On Wednesday, The Athletic unveiled their NHL trade value rankings (subscription required), which was always going to make for an intriguing read. Using a combination which includes age, contract, team control, and performance, this is seen as a good way to gauge the value of players around the NHL.
Put together by Corey Pronman and Max Bultman, The Athletic ranked the top 100 players in respect of their trade value and divided them into five tiers. So how did the Vancouver Canucks do?
Well, in a general sense the Canucks had three players included in the top 100. And while this may not sound particularly impressive, this is effectively around average when considering there are 32 teams in the NHL.
Hughes deserves his place in Tier 1
However, what really stands out from a Canucks' perspective, is that one of the trio is included in Tier 1, which has just seven players. The player is question is Quinn Hughes, which shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone, whether in Vancouver or around the NHL in general.
Last year The Athletic had Hughes in Tier 2. However, after winning the Norris Trophy and starting off this season on fire, it was probably an easy decision to promote him to the top tier.
As a result, Hughes deservedly takes his place at number seven in the rankings. Of course it's no shock that Connor McDavid was ranked number one, followed by Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar at number two and three respectively.
Hughes really is a special talent, who is well on course to win a second consecutive Norris Trophy. This hasn't been done since Nicklas Lidstrom won three in a row, between 2005-06 and 2007-08.
What's really proving how special Hughes is though, is that there's even been talk of him being a contender for this season's Hart Memorial Trophy. The Canucks and their fans are truly fortunate to have him, and he isn't going anywhere for a long time to come.
A mercurial talent for the Canucks
After Hughes, you have to go down to Tier 4 to find the next Canucks player, with Elias Pettersson ranked at number 38 overall. This in itself is an impressive ranking for the NHL as a whole.
In one respect, Pettersson does have all of the attributes you look for in an elite centre as of right now and in the future. And yet he's an extremely polarising player, who cause plenty of frustration among Canucks fans.
Everyone is well aware of how Pettersson saw a significant drop in his productivity, after securing a big pay day with an eight-year, $92.8 million contract extension. How much his decreased level of performance was impacted by an injury was/is open to debate, but when it lasts around half a season, that's not a good thing.
The lack of production then spilled over into this season, with just one goal and four total points in Pettersson's first 10 games. Since then however, he's begun to look more like what he's capable of with 13 points in 11 games, and fans will be hoping this continues for the remainder of 2024-25 and beyond.
Completing the team captain trifecta
Finally we come to J.T. Miller, who makes it into Tier 5 and is ranked 79th overall. This speaks to how much the alternate captain has improved, and is a credit to the hard work he puts in, always trying to become a better version of himself.
It was this drive which saw Miller lead the Canucks last season with a career-high 103 points, which doubled as the ninth-most in the NHL as a whole. He was also named to his first ever All-Star Game and received Hart Memorial Trophy votes.
Miller started this season well with 16 points in 17 games, but is currently on indefinite leave from the team for personal reasons. While Canucks fans would like to see him back as soon as possible, they do want him to make sure he is getting the help he needs and only returns when he's good and ready.