Elias Pettersson doubling his goal total wouldn't even come close to fixing Vancouver's real offensive problem.
With two extra games on next season's schedule, the Canucks technically have a better shot at topping the 216 goals they scored as a team last season.
But context matters here. Kiefer Sherwood and Evander Kane combined for 30 of those goals, and departed players like Teddy Blueger, Conor Garland, and Quinn Hughes accounted for even more scoring that's now gone.
Vancouver will need real internal growth just to stand still, let alone actually improve.
There's no obvious 25 goal scorer sitting on this roster right now. Jake DeBrusk led the team with 23 goals last season, followed by Brock Boeser at 22, and nobody else cracked 17.
As a group, this offense barely outscored Calgary all season, and that's about as damning a comparison as it gets for a rebuilding club.
One easy fix on paper would be Pettersson doubling his 15 goals from last season. But nothing about his production trend over the past two years makes that a safe bet.
Why Pettersson alone won't fix this offense
The power play offers a little more hope. Vancouver converted 51 times with the man advantage last season, tied for 15th league wide, actually a respectable middle-of-the-pack number for a last place team.
Two seasons ago, when this same organization won 50 games and racked up 109 points, it scored 58 times on the power play. Closing that gap isn't unrealistic if the personnel clicks.
Home ice is where this team really has to be better. Vancouver finished just 25-49-8 overall, 32nd in the league, and the offense at Rogers Arena specifically needs to show more life in front of its own fans this season.
If Vancouver wants to top last year's goal total, the blueprint is pretty clear. Attack more, defend less, and let the young players actually take the steps this rebuild needs from them.
Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren both need real jumps from the modest goal totals they posted last season, and that improvement should realistically be there for the taking.
Filip Chytil could add more too, if health finally cooperates and he plays anywhere close to a full schedule.
Jonathan Lekkerimaki managed just 2 goals in 13 games, and Aatu Raty added 4, both reasonable bets to climb given how limited their sample sizes were.
Newcomers Paul Cotter and Brendan Gallagher add more variables. Cotter is one season removed from a career-best 16 goals, while Gallagher, who scored 21 two seasons ago, dropped all the way to just 7 last season.
On defense, finding a real double-digit scorer would help enormously. Filip Hronek led all blueliners with 8 goals, while Tom Willander added 5, and Zeev Buium chipped in 6 in his first NHL season.
Real offensive steps from both Willander and Buium would go a long way toward solving a problem that's followed this roster for two straight seasons now.
Add it all up, and scoring goals still looks like the central challenge facing this Canucks team. Two extra games might nudge the total up slightly, but nothing here suggests a real breakthrough is guaranteed.
Will the Canucks actually improve their goal scoring output this season?
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