Who Were the 2024/25 Vancouver Canucks? A Roster Primer & Season Story by Auriel @hughesybear and Blue @captainlexapro
As part of documenting the story of this season and helping people learn more about our silly whale team, Blue and I have put together a roster primer of the 2024/25 Vancouver Canucks that includes bios of all the players, goes over the narratives of the season, and provides all the truly necessary information you need to become a Canucks fan. We hope you enjoy it :)
This project was inspired by @beccaiscold's Canucks roster primers, so we highly encourage checking those out as well!
living in an nhl city is weird because one minute i could be anonymously thirsting over quinn hughes on the internet and the next i could run into him at the mall
an incomplete list of the reasons why I miss Petey:
his lethal shot and dekes (we do not have enough players willing to do their dekes, bro)
his playmaking skills and hockey IQ, which allow him to drive play and control the tempo of the game
his presence on the power play opens up room for other players so they have other options other than working it back to the point, because defenders have to respect his shot. Quinn’s been turning the puck over on the power play more because teams have caught on to the Canucks’ shortage of creative movement outside of Quinn and defenders are pressuring up high to cut off his passing options. this season on the power play the Canucks are 18.6% without Petey (would rank between 25th and 26th in the NHL) and 23.0% with Petey (would rank between 12th and 13th)
his calming influence and elite defensive commitment/awareness, stemming from his ability to anticipate and kill the opposition’s plays — for example, the Canucks probably would have been able to hold on to the three leads they had in the 7-6 Columbus game if Petey was in the lineup
the way he drapes himself over his teammates to hug them in cellies
how egg-like his head looks sometimes (affectionate)
anyways. back to longingly watching Petey highlights
No, the Canucks are Not Going to Trade J.T. Miller or Elias Pettersson
And if they did, it would be so incredibly stupid. Here’s all the reasons why I think both will remain Canucks for the foreseeable future👇🏼
Neither have asked for a trade, they both signed in Vancouver long-term knowing the other would be here as well, and there’s no indication that their relationship has suddenly deteriorated to the point that they can’t play together
If Pettersson truly thought he couldn’t play with Miller, for whatever reason, why would he sign an eight-year extension knowing Miller would be here for seven of those years? Why would Miller sign his extension knowing that Pettersson was planning to stay? We literally just saw these two have a season where they were fantastic together as a one-two punch down the middle, and Hughes has said as such:
“One hundred percent I believe it’s workable. I mean, we know it’s workable, we saw it last year, very evident, and I think both of them have been going through their own struggles this year. I believe in both of them, I think they’re great players, great people.”
Brad Richardson’s comments about the locker room dynamic were in Pettersson’s age 22/23 season, and it’s been three years since then. These two have put in a lot of work towards their relationship, and they’ve been asked about it ad nauseum:
Pettersson on 32 Thoughts and After Hours (February 2023): “It’s good, I mean we’ve had our differences maybe in some games, but he is a teammate that I respect and he’s someone I like to play hockey with. There’s a lot of speculation, obviously — a lot — but he’s a teammate I respect…It’s not an issue.”
“He’s a guy that wants to do everything to win and he's a great teammate. I know, obviously, there’s people who want to... I don’t know if shit on a player is the right (term). He’s passionate and all he cares about is winning. And yeah, he plays with a lot of emotion and so does the rest of the group.”
Miller in February 2023 and the 2022/2023 season exit interview:
“That's nice of him; I didn't even know he said that. It's nothing that you guys don't know, but I'm glad that Petey said that. Hopefully, we're going to spend a lot of time here together. That's the plan, right? So I'm looking forward to that. Petey and my relationship has come a long way. We're still working at it. We're completely different people, you know what I mean? You're not going to be BFFs with everybody, but at the same time you come to work together. We are polar opposite in a lot of ways, but we're working at it. We've come a long way.”
“We’re not very alike in the sense of personality and hobbies, so we’re not naturally going to gravitate towards each other. But I think over time, we have become friends. Our relationship’s getting better. It’s also a challenge for us because it’s like meeting somebody random on the street and just saying, ‘Hey, be friends with that guy that’s nothing like you. We’re not a lot alike but we’re both very competitive with our job and motivated to win, so there are still things to bring us together too.”
They’ve both been asked about it this season, and both have denied that this is “a thing.” Assuming that these two adult men wouldn’t be able to get along well enough to be paid millions of dollars to play hockey together seems like an insult to their emotional intelligence, honestly.
It would leave a huge hole in the lineup and in the leadership dynamic
The centre included in return for Pettersson or Miller as part of a package of assets would almost certainly be a huge downgrade on either. Even if the Canucks received a top-four defenceman in return, something they’ve sorely lacked all season, they would just be plugging one hole by replacing it with another one. Not many teams can handle the matchups that the Canucks present when Pettersson and Miller are at their best, and any successful version of this iteration of the Canucks will involve getting them to play at that level again.
Both of these people are essential to the leadership group, and they’re the team’s tethers to their respective strengths on the ice, as we’ve seen in their respective absences. By trading either of these players, the Canucks would be trading away one of their key advantages over other teams that they haven’t even gotten the chance to fully utilize in the playoffs (since Pettersson was dealing with his injury in their last opportunity).
Trades involving sending out elite players are almost impossible to win
Elite 1Cs almost never become available, and the team giving up the best player in a trade usually loses it. Just look at the Eichel trade: an underperforming but potentially elite young centre who hadn’t fulfilled his full potential got traded and proceeded to win a Cup with his new team. Meanwhile, the pieces Buffalo got in return haven’t been enough to lift them out of their playoff drought. It’d be a very Canucks thing for Pettersson or Miller to win a Cup with their new team if they got traded.
Trading a player this soon into a long-term extension signed by the current front office rarely ever happens
Trading either of these players at a low ebb of their value would just be poor asset management. Try explaining to Aqualini that the multi-million signing bonuses you gave Miller or Pettersson ended up barely doing anything for your franchise because you didn’t have faith that they could work things out here. The most recent example where a front office has moved a player they signed to a long-term extension in the first year of their deal is the Kings trading Pierre-Luc Dubois, and he’s flourishing in Washington when lots of people thought his issues as a player couldn’t be fixed. Miller and Pettersson are both a higher calibre of player than Dubois, and we’ve seen them at their best in Vancouver. Moving on from them over a couple tumultuous months where they’ve both missed time while the team has been struggling with injuries would show a level of impatience that would be uncharacteristic for this front office.
Pettersson and Hughes share the same agent (and are very close friends)
If you’re Hughes, and you watch either of these players (your alternate captains and good friends) get traded so soon after signing long-term extensions, and you know this front office has already traded away a Canucks captain, what faith would you have in them wanting you to stay in Vancouver? Making sure Hughes has reasons to stay should be a top priority for this front office, and I don’t think trading Pettersson or Miller would make him any more eager to negotiate.
They’re on the same team. There shouldn’t be “sides.” They both hate the noise, and the simplest way to make the noise go away is to start winning, but they haven’t even had the opportunity to do that while both of them are in the lineup (this current round of rumours was started by Allvin’s NYE interview, and Pettersson had been out of the lineup for a week before that).
Once the team gets healthier and has the opportunity to go on a bit of a run, I expect that most of the noise will just fade away. I’m looking forward to it!
J.T. Miller is gone. What does that mean for Elias Pettersson?
The fiery, emotional, utterly unique player we got to know and love over the past five and a half seasons in Vancouver has returned to the team that originally drafted him. Now the pressure’s all on Pettersson to be a true leader for this team, on and off the ice. Here’s why I think he’ll rise to the occasion.
i. play your game
Pettersson’s subdued form over the last twelve months has been the subject of countless speculation and scrutiny, including from himself. He’s quick to dissect his own mistakes after a loss, and he is not immune to criticism, as he himself will openly admit:
"I know I can do better,” Pettersson said. “I will be the first one to say it, and I never think things will get easier.
“I haven't had the start (to the season) that I wanted to. At the end of the day, I have expectations from the club, and obviously, I haven't met them yet. But, I mean, it doesn't matter what people say. I know what I can do, and that's what I'm focussing on doing.”
While he's struggled for a full calendar year, there's really only one bright spot that stands out: the 15 points he amassed over a 10-game stretch that coincided with Miller's leave of absence. He's put up 18 points in the 35 other games he's played this season.
It'd be overly simplistic to attribute that stark difference in production to any rift between the two players. Despite Miller playing four games without Hughes for the Canucks, the majority of his 5v5 minutes have still been spent with Hughes; Pettersson has been deployed with non-Hughes defencemen more often than not at 5v5. When Miller was out of the lineup, Pettersson was self-matched with Hughes and being deployed in the offensive zone more often. The combination of those two factors played a large role in Pettersson's increased production during that stretch.
The deployment of the defence pairs with Pettersson isn't the only thing that will change. Pettersson will have every opportunity to regularly play on the de facto first line with DeBrusk and Boeser, the Canucks' wingers with the best finishing ability, for him to utilize his elite playmaking skill. He will be utilized in the matchup role that he has always craved and thrived in.
The Canucks' approach to their much-maligned power play is also going to change drastically. Ever since Miller was traded to the Canucks, he’s been on the first power play unit, which has mostly run through him as the main facilitator. It’s going to take some time for the new-look PP1 to adjust without him; however, I'm inclined to think that they're going to become more creative and dynamic through necessity. We all know how elite Pettersson is as a playmaker in his own right, and I believe removing the long-relied-upon option of deferring to Miller on the power play will benefit PP1 long-term.
We don’t know the extent to which Pettersson’s knee injury might still be affecting him - NHL Edge data shows that his top speed, 20+MPH speed bursts, and average shot speeds are all down from previous years - but now that Miller isn’t here to compete for the 1C deployment, the above factors will continue providing Pettersson with more favourable offensive opportunities moving forward. His work ethic and dedication is a trait that's been well-documented throughout his career, and now he has the space to focus more of his energy on working on his game.
ii. a leadership vacuum
The only sustained veteran leadership the Canucks have had over the past six seasons - as leader after leader (Tanev, Markstrom, Edler, Sutter, Pearson, Horvat) walked in free agency (the sins of Jim Benning will never be forgiven) or was traded away - has been in the form of Miller and Myers. After Miller was traded to the Rangers, Myers acknowledged the gravitational pull he had on the room:
“He held so much weight in the room, probably the most I’ve seen on any team I’ve been on.”
We’ve always known Miller was a loud voice in the room, but the magnitude of Myers’ words can’t be overlooked considering his 15 years of experience in the NHL. If Miller held this much influence in the room, it's not a surprise that he seemed to amplify the team’s emotional state for better or worse, depending on whether they were winning or losing. It also stands to reason that his voice may have not left as much opportunity for others to speak, especially considering the quieter personalities that comprise the rest of the core.
After Horvat was traded, the void that his absence left and Hughes' eventual appointment to the captaincy provided the opportunity for Hughes to grow into the leader he is now. Pettersson can learn from that; the removal of such a large voice in the room should allow for the off-ice dynamics to recalibrate and for a new voice to take on some of that weight. The Sedins were quiet leaders who always addressed the media with patience and honesty and always knew what needed to be said in the room, and Pettersson can learn from them too, as Bruce Boudreau has suggested in the past:
“He’s very much like the Sedins. He’s not a loud guy and [is] a quiet guy but he is definitely a leader. He wants to be put in the position to lead and he wants to have all the responsibility on the ice.”
Pettersson’s going to have to take up that responsibility, and I have a feeling that he will. He knows what's on the line if he doesn't.
iii. a team’s identity
When Miller was 26, he was traded to the Canucks in the 2019/20 season, which was Pettersson’s age-20 season and his second season in the NHL. Hughes has never played on an NHL team without Miller as a teammate until now. The initial age difference between Miller and the rest of the core, given how young they were when Miller arrived, would have shaped the leadership and interpersonal dynamics that developed in the room over time. Miller's presence was undoubtedly invaluable to the core that he became a part of, but it also fundamentally altered the identity of this team, and we'll be dissecting the extent of his influence long after this core's Canucks tenure is in the past.
We don’t know the details of what might have happened to fracture a relationship so irreparably that trading one of Pettersson or Miller became "a matter of team culture," and it isn't our place to speculate on the specifics. However, Pettersson, Boeser, and Hughes, the trio of skaters drafted by the Canucks and touted as the saviours of this franchise from the moment they first stepped on the ice together, haven't ever had a chance to fully define the identity of this team without Miller’s influence. Now that he's gone, the present (and future) of this franchise has an opportunity to transform this team into something new.
what comes next?
Because of the complex journey he had with this team, Miller is still irreplaceable for the Canucks; not just for what he brought on the ice, but also everything he brought as a person. This franchise-defining trade is a chance to create something new from a season where everything seems to be going wrong for the Canucks, and Pettersson is going to have to be the one that leads the way. He's been part of the disappointment that this season has been, and now he needs to be leading this team back to the level of contention it was expected to be at.
Pettersson's always understood that he will have to rise to meet the pressure that others place on him, as well as the pressure that he puts on himself. We only need to go back to Botch's prescient article covering training camp in Pettersson's rookie year to understand that about him:
“It puts some pressure on me. But I’m used to pressure. I like challenges," Pettersson says.
“I think I’m a guy there should be a lot of pressure on. I think I’m the guy who can do it, who can produce many points.”
The “many points” will come. The pressure, too. No matter how much you think Pettersson, 19, experienced in his historic season in Sweden, in which he was an MVP in both the league and its postseason, it doesn’t compare to what’s coming in a vibrant Canadian hockey market.
Vancouver is the same fervent one which nearly chewed through the Sedins in their early years but now it’s bigger, louder and infinitely more dissecting.
And after Miller was traded away, he recognized the pressure that will come now that he is unequivocally the number-one centre on this team:
Do you think there's going to be more pressure on you now to lead this team as a center?
"Yeah, of course; but honestly, I want that pressure. It's up to me to take it."
Pettersson’s legacy as a Canuck is more at stake than ever now. In this new era, it is truly all up to him to lead this team from the front end, in a way that he has never been put in a position to do before - and if there’s one thing we know about star Swedes in Vancouver, it’s that they shine the brightest when they seize the opportunity to lead.
That was an absolutely wild game. Defensive breakdowns, three rush goals for, and multiple star players out for varying reasons? Experience Canucks hockey!
Canucks thoughts 11/19/2024:
With three of the Canucks’ best players out, the focus was always going to be on their compete level, work rate, and process for generating offence 5v5, and they did a great job on all those fronts. It’s tough to compensate for what J.T. brings on and off the ice, and I think the Canucks did well despite the loss of the team’s heart.
Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson definitely stepped up this game. Quinn opened the scoring 34 seconds into the game with a beautiful backhand from the slot, and he had the time and space to execute that because Pettersson drove to the side of the crease and drew two defenders with him. Sherwood continues to be electrifying on Pettersson’s line, which was the Canucks’ best line again. The chemistry between DeBrusk-Pettersson-Sherwood continues to build with every game, highlighted by a shift where they got three scoring chances in the slot in quick succession. Petey when the speedy winger elevated to his line actually has the hands to make a play: 🤯
The Pettersson line was also hard matched against the Zibanejad line and used against the Trochek line, and Pettersson won those minutes through the first two periods. He’s expressed his desire to play against the best competition, and I think his expected role with Miller out will bring the best out of him.
Šilovs continues to rebound from his rough start to the season - he actually had a higher SV% than Shesterkin this game (and also a wild blockerless save???) There’s not much he could do about the shot differential, and he’s improved at a lot of things that were plaguing him, such as tracking long shots through traffic. There’s definitely still flaws in his game, such as some overaggressiveness in lateral positioning, but he’s proven to be such a quick learner that I think he’ll only keep improving with every game. Apparently Demko’s coming back soon, which will help Šilovs get much more development time in Abby!
Loved seeing Garland step up in J.T.’s absence, especially when he’s going to be a new dad soon. Dak to Garland game-tying goal, I know that’s right!! I’d love to see the 4th line get the puck on net more - Höglander in particular feels like he’s trying to do too much with the puck every time he’s in the offensive zone, and while he has the hands to make plays, a lot of the time it’s just better to simplify and play a more direct game in order to push the pace. Hopefully he figures it out soon (if he gets traded I will be devastated).
Defence pairs are an issue again, what else is new. There was still lots to be proud of this game. Hopefully they’ll continue improving their road record on the upcoming 6-game road trip!
wow, Lekkerimäki scored his first NHL goal and absolutely nothing else of note happened in tonight’s game!
Canucks thoughts 11/14/2024:
At least Lekkerimäki’s parents were here for his first NHL goal! That was a wicked shot off a great feed from Miller to score on the first shot of the game - it helps that Lekkerimäki was left wide open because two Islanders were covering Miller for some reason.
Kind of hilarious. The rest of the game was also kind of hilarious, but in a bad way.
I accidentally fell asleep in the second intermission and woke up halfway through the third period, which matches the overall energy the Canucks brought to this game. They generated almost nothing offensively after Lekkerimäki’s goal, somehow entering the third period being outshot 24-6 (!!!). Their best moments of sustained offensive pressure came off of the Pettersson line and the Islanders’ final power play where Pettersson’s work on the penalty kill created havoc in the Islanders’ zone - the Canucks had the same number of shots on goal during that Islanders power play as they had during either of the first two periods. Another strong game from Pettersson where he was ripping one-timers on the power play and almost set up a Garland tap-in, another strange game from Miller punctuated by brutal bounces where he underperformed in CF% and xGF% and yet his line got the most offensive/neutral zone faceoffs. Experience Canucks hockey.
The second pair had another rough night. They had the lowest 5v5 CF% on the team (32% for Myers and 33% for Soucy), and they got split up temporarily because of some unfortunate defensive breakdowns, meaning it was another 27min night for Hughes and Hronek. The need for another top-four defenceman grows more prominent every game - Soucy and Myers haven’t been able to lean on Cole and Zadorov this year, and relying on Hughes and Hronek to take on this increased workload on a semi-regular basis is clearly negatively impacting both their games (no idea what Hronek was doing on the 4-1 goal, and we almost never see Hughes get rocked with a huge open-ice hit like he did tonight). The Canucks’ defensive success last season came off of their giant defencemen boxing out attackers, taking away dangerous passing lanes, and breaking up the opposing teams’ cycle as soon as possible, which just hasn’t happened enough this season.
At least Dak was back this game! He was making moves all night, including this setup for Räty in the slot. I have a feeling the lines are going to be shaken up at practice tomorrow, so we might see the return of the Life Line. He brings a punishing pace to the forecheck that this team needs to recapture in order to get back to being hard to play against.
Räty had an unfortunate turnover and failed box-out in the third period that led to a disallowed goal, but he’s been having a rough few games now. It sucks to say on his birthday, but it feels like it’s time for him to be sent down to Abbotsford to keep working on his game. Åman doesn’t make that turnover, and what this team needs right now is someone who can be steady in the defensive zone.
A Myers wrist shot goal after an Islanders empty-netter is probably the funniest way this game could have ended. It was nice to see Tocchet take accountability for the team’s play on home ice. He usually doesn’t get too high or too low after games no matter the result, so this media availability was an interesting one. I hope he’ll give the people what they want and let us see DeBrusk-Pettersson-Lekkerimäki next game!
