3 Canucks who could be locks for prestigious NHL awards
The Vancouver Canucks have been arguably the NHL’s most entertaining team, both in the number of points accumulated and their fun style of play.
We recently discussed why Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko can still win the Vezina Trophy despite sustaining a recent injury. Demko’s stellar game has helped Vancouver enjoy its finest season since they won back-to-back Presidents’ Trophies in 2010-11 and 2011-12, but he hasn’t been the only one worth watching who has gone above and beyond this season.
Vancouver is fourth in goals against with 187, which implies that they are a strong defensive team. But they are also one of the best in the league with the puck, and their outrageous 245 goals scored is also fourth in the NHL.
Overall, there isn’t a weak spot on a team that has had just one bad three-week run all season. While Demko’s injury initially looked as though it would set the team back further, that hasn’t been the case if the previous two games are anything to go by, or really, every game backup goaltender Casey DeSmith has started.
Quite a few Canucks could be locks for some NHL awards
Thanks to their recent winning, Vancouver is still well in position to see their most distinguished members of the organization have their names added to some big-time awards come the end of the year. Sure, other teams have been entertaining this season, but neither the Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, nor the New York Rangers, among others, have played a brand of hockey quite as exciting as the Canucks.
Given the state this team has been in for a while, plus their ability to not only surprise all of us with an elite run early on but to keep up their high-profile pace, nobody in the NHL universe would be disappointed to see Vancouver recognized in such a positive light. So who on the Canucks might just be locked in to win some end-of-year awards?
Elias Pettersson has to be a shoo-in to take the Selke
I went back and forth on this one between J.T. Miller and Elias Petersson, but the latter’s defensive game edges the former. Sure, Miller is a big hitter who can get in front of shots and lay huge hits. Without a doubt, he will garner top-15 consideration for the award, but when you compare the two, Petersson wins out.
The 25-year-old has logged triple-digits in hits, and he’s also on pace to log 50-plus takeaways. Once again, Pettersson is getting in front of pucks, with 59 blocks this season as of March 22nd, and his presence while short-handed has been epic for the Canucks.
Pettersson’s presence hasn’t led to 10 short-handed goals, as was the case last season. But out of 100 minutes on the penalty kill, Vancouver has allowed just seven goals, and his on-ice save percentage at 4-on-5 is a stellar 91.9 percent. Compare that to Miller, who has seen 16 goals scored when he’s on the ice in the same situation, with just an 81.8 on-ice save percentage.
Petersson is lower than Miller in defensive point shares, with 1.8 compared to Miller’s 2.3, but other than that, Pettersson holds the edge. He took seventh for the award last season, and he’s made the necessary improvements both on the ice and from a statistical standpoint to take the award this season.
Quinn Hughes should be pacing the league for the Norris
Quinn Hughes is officially doing everything this year, from once again showing us he’s barely entered his prime to now laying huge hits on opponents. Hughes isn’t the most physical defenseman, having landed just 24 body checks this season, but the hard-hitting nature of his game has slowly become more prevalent when you look at his numbers in past seasons.
It will never be a dynamic part of his game, but sensational positioning and his overall hockey IQ in all three zones are, and they have served the 24-year-old well since his first full season in 2019-20.
Vancouver is rocking a 91.7 save percentage at 5-on-5 when he’s on the ice, and he’s one of the best power play quarterbacks in hockey. So far, the Canucks have scored 43 times on the man advantage when he’s out there, with a 16.3 on-ice scoring percentage through 274.4 minutes.
We haven’t even gotten to Hughes’ basic numbers yet. Points-wise, he is currently on pace to reach the 90-plus mark with 79 in 70 contests already. Of these 79 points, 30 (two goals) have come on the power play.
Hughes finished ninth for the Norris last season, and his numbers through 78 contests won’t even come close to what he’s on pace to end with this season. He only needs to keep performing the way he’s been from October to March, and the Norris Trophy is his.
Rick Tocchet could have already locked up the Jack Adams Award
If anyone deserves the most credit for the Canucks turnaround, it’s head coach Rick Tocchet. After Vancouver fired former head coach Bruce Boudreau, they turned to Tocchet, who put his stamp on the organization when he led what was then an ailing Canucks team to a 20-12-4 record, good for 44 points.
This led to Vancouver snagging a more than solid 1.22 points per game, which would have equaled 100 when adjusted over a full season. It’s all the franchise needed to believe Tocchet would be their guy heading into the 2023-24 season, and he is only about to lead them beyond that 100-point threshold with a few more wins.
Note that this team was a meager 18-25-3 with just 39 points in 46 contests before Toccet took over. He managed to turn them not just into a winner for a half-season but a team that looks poised to make annual trips to the postseason.
Sure, Jim Montgomery is leading what should be a pedestrian Boston Bruins team to perhaps another Presidents’ Trophy, and Kris Knoblauch is making his case over in Edmonton. But Montgomery doesn’t have the Bruins operating at the same pace as they did last season, and the Oilers were already a good team before Knoblauch took over.
That wasn’t the case with Tocchet, who inherited a team that failed to qualify for the playoffs over the past three seasons. Overall, there isn’t another coach in the NHL who deserves the award more than Rick Tocchet as far as this season goes.
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(Statistics and data provided by Hockey-Reference)