By: Trent Leith / January 27, 2026 Welcome to Trent’s Train of Thought, a series that, instead of diving deep into one topic, touches on several. This edition has thoughts on mostly depression and apathy.
It has been over a month since I’ve written a post. I have had thoughts, I have had things I’d like to say, there have been plenty of things to talk about, but like… who cares, ya know?
Here is the thing: when Quinn Hughes was traded, it signalled a rebuild, and that is good. But that doesn’t mean it’s enjoyable. Messaging from management has been all over the place:
“We won’t rebuild.”
“Okay, we will retool.”
“Fine, it’s a rebuild (on the fly).”
“OH MY GOD YOU NERDS, FINE, IT’S A REBUILD”.
It seems like everyone is finally on the same page; the Canucks are in a multi-year window of unparalleled lack of success.
And while that is good, we finally get the reset fans have been clamouring for, it also sucks. This team has not been good, like really good, since 2012. Over a decade. And it sucks we have another multi-year window where the team will (still) suck.
There was optimism at the start of the year that this team could be sneaky good, that there was something here we could build on. But we will enter the 2026-27 season with no such optimism. The Canucks won’t even catch a whiff of the playoffs. At the end of the day, isn’t that what we want? Playoffs?
Now, as fans, we have to reconcile the fact that it will get worse before it gets better, and that will take years and years to do. So yes, I am happy we are getting a rebuild, but I am also sad for what could have been. Friedman says everything comes back to dating. Well, we are currently going through a breakup of a longtime relationship. We know it’s for the best, but it doesn’t make it hurt less right now.
So my lack of desire to put pen to paper and ramble about this failing relationship seems reasonable to me.
More Elias Pettersson Discourse
See, I bet you just rolled your eyes reading that heading. That, my friends, is apathy!
But seriously. Rumours are starting to swirl that teams are calling about Elias Pettersson.
Take this all with a massive grain of salt. We are talking the size of a 6-bed 4-bath backing onto Morgan Creek, big. This is Taj reporting on Seravalli reporting on the Canucks. That is a recipe for bad information. But if any of that is true, it is nice to see. It was not that long ago that everyone assumed that Pettersson was a negative value asset, but as his play returns to his previous genius, his value also returns.
If the Canucks trade Pettersson away, it will be gut-wrenching. After all of that? After the wrist injuries, the mysterious scar tissues and tendonitis, the Great Wars of Petey and JT, the contract, the rumours, and to have it all culminate in him finding his game again, just for the Canucks to place him in the “ready to ship” pile would suck. And we all know, if he gets moved, that in no time flat, he will start lighting it up and smiling again.
Mark my words, within two years of a trade, he will end up top-three in voting for the Hart, Selke or Ted Lindsay. And I will simply laugh away the pain. That, my friends, is apathy!
If the Canucks truly want to rebuild, they should absolutely trade Petey if they get a reasonable offer. Pettersson will be 30+ by the time the rebuild is over. He will still be making $11.6M. Just like I said with JT Miller before they re-signed him, he simply doesn’t fit the team’s timeline anymore. That goes for most guys, but we are talking Petey right now.
If the Canucks want to cut out the cancer that remains of The Great Wars of Petey and JT, that means Petey needs to go, too. Everyone agrees that he probably needs a fresh start, and I think the Canucks do too. They were once a great couple, but they have lost their spark and need to agree to part ways. Rutherford wants to travel, Petey wants to go back to art school; their paths are simply different from here on out.
One last thought on EP40. If we want a rebuild to be done properly, we know it means buy-in from ownership. Do you know what ownership doesn’t like? Paying money, and not making money. If you can free up $11.6M a year of Aqua’s money, that helps the long term goal. The Canucks need to save money where they can right now to try and not spook Franky into becoming a buyer again.
Did a Twitter Bot Just Break a Trade?
Kevin Weekes previously reported that The Dallas Star and The Colorado Avalanche have both been linked to a potential Evander Kane trade.
Well, a Twitter Bot that tracks NHLer’s Instagram follows and unfollows noticed that Kane has followed a Dallas based home contractor.
Does this mean much? Probably not. Will it be hilarious if Kane gets traded to the Stars? Absolutely.
Let’s hope the Canucks can get at least the fourth they paid to acquire him back in return.
Fans Continue to Show Up
One positive about the post Hughes Era so far is that fans are showing up, and by all accounts the vibes are good. The fans know the team is unlikely to win many games, but especially of late, the Canucks are keeping games close, losing down a goal with the extra man on the ice.
The games are exciting, there are moments and flashes of excitement. And just as we all predicted, the fans are fine with it. Next time you watch a home game, if it’s close, listen to the fans, they are as loud as when the team is good. Fans understand that the team is bad, they will be bad, but the boat is pointing in the right direction so they are happy to show up, drink $125 beers and enjoy the ride.
I was debating wearing a paper bag to the next game I go see, and that urge is entirely gone. As a Canucks fan, I’m no longer ashamed by the losses. Why? Because there seems to be a realistic view of this team now. No longer are they desperately trying to squeak into the playoffs, that’s off the table.
Losses aren’t always bad, they are bad when the goal is to win. That is not the goal right now, the goal is to be bad, keep things close, and draft high. Early signs show things are on that path. If we remain on that path, the fans will show up.