Fansided

Who has been the Canucks most exciting player this season?

By Joshua Rey |
DENVER, COLORADO - MARCH 23: J.T. Miller #9 of the Vancouver Canucks reacts after scoring a third-period goal against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on March 23, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - MARCH 23: J.T. Miller #9 of the Vancouver Canucks reacts after scoring a third-period goal against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on March 23, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
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The Vancouver Canucks season is winding to a close.

They haven’t been mathematically eliminated yet thanks to the San Jose Sharks beating the Vegas Golden Knights 5-4 in a shootout in a game where San Jose tied it up with 0.9 seconds left in the third. But it looks like we won’t see a playoff game at Rogers Arena for the seventh straight year. The focus now is on the offseason with the hope Patrik Allvin and the new management group can take this team a step closer to becoming a Stanley Cup contender.

The Offspring song, Days Go By says:

All your anger, all your hurt

Doesn’t matter in the end

Those days go by

And we all start again

All the pain from Canucks fans didn’t matter at the end of this season as the playoffs won’t be happening. As the days go by and the offseason goes on, it will be a fresh start in October with a team that will look different from now.

Enough about the bad stuff. Let’s go over the good stuff. I covered the Unsung Hero part of the Canucks team awards here. Now it is time to move on to the Pavel Bure Most Exciting Player Award. Last season, Nils Höglander won the award. Who it will be this year?

Of course, if you haven’t voted for the team awards, you can cast a vote here. You have until 11:59 Pacific Time on April 26.

VANCOUVER, BC – NOVEMBER 2: Tucker Poolman #5 of the Vancouver Canucks deflects the shot of Chris Kreider #20 of the New York Rangers wide of the net as goalie Thatcher Demko #35 and J.T. Miller #9 scramble to defend during the third period on November 2, 2021 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BC – NOVEMBER 2: Tucker Poolman #5 of the Vancouver Canucks deflects the shot of Chris Kreider #20 of the New York Rangers wide of the net as goalie Thatcher Demko #35 and J.T. Miller #9 scramble to defend during the third period on November 2, 2021 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images) /

J.T. Miller

J.T. Miller is the Canucks leader in points and his 96 points tie him for tenth in the NHL with New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin. Miller is the first Canuck to reach the 90-point mark since Daniel and Henrik Sedin in 2010-11. (Finished with 104 and 94 points respectively. )

Miller has become a star this season. Yes, he has been poor in his own zone with his turnovers but he has consistently been putting up the points and made exciting happen when he has the puck.

Miller was putting the puck in the net and has been making great plays all season.

One of the most exciting Miller plays this season was his coast-to-coast goal against the Ottawa Senators in December.

However, the coast-to-coast encore beats the main act. Miller did this against the Arizona Coyotes back in February.

“He’s an unknown superstar,” said head coach Bruce Boudreau on Miller after Monday’s practice per Harman Dayal of The Athletic.

Miller gets my vote for Most Exciting Player. There is a sense of excitement I get when he has the puck in the offensive zone. Whether that is scoring goals or assisting them, or going coast-to-coast Miller has been exciting all season.

But let’s go over two other plays that make the case for Most Exciting Player.

Thatcher Demko

Thatcher Demko was looking to build off his performance in the Edmonton Bubble and the second half of last season. It’s safe to say he has exceeded expectations.

Demko should be in the Vezina conversation. No, he won’t win it but he should get some votes. Is a Vezina win for Demko possible in the future? Yes.

The Canucks starting goaltender has made some really exciting saves. Thanks to those saves, he kept the Canucks in the playoff race as long as possible. A bunch of them have been highlight-reel saves. I don’t even get surprised anymore when Demko makes a highlight reel save because it seems routine for him.

Lots of saves to choose from but this scorpion save against the New York Rangers(all without a glove and stick) probably takes the cake. That whole sequence was wild.

Apr 23, 2022; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson (40) skates during the warmup period against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 23, 2022; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson (40) skates during the warmup period against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports /

Elias Pettersson

Elias Pettersson won the Most Exciting Player award in 2018-19 and 2019-20. Those were his first two seasons in the NHL.

However, Pettersson may not qualify for the award because of his first-half slump. The slump looks like a distant memory now.

Over the past few months, Pettersson has looked like the player that has won the Most Exciting Player award two years in a row. He is scoring goals again with his cannon of a shot and excellent release. Pettersson is passing the puck to his teammates with ease and doing his dekes again. We are seeing the creative playmaker again and hopefully, this great run of form continues next season and for many seasons to come.

In the first half of the season, it was hard to watch Pettersson play hockey. Now, he is very exciting to watch. The Alien is back.

https://twitter.com/Canucks/status/1507882795959476228

Pettersson has a new career-high in goals with 32 and ties his career-high in points with 66. With three games to go, I see he continues to play exciting hockey and will set a new career-high in points.

That is remarkable considering how poor he was in the first half of the season. Still want him traded? Guess not.

Next. Luke Schenn is the Canucks nominee for the Masterton Trophy. dark

Who else could make a case for Most Exciting Player? Let us know in the comments below, in the Facebook comments or on Twitter. Zaahid Lalani will have articles on the Canucks MVP and best defenceman awards later this week!

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