Vancouver Canucks: An open letter to head coach Travis Green

That said, a year later during the Canucks March 30th game against the Dallas Stars — Hughes second NHL game ever — you may have heard me yelling myself hoarse at you from the rafters above your bench, screaming “Huuuuuuuuughes!” when you had the shiny new offensive talent sitting in favour of your ol’ faithful Alex Edler, who was stuck out on the ice for an inexcusably long time: Six worth of same old, same old power play: an eternity during an otherwise seemingly meaningless game: even longer than this sentagraph.

All that in a game where Elder was massively overplayed to the tune of 30 minutes. Please, have pity on us. Our new wheels had just arrived and you’d hardly taken them out of the garage for a rip, yet had the perfect opportunity. Who does that?

Hughes was the storyline du jour, but unfortunately for me and many other Canucks fans, your ego outshone everything that day. You were the reason for less entertainment and greater fan frustration. That’s on you, says me.

Many were blown away by Hughes in the limited offensive time you allowed him, yet were angry because they saw a wasted opportunity for one last wink of hope before a long offseason.

There’s a responsibility to your audience when you accept the role of an entertainer. These are not minor league teams that can afford to care less about the fans. NHL fans are the millionaire makers. Some of us will turn on you in an instant if we think you take that fact for granted.

As to why you didn’t play your most dangerous offensive defenceman on the top power play in those last few meaningless games before golfing season, you basically made the excuse of minding the veterans in your room, namely Edler.

For what? Are these veteran egos so frail? Is it Hughes’ ego you wanna keep in check? You don’t like fans yelling directions at you? From what I routinely read in the comments section, while you might not lose your room playing mind games like these, you may lose your city.

We don’t care if you think Edler’s ego is too fragile to allow the larger narrative to unfold at the end of a long-ago-since-lost season when the future of the offence has just arrived. Edler’s own day will come soon enough, when Vancouver fans will eventually chant his name as he plays his final NHL game, but those last few games of your otherwise-burned season belonged to Hughes.

Quinn came with all the acclaim and earned the opportunity, just as Elias Pettersson did even before you entrusted him with meaningful minutes.

It’s kind of amazing that you had the gull to slow play the great Golden Boy himself with a measly 9:46 of ice time in his first NHL game. It’s not like we didn’t know someone great was coming. I mean, he did just shatter all those Swedish records.

If Hughes doesn’t look exceptional, well sure, bury him on the second unit like you did. However, he did look exceptional, and rather instantly proved himself the lifeblood of the second-unit power play, which was not something ever said about Edler in his entire career. “Big part,” maybe, but certainly not key or lifeblood.

Yet there Edler was, shift after shift, on the top unit.

No offence meant to Edler. He’s great and all, it’s just that Hughes is the news and is obviously the better offensive catalyst. Granted, defensively speaking, Edler is the backbone of the Canucks five-on-five and on the penalty kill. But we’re not speaking defensively.

Travis, that this is not the first time you’ve done something like this is what concerns me. And I’m sure you’ve heard it all too many times already from everywhere else.

How you slow played Hughes at season’s end is not unlike how you slow played Brock Boeser at the start of his first full season. At the time you offered the excuse that Brock looked tired. Well, he looked amazing to us but you quashed that vibe. Disappointed fans come to mind again.

What’s at stake this coming season is the all-important storyline that will get Canucks fans most fired up to spend dollars and be passionate about your brand.

As the late, great, world-tennis star and three-time Grand Slam champ Arthur Ashe once imparted to us all, the journey is far more important than the destination. Winning isn’t actually the important part of sport, it’s rather the storyline that carries you there.

We wanna dive deep, all season long, into the very exciting possibility of Quinn battling his brother Jack Hughes for the Calder Trophy, and battling Colorado’s top defensive prospect Cale Makar for bragging rights as the best defenceman from the 2019-20, NHL rookie class. There is no denying that a third Calder race in three years would be huge for the city after so long with pointless Canucks hockey.

Travis, for the love of entertainment and the spirit of Vancouver, please play the Hughes.

Yours truly,

Canucks fan Stephe