By: Brayden Fengler / January 5, 2024 Canucks Twitter or X (gross) is one of the most active online sports spaces out there. Being that online engagement surrounding the Canucks is so high, it almost goes without saying that some takes and comments from Canucks fans fly under the radar; just due to the sheer volume of content that is pumped out.
In this series, we aim to find posts that have gone unread within Canucks Twitter… or X. No one person can engage with every single Canucks post out there, but we’ve collected a few that we felt deserve a little bit more engagement.
World Juniors Silver Lining
Although Canada was unceremoniously eliminated from the World Juniors earlier than expected, there was at least a yellow and blue silver lining for Canucks fans. Team Sweden’s World Junior roster included a fair few players that have been drafted by the Vancouver Canucks and those players have certainly impressed where Team Canada did not.
Vancouvers’ 2022 15th overall pick, forward Jonathan Lekkerimäki, leads Sweden in points and is tied for second place throughout the tournament. On the back end, as this post mentions, Canucks defensive prospect Tom Willander of the 2023 draft class, has himself earned two points in the tournament. Beyond that, he has been a valuable presence for Sweden defensively.
Willander is a 6″1, right-shot D-man that was no doubt drafted last year in part for his skill as well as his position, given that the Canucks right-hand side on the blueline has been a challenging spot for the team to fill in recent years. With the looks of the Canucks this year, and Willander on the horizon, that storyline could soon be over.
New Year New Look
It’s 2024 now, so this cryptic helmet tease from three weeks ago should soon be unveiled in all its glory. User 522IntoOvertime here is clearly anti-anything that sparkles, which is understandable given that anything beyond the traditionally glossy helmet look can be a big distraction when watching a hockey game.
The L.A. Kings and the Vegas Golden Knights have dabbled in shiny buckets over the past few years, and they are definitely conversation starters, with L.A.’s stark silver and Vegas’ sparkling gold. Should these helmets be their daily drivers? No… I can only imagine the eye surgery needed if you catch a stadium light reflecting off of one of these things at the right angle!
But all jokes aside, it’s fun when sports are fun, and shiny buckets can be a part of that. If the Canucks adopt a bright blue disco ball as their new helmet, why not! Their future is already looking so bright we’re all wearing shades anyway.
The Odds Are Against Them
Many Canucks fans took offense to the NHL Draft King odds retweeted by canucksedins above. The Canucks are currently 5th in the league, third in the Western Conference and first in the Pacific division. With 39 games under their belt, they also hold a league-leading goal differential of +45 which puts most other NHL teams to shame. So what the heck are these odds?
How in the world do the Canucks not make this list of 10 teams which are likely to make a playoff appearance in 2024? The question marks and the outrage is justified for this one when the Canucks have more points than every team on this list with the exception of Boston, and are tied in points with Colorado and New York.
Even points percentage-wise, at .689 the Canucks are 4th in the league only behind Winnipeg, New York and Boston. Simply put, this must either be a grave error, or the NHL/Draft Kings are predicting a hellish fall from grace for the Canucks in 2024.
Lucky Canucks
The Canucks currently have the best shooting percentage in the league at 13.7%, trailing behind them is the Detroit Red Wings with an even 12% on record. Simply put, when the puck leaves a Canuck player’s stick it’s more likely than any other shot from any other team to find twine.
Now of course, this is a bit of an oversimplification, and I’m not looking to suggest that all Canucks players have an unexplainable stat buff on their shooting ability, so yes, an easier way to say it, is that the Canucks are getting lucky with their shooting more often than not.
Undoubtedly the Canucks are skilled, so don’t let this chart tell you otherwise, but in a way, they have been very fortunate with the puck when compared to the fact that they are leading the league in shooting percentage yet are 5th in the league in regards to overall shots on net. Are the Canucks lucky, or are they just that good? Why not a little of both?
Petey Is Going To Get Paid
It should come as no shock to anyone that Petey is due for a massive payday prior to next season when he will be set to become an RFA. A lot of “ifs” and “buts” have been shared as it relates to the fact that the old Canucks leadership group should’ve done whatever they could to sign him to a longer-term deal back during the 2021-22 Canucks season, but regardless, we’re here now.
Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Pettersson has earned 215 points across 198 games played. 16th in the league across all NHL players over the length of his contract so far. Funny enough just three points above Petey on this unique leaderboard is William Nylander with 218 points since the start of the 2021-22 campaign.
With reports that Nylander’s pending extension will be north of an $11mil AAV that certainly paints a spicy comparable for Pettersson who is currently playing under a contract at $7.35mil AAV. J.T. Miller’s recent contract has the closest high-profile Canucks to Pettersson making $8mil annually. The question is, will Pettersson be content with making something in the ballpark of J.T.’s payday, or something much bigger?
Read and Replied
Another five posts have now had more attention given to them than their original authors ever likely intended. This was our first “Left on Read” of the season, and what’s noticeable about doing this series this year as opposed to the last few years, is that the bulk of posts to wade through not only seems larger, but more positive.
Hopefully that is hear to stay.