The Canucks players had their end of season media appearances this morning. The players met in groups of four and took questions about this season, their thoughts on the organization, the future, and much more.

While there weren’t any bombshell pieces of news that came from these press conferences, there were a number of interesting quotes about a variety of subjects. Perhaps the most common thread of discussion was transferring the success that the team had in the second half of the season to the start of next, something that they couldn’t do last year.

While he didn’t provide much new information, superstar centre Elias Pettersson did make a few comments about his upcoming contract negotiations. He will be entering the final season of his contract and thus is eligible to sign an extension starting this summer. After breaking the 100 points mark for the first time in his career, his next deal is sure to be a big one. 

One of the questions that Pettersson was asked was about the importance of winning in Vancouver to his future in the city. Since stepping into the lineup in 2018, the only playoff action he’s seen with the team has been during the COVID-restricted bubble edition of the postseason.

“I defintely think that’s [winning] possible here,” he commented. “I want to win, all these guys want to win and I think that we’re ready for the challenge and ready to do the hard work to get their because winning is fun.”

Tanner Pearson made an appearance today for the first time since he last played and took some questions from the press. The last game he was in the lineup for was on November 9th against the Montreal Canadiens. Since then, he’s been missing time with a hand injury. The handling of this injury by the organization was brought into question when Quinn Hughes made some comments after a game early in 2023.

Pearson discussed the injury and the long way to go on the road to being fully recovered. When asked about his thoughts on how the surgeries have been handled, of which he has repurtoely undergone around six, Pearson had the following to say.

“I’m not going to share my personal opinions. I think the people that need to know what’s going on know, and I’m going to keep it that way. I’m just trying to go home and be a dad and be with my kids and be able to play at the moment. It sucks.”

One of the major storylines from this season has been the relationship between Brock Boeser and the Canucks organization. After a tremendous rookie season, Boeser hasn’t taken the steps forward that many expected and in recent seasons, frustrations have started to bubble.

This culminated at one point this season when Boeser was originally deemed a healthy scratch for the Hockey Fights Cancer game, a very important game for the winger and his family after he lost his dad to the disease not too long ago. Boeser eventually did play in the game and scored the game-tying goal to send it to overtime where the Canucks eventually won.

It was reported this year that the Canucks had granted Boeser’s agent the chance to find a trade. However, during his season wrap-up press conference, Boeser made it clear that his preference would be to stay on the west coast next season.

“To be completely honest with you, I don’t want to be traded,” said the American-born right wing who had 55 points this season, one shy of his career high. “I’ve expressed to you guys how much I love it here, obviously it was a tough year personally with my game earlier in the season but I think it was kind of a blessing in disguise that I didn’t get traded as I really started to find my game after the trade deadline and in that last bit of the season there.”

J.T. Miller answered quite a few questions on the team’s mid-season head coaching change and the effects that it had. Miller’s inconsistent play in the first part of the season improved under Rick Tocchet and he credited the coach with keeping him accountable.

It seems as if Miller has a really great relationship with the new head coach and he trusts the new staff to make sure that the team’s second half improvement carries over to next season.

“I just think that it’s way different this time [compared to last year]. The plan is more clear, people we have here in places, it’s different,” Miller said. “It seemed like last year we were just seeing what would happen this year a little bit, and now we know 100% what to expect out of ourselves and as a group and if we’re not meeting our expectations, that’s going to be unacceptable when it comes to creating a standard.”