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Canucks GM Knows Pressure is High

Originally posted on Breakaway on SI | By Jon Alfano | Last updated Sep 7, 2025 4:38 PM ET

The 2024-25 Vancouver Canucks are a cautionary tale about just how quickly it can all come crumbling down in the sports world.

After winning the Pacific division with 109 points in 2023-24, the Canucks crashed and burned last season as they finished well outside the playoff picture with only 90 points. A 19-point difference may not sound catastrophic, but what really made the season so miserable was all the drama on and off the ice, particularly surrounding Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller before the latter's trade to the New York Rangers.

Add in a pile of injuries and uncertainty surrounding former head coach Rick Tocchet, and it was a season to forget in Vancouver.

Heading into this season, there's a ton of pressure to prove that last season was a fluke, and general manager Patrick Allvin knows it.

“I’m not sure if urgency is the right word,” Allvin told Sportsnet. “But there is pressure. I just feel for my players, too, that I want to provide them -- and especially the players who have been here for several years -- I want to provide the best roster I can for the players to have a chance to win. And for the fans.

“I definitely believe with (Thatcher) Demko, Quinn (Hughes), Elias and Brock Boeser... there’s a lot of talented players and I need to build out the roster. I wouldn’t say urgency, but as a general manager the pressure comes on you because what you realize in the NHL is the years are just flying by.”

If there's two players the Canucks are counting on this year, it's Pettersson and Demko. Pettersson is expected to bounce back after putting injuries and drama behind him, which is very much needed considering Vancouver's lack of center depth. Demko, meanwhile, played just 23 games last season after finishing second in Vezina Trophy voting the year before, but when healthy, he's one of the best goalies in the league.

"If you look around the league at the way teams are constructed, every team needs their drivers and best players to lead the team. Going through what we went through last year. ...I think a lot of guys learned from the adversity. And I know [head coach] Adam [Foote] and the coaches have had leadership meetings in the summer here on Zoom, and I believe the guys are extremely hungry to come back because the belief (in the team) is there.”

This article first appeared on Breakaway on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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