Stars. It was a solid season for DeSmith in Vancouver despite the ugly ending. Once Thatcher Demko got injured in the opening round of the playoffs, he was expected to get the starting role, and he did&#8230;to start. When he was a bit banged up, the Canucks decided to rest him for precautionary reasons, and he never got the crease back from Arturs Silovs.</p>
<p>So, it makes sense as to why he didn&#8217;t want to re-sign in Vancouver when the club learned more about Demko&#8217;s setbacks. DeSmith has solid numbers while backing up Jake Oettinger, holding a 4-4 record with a 2.41 goals against average (GAA) and a .910% save percentage (S%).</p>
<p>While DeSmith is playing well, the Canucks should be over the moon with how Kevin Lankinen has played for them this season. And for that reason, do not miss Casey DeSmith.</p>
<p>To answer the question, this author believes it&#8217;s Cole that is the departure the Canucks are missing the most right now – mostly because we share the same last name, of course.</p>
<p>What do you think, Canucks fans? Which of these offseason departures do you miss the most? Let us know in the comments below!</p>
<p><strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong></p>
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Now that the Christmas holiday has passed, it's safe to say the Vancouver Canucks don't have that same magic they had last season.
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&nbsp;

Through the Christmas break, the Canucks hold a 17-10-7 record, sit fourth in the Pacific Division, first in the Wild Card and 13th in the league standings with 41 points. Looking at where this team was during the Christmas break last season, the Canucks held a 23-9-3 record, sat first in the Pacific Division, first in the Western Conference, and first in the entire league's standings.

Although the results on the ice haven't been as exciting this season, there has been a lot going on around the team. So, to be in the position they're in now, despite facing all the adversity, is encouraging. If they can figure it all out moving forward, the team will be just fine.

One thing we can point to as a potential reason the team has struggled is the blue line. It hasn't been up to the same level as it was last season. Also, possession is a significant factor. And getting possession starts in the faceoff dot. The Canucks sat eighth in the league in the faceoffs last season, winning 52.4% of their draws. However, this season, that has dipped down to 19th in the league at 50.2%.

So, why not take a look at their offseason departures and see how they're doing this season and which of those players they're missing most from last season:
<h1>Forwards</h1>
<blockquote>Elias Lindholm</blockquote>
Elias Lindholm signed a seven-year, $54.25 million contract with the Boston Bruins this past offseason, which pays him $7.75 million annually. However, like in Vancouver, he has struggled offensively in his 36 games with the Bruins. In his 18:00 minutes of average ice time per game, Lindholm has six goals, 12 assists, and 18 points, with an even plus-minus rating.

What the Canucks miss most about Lindholm is his faceoff ability. The centreman was 58.7% in the faceoff dot with the Canucks, and has a solid 55% with the Bruins this season. Here are the faceoff percentages for the main five centremen the Canucks have used this season.
<ol>
 	<li>JT Miller - 59.75%</li>
 	<li>Aatu Räty - 56.25%</li>
 	<li>Teddy Blueger - 49.25%</li>
 	<li>Elias Pettersson - 45.65%</li>
 	<li>Pius Suter - 45.35%</li>
</ol>
So, do the Canucks miss him? Yes and no. The players definitely do, considering they fought hard to convince him to stay. Although, where would he play right now on this Canucks team? Back centring the third line between Dakota Joshua and Conor Garland? At $7.75 million, that's an expensive price tag for a third-line centre who has struggled to produce in a top-line role in Boston.
<blockquote>Ilya Mikheyev</blockquote>
Ilya Mikheyev was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks before free agency, along with Sam Lafferty and a 2027 second-round pick in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round pick, in what was just a salary dump move. Mikheyev has turned it on as of late for the Blackhawks, with five goals and six points over his previous five games, with a plus-four rating. However, on the season, he sits 10th on the team in points with seven goals and five assists in 33 games.

His contributions in Vancouver were basically a net negative. He failed to produce in a top-line role beside Elias Pettersson, all while making a whopping $4.75 million per season. His departure freed up the cap space for Vancouver to re-sign Joshua. Would Mikheyev be a lineup lock on the Canucks' current team? He would just be in the way of getting these young guys glimpses in the NHL.

So, it's safe to say the Canucks do not miss Mikheyev.
<blockquote>Sam Lafferty</blockquote>
As mentioned above, Lafferty was traded to the Blackhawks in the Mikheyev deal. He did not re-sign in Chicago but signed a two-year, $4 million contract with the Buffalo Sabres, which pays him $2 million annually. Saying Lafferty has struggled would be an understatement. Through 25 games in Buffalo, he has just one goal and zero assists, with a minus-one rating in sub-10 minutes of ice time per game.

In Vancouver, Lafferty was a producing power forward. He scored a career-high 13 goals and 24 points and brought the physicality night in and night out with 192 hits on the season. However, the Canucks have already a budding star on their hands with power forward Kiefer Sherwood. He has 12 goals and 19 points through 34 games this season with 200 hits. He's nearly hitting Lafferty's career-best in 45 fewer games.

Had they re-signed Lafferty, they likely would not have brought in Sherwood. And for that reason, like Mikheyev, the Canucks certainly don't miss Lafferty.
<h1>Defencemen</h1>
<blockquote>Nikita Zadorov</blockquote>
Nikita Zadorov signed a six-year, $30 million contract that pays him $5 million annually with Lindholm and the Bruins. This was probably the entire Canucks fan base least favourite departure, as he brought so much playoff magic to their two-round playoff run. He scored four goals, but most of them came at massive moments while also being the big bully to play against, laying big hits and getting under the skin of the opposition.

Through 36 games with the Bruins, Zadorov has two goals and seven assists for nine points with a plus-six rating in 19:50 of ice time. He is on pace for similar point production as he had in his 54 games in Vancouver, all while averaging nearly three minutes of average ice more in Boston.

Physicality-wise, that's probably what the Canucks miss the most about Zadorov. The club was able to replace his 6'6" 248-lb frame with Vincent Desharnais (6'7" 226-lb) and Derek Forbort (6'4" 216-lb); however, these two aren't able to meet Zadorov's level of intimidation or physicality.

Zadorov has 100 hits this season, while Desharnais has 32 and Forbort has seven. But that's not really fair, considering Desharnais and Forbort have missed games. But in terms of hits per game, Zadorov still leads by far with 2.78, with Desharnais at 1.45 and Forbort at 0.88 per game.

With the state of this current defence corps, of course the Canucks miss Zadorov. But with that contract and his age, he wouldn't be my pick for who the Canucks miss the most on the backend.
<blockquote>Ian Cole</blockquote>
Ian Cole signed a one-year $3.1 million deal with the Utah Hockey Club. He struggled at the end of his Canucks tenure, and some fans had his head on a stick for his performance during their season against the Edmonton Oilers. But let's not forget how reliable defensively he was in the season.

Last season, he finished with a plus-10 rating and controlled expected goals for, scoring chances and high-danger scoring chances for at 5-on-5, finishing with above 50% in all three categories. He does see his analytics dip a bit in Utah, but that's a worse defensive team (I think), and his role has changed. He averages nearly 2:30 more minutes of ice time per game at 21:30, which is the highest of his career.

But what we aren't used to seeing is Cole's point production. That has spiked to nine points through 38 games. He is just two points away from tying his point total (11) with the Canucks through 79 games.

Cole was a reliable penalty-killer for the Canucks last season. However, they are actually statistically better on the penalty kill this season (80.8%) than last season (79.2%) but by a very small margin. Desharnais and Forbort have done great holding the fort in that regard.

But where I think the Canucks miss him the most is his reliability. He's never flashy, but he consistently made the right play in the defensive zone and was able to move the puck out of the zone. That's something this defence corps has really struggled to do this season.

While Noah Juulsen and Tyler Myers have done an admirable job of stepping up in Filip Hronek's absence, wouldn't it just seem a bit more comfortable defensively having Cole back in the lineup? Having Soucy and Cole as your shutdown pair would give this author a lot more confidence in the blue line. And in terms of puck-moving ability, where would Cole rank on the current team? Fourth? Behind only Hughes, Erik Brännström and Myers?

At a cost-efficient one-year deal, the Canucks certainly miss the defensive reliability of Cole.
<h1>Goalies</h1>
<blockquote>Casey DeSmith</blockquote>
Casey DeSmith signed a three-year $3 million deal, paying him $1 million per season with the Dallas Stars. It was a solid season for DeSmith in Vancouver despite the ugly ending. Once Thatcher Demko got injured in the opening round of the playoffs, he was expected to get the starting role, and he did...to start. When he was a bit banged up, the Canucks decided to rest him for precautionary reasons, and he never got the crease back from Arturs Silovs.

So, it makes sense as to why he didn't want to re-sign in Vancouver when the club learned more about Demko's setbacks. DeSmith has solid numbers while backing up Jake Oettinger, holding a 4-4 record with a 2.41 goals against average (GAA) and a .910% save percentage (S%).

While DeSmith is playing well, the Canucks should be over the moon with how Kevin Lankinen has played for them this season. And for that reason, do not miss Casey DeSmith.

To answer the question, this author believes it's Cole that is the departure the Canucks are missing the most right now – mostly because we share the same last name, of course.

What do you think, Canucks fans? Which of these offseason departures do you miss the most? Let us know in the comments below!

<strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong>
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