In a recent fan vote conducted by JFresh Hockey, a hockey analytics maven known for his various simple yet effective player and team card designs, four Vancouver Canucks forwards were ranked within the NHL's top 100 by participating fans.
As expected, Canucks stars Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller, and Brock Boeser all made the cut, while newcomer Jake DeBrusk rounds out the group towards the back of the list.
However, Pettersson, Miller, Boeser, and DeBrusk all saw their rank fall in the fan vote from this time last year; all except DeBrusk saw their rank drop by double-digits.
Pettersson, who ranked 12th this time last year, dropped a whopping 13 spots from No. 12 in the poll down to No. 25. The 26-year-old Canucks star is now behind fellow centers Anze Kopitar, draft classmate Nico Hischier, Sebastian Aho, Brayden Point, Jack Eichel, Jack Hughes, Sidney Crosby, Sasha Barkov, Auston Matthews, Leon Draisaitl, Nathan MacKinnon, and Connor McDavid.
In other words, hockey fans participating in the vote generally do not believe that Pettersson is a top 10 center in the NHL, which directly contradicts the recent contract extension that made Pettersson the fourth-highest-paid player in the NHL.
Miller, who was a modest 24th last season, now finds himself closer to the middle of the pack at 34th. The 31-year-old American is now among the likes of Clayton Keller, Dylan Larkin, and Jesper Bratt, which seems fair. San Jose Sharks rookie Macklin Celebrini coming in at 30th may raise a few eyebrows, though...
Much further down the list is Canucks sniper Brock Boeser, suffering the largest tumble of the group and falling 17 spots from 45th last year to 62nd this year. Boeser, who is in a contract year, is notably behind Cole Caufield, Zach Hyman, Valeri Nichushkin, Timo Meier, and Adrian Kempe.
The question wasn't who's having a better season, just who's the better player.
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) December 31, 2024
Here's the list including changes in ranking since the offseason: pic.twitter.com/4wPGCCbxHD
DeBrusk, the newcomer who hails from the Boston Bruins, completes the quartet, coming in at 91st out of the 100 ranked forwards. The three-time 20-goal-scorer fell slightly, dropping six spots from 85th. Even at the end of the list, DeBrusk is surrounded by good company, placing ahead of Drake Batherson and Mats Zuccarello and just behind Claude Giroux, Artturi Lehkonen, and Brock Nelson.
Former Canucks center makes surprise appearance
Former Canucks forward Elias Lindholm, acquired on Jan. 31 for a massive package that included Andrei Kuzmenko, took one of the largest tumbles on the entire list, dropping 27 spots all the way down to No. 100 from No. 73.
Lindholm, 30, signed a massive seven-year, $54.25 million contract with the Bruins in the offseason, but has largely been a disappointment this calendar year. After being acquired by the Canucks, Lindholm managed only six goals, six assists, and 12 points in 26 games. Lindholm, to his credit, did seem to find another gear in the playoffs, scoring five goals, five assists, and 10 points in 13 games while winning 51.2% of his faceoff attempts.
With just six goals, 13 assists, and 19 points in 39 games with the Bruins so far, though, Lindholm has earned the substantial drop in fan rankings with his slow start to life in Beantown.
Did the inclusion - or exclusion - of any of these current or former Canucks surprise you? What about the rankings themselves?