Vancouver Canucks: History is repeating itself two decades later
Swedish sensations
Markus Naslund had 65 points in 82 games in 1999-2000, Elias Pettersson had 66 points in 71 games — did I mention he did this while being seven years younger? Naslund led the Vancouver Canucks in scoring in 1999-2000, and nobody would argue that he was a star for the team and he led them through some of the best hockey this team has seen with the West Coast Express line.
Related Story. Top 3 moments from Elias Pettersson’s first year. light
Pettersson is likely (hopefully) going to be the Canucks first Calder winner since Pavel Bure, and he deserves to be, he will be the driving force of the offence of this team for years to come.
Dynamic defenceman
Ed Jovanovski was arguably the most dynamic offensive force the team has had on the back end, and while he didn’t have a strong year in 1999, everyone is well aware of what he did for the club from down the road.
Quinn Hughes is someone who brings an element to the defence that has never been witnessed in a Canucks uniform. In his five games with the team, dazzled with some great breakouts, putting his puck-moving skills to great use.
Ageing, vading bets
The 1999 Canucks had four of their top ten scorers 30 years or older, their top ten scorers being an average of 27.2 years old this was obviously a hindrance on their team going forward but they still managed to make the playoffs the following year, and many more after that.
The 2018 Canucks have only two of their top ten scorers over the age of 30, and their top ten scorer’s average age is 25; this is largely due to the fact that our franchise players have already arrived, and as we know, the Henrik and Daniel Sedin had yet to arrive in 1999.