How close are the Canucks to winning?

This is Part 8 of a 10-part series examining the longest Stanley Cup droughts in the NHL, and how close teams are to breaking through for their first championship in decades — or ever.

Previous articles: Senators, Sharks, Oilers, Flames, Islanders, Coyotes, Flyers

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The Vancouver Canucks have yet to win a Stanley Cup, and it would be tough to claim that a team with one playoff appearance in its last eight seasons is knocking on the door.

During the offseason the team added Carson Soucy and bought out Oliver Ekman-Larsson, but otherwise it was relatively quiet. That means Vancouver is rolling with approximately the same squad that went 38-37-7 last season — except they’ll have a full year of Anthony Beauvillier instead of Bo Horvat.

That doesn’t sound immensely promising, but Vancouver might’ve been a typical Thatcher Demko season away from making the postseason in 2022-23. The Canucks starter managed just 32 games and produced a -2.8 GSAA after two straight years of above-average production. The team finished with the second-worst team save percentage in the NHL (.888).

Vancouver also showed signs of life after Rick Tocchet took over behind the bench, posting a 20-12-4 record in the final 36 games of the season.

Add in a massive breakout season from Elias Pettersson, continued growth from Quinn Hughes, plus the emergence of Andrei Kuzmenko and there’s something brewing for this team. Whether that something can translate into a championship in the near future is up for debate, but there are teams in far worse straits than the Canucks.

Here’s a look at the state of the Canucks’ Stanley Cup drought:

How long has it been?

The Canucks have not won a title in their 52-season history.

How close have the Canucks come?

Pretty close.

The Canucks have been in the playoff hunt more often than not during their history with 28 postseason appearances. While 17 of those trips to the…