The calendar has officially flipped to 2024 and the NHL season is nearly halfway over.
Taking a glance at the standings, perhaps the biggest surprise of the 2023-24 NHL season so far has been the tale of the Vancouver Canucks. With poor cap management and an underperforming roster, the Canucks needed this season to go perfectly or risk the breakup of some really talented players.
And so far, it has! Entering 2024, the Canucks own sole possession of the top spot in the Pacific, a division featuring the reigning Stanley Cup champions and Connor McDavid himself. In a year the Canucks needed to rally together the most to stave off implosion, the team has put together quite a run before the halfway point of the season.
The real question is, can this last? The Canucks have one of the harder remaining strength of schedules left and have the Golden Knights, Kings, and Oilers breathing down their necks in the Pacific. Time will tell if the Canucks truly are a contender after so many years of disappointment, but so far they’re exceeding expectations and then some.
As for the rest of the NHL, here’s how we see things as the new year begins in our January 2024 power rankings.