By: Brayden Fengler / April 5, 2024 Canucks Twitter (still calling it that) is an extremely active online space for Canucks fans. Even more so this year, as the team has been playing exceptionally well throughout the season, drawing more attention as the weeks go on. Being that online engagement surrounding the Canucks is so much higher this year, some comments and posts from Canucks fans disappear into the ether without so much as a response in the form of an enthusiastic gif.
In this series, we aim to find thought-provoking posts that have gone “unread” within Canucks Twitter and shine some extra light on them.
Demko, wherefore art thou Demko?
We know that Demko is back to skating now. Beyond that, we know that Demko is actively travelling with the team. Ahead of the Canucks game against Vegas this week Demko took part in the team’s optional morning skate.
This signifies that Demko is close to returning to the line-up. If the star netminder’s timeline was further away he likely would not have joined the team in Vegas.
We’re approaching the four-week mark of when Demko was originally removed from the team’s active roster due to injury. He could technically come off of LTIR as early as Saturday, but it remains up in the air if the Canucks will choose to bring him back into the fold before the playoffs or if Vancouver will make his first game back, game one of the postseason.
Playoff Concerns
This is a very valid concern. As good as teams do in the regular season, the playoffs are a whole different beast. We saw this last year with the Boston Bruins; they likely make the perfect example. If the President’s Trophy winners being eliminated in the first round doesn’t signify that the playoffs ramp everything up, I don’t know what will.
That being said. The Canuck’s dominance this season, combined with the overall chemistry that this group has been able to build together over the years (even the bad ones), should put them in a good spot not just to enter the playoffs, but to make a real run for the grand prize.
As sudden of a rise as it has been for the Canucks this year, in large part they have similar personnel from previous years. This is not a team full of newbies bought at the deadline, with little experience as a unit, hoping to somehow figure it out in the playoffs. This is where the Canucks’ lack of acquisitions at the deadline could work in their favour. The one constant they will have to fall back on when the craziness of the playoffs makes the games so different is their ability to rely on tried and true line combos and chemistry built over more than just this season.
Joshua is Playing too Well
There is a very real possibility that Joshua will price himself out of Vancouver, but honestly, That’s okay. Joshua’s last campaign with a team other than Vancouver was with St. Louis in 2021-22. Joshua left that season having played 30 games, and earning 8 points. Fast forward to this year, and Joshua sits with 28 points after 57 games played, even while having missed a large chunk of the season.
Between this year and last year, Joshua will have cost the Canucks a total of $1,650,000 overall. With his performances this season and last he has more than earned a raise that will likely put him out of reach for what the Canucks not only want to pay but should pay for depth pieces.
It will be sad to see Joshua go, but remember, it was GM Patrik Allvin who signed Joshua when he was an underperforming and underutilized player on a different NHL club. There’s no reason to think that Allvin and his team can’t try to find a player in a similar situation and do the same thing all over again. In fact, it’s much better for the organization if Allvin can be trusted to do this time and time again, rather than planning to pay the inflated price for a player.
Sedin Flashback
This hurt my brain to read because, quite honestly, I do not subscribe to the ideology that 2018 was six years ago. No, thank you, but I choose not to believe. However, as I read this tweet and became forced to come back to reality, it made me reflect on how special the Sedin’s retirement was, and how their final game in Vancouver was a beautiful but bittersweet end of an era.
Both myself and fellow StadiumChinatown.ca writer Trent were at the Sedin’s final game of the year. (picture of hyped Trent for proof):
Henrik and Daniel’s final game on the ice was fantastic, especially how it ended in overtime. Henrik’s pass to Daniel at the point, who then hammered it home bringing the place to its feet.
In 2018 the Canucks were nowhere near a playoff berth and many more dark days were ahead for the club as we all know now some six years later. But as I reflect back on this game, on a time that was the last time Roger’s arena experienced a playoff-caliber moment, it’s exciting to know that this atmosphere will soon be upon the building again in a matter of weeks.
Chel it UP
If even one person who has the current version of Chel sees this tweet because of this article it will have been worth it. I stopped keeping up with the latest NHL games a few years ago when I ran out of limbs to chop off to afford them year after year. However, I did play NHL 14 like it was my full-time job back in the day.
Regardless of my lack of a copy of NHL ’24, if anyone else has a copy, please do hit up Eddy here. Playing NHL online with friends or even just people who share the same love of the same NHL team is an experience that cleanses the soul. Playing online with random opponents… well that can do the opposite.
If a fellow Canucks fan doesn’t team up with Eddy here he could be forced to play against, or worse, with an Oilers fan. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.
Read and Replied
It’s been exciting to witness how discourse around this team has not only grown in scale, but improved dramatically in tone. Gone are the days of doom and gloom, as overall this season has seen some very positive discourse among fans.
And with that, another five posts have now had more attention given to them than their original authors ever likely intended.