Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat dismissed the suggestion on Wednesday that the team's poor play this season is due to frustrations over their off-season departures. 

"I don't believe that," Horvat said, per NHL.com. "Obviously it is tough to see guys go, but at the same time you've got to move on and play for the team you are playing for. You can't dwell on anything, and we have a great group of guys here and a lot of good hockey players and because we lost guys doesn't mean we are trying to play bad.

"We all want to win here, and we all want to do well. So I don't think that's a theory at all."

The Canucks, who sit sixth in the North Division at 6-10, saw Jacob Markstrom, Chris Tanev and Tyler Toffoli depart in free agency last fall. All three played key roles in helping the Canucks reach the second round of the postseason, where they lost Game 7 to the Vegas Golden Knights. To help replace the losses, Vancouver added Braden Holtby, Nate Schmidt and Travis Hamonic prior to the season.

Defenceman Quinn Hughes said after Monday's loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, which extended the team’s current losing skid to five games, the team was still "trying to figure it out together" after losing key members in the off-season. Hughes has one goal and leads all defencemen with 17 points this season but is also a minus-13 through 16 games. 

"For Quinn, he was really tight with [Tanev] off the ice and stuff, so I can see why that one hit a little bit harder," Horvat said. "But the guys that we brought in and the guys in this room are great hockey players, and it takes a little time with new guys in a regular year, and we have to remember this is not a regular year. It's going to take some time."

The Canucks will host the Calgary Flames on Thursday in their first home game since defeating the Ottawa Senators 4-1 on Jan. 28.