Welcome back to WDYTT, the only hockey column on the internet that happens to be both scheduled weekly and awkwardly-timed!

Speaking of awkward timing, this is it. This particular edition of WDYTT is set to be published on the cusp of Trade Deadline 2024. But by the time you folks actually get around to commenting on it, most of the action will already be over and done with. And by the time your responses to this column are published, we’ll be more than a week past all the excitement.

So, any hopes of sneaking in one last “Predict the Trade Deadline” WDYTT are bust.

In lieu, we’re going to try to get ahead of some other awkward timing that we can anticipate occurring in the future.

Here’s the thing: the Vancouver Canucks are making the playoffs in 2023/24. At this point, it’s al but a mathematical certainty. But the closer we get to the postseason, the more reluctant folks will be to make predictions thereof, for fear of “jinxing” the home team’s chances.

By the time these responses are published, it will be about one month away from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And that seems like a comfortable distance from which to make some bold statements of prediction and preference without having to worry much about any bad karma.

So, that’s what we’re doing.

The Canucks are making it to at least the first round. That means they’ll face off with at least one playoff opponent. Today, we’re putting you on the record with your preferences as to who that opponent should be…and who you don’t want it to be, too.

This week, we’re asking:

Let it be known in the comment section.

 

You answered below!

The short answer is yes … but I wasn’t that confident to begin with.

This year’s Canucks have been an amazing surprise. First place overall at the end of February, amazing and downright shocking.

I have never felt confident this season’s team is an unstoppable force determined to seize their destiny of a Stanley Cup. They have felt a little fragile all year. They have a lot of wins which could have easily gone the other way with a different bounce or two. I’ve wondered all season if they can play a hard enough game to win in the playoffs.

The line-up seems a little disjointed right now. The addition of Lindholm and injury to Joshua are creating some line shuffling. They still can’t build an effective line around Pettersson or even use a single winger consistently with him.

Things could normalize and this team could go deep, the disarray may continue with a loss in the first round or somewhere in between.

Regardless of how the season turns out we have seen fabulous efforts from most of the Canucks, entertaining hockey and a level of success no one predicted.

I remain optimistic, but have never felt really confident in this team.

I am a little more confident in the team. I like how they have responded against the Bruins and the Avalanche.

If this team didn’t go through any adversity during the season, they may have crumbled in the playoffs once they faced some. Going through a physically-demanding road schedule, injuries, and bad officiating will prepare them better for the playoffs.

Still not planning the parade though.

I was never super confident that the Canucks would do much in the playoffs. This team has been a disappointment for as long as I have been a fan. It’s what they do. As good as they looked, they don’t have much playoff experience. But this latest losing streak has made me somewhat MORE pessimistic than I was before.

My feeling on this answering question is much the same as how I feel at the optometrist when they ask you which is better. Number one or number two? Number two or number one? How about number three?

To summarize… I feel about the same, not more confident, not less confident… just some apprehensive optimism as a whole.

Depends what you consider before. I’ve got much more confidence than before the season started. I’ve had less confidence after they lost to Columbus. When people tried to blame the loss on a 150km bus ride to Pearson Airport. This is when the top-six started to show no ability to score at 5-on-5. Third line, Demko, and PP were carrying the team. Thought Lindholm would help Petterson at 5-on-5, but clearly the problem has switched to Pettersson. Whom I think is more interested in padding his stats during a contract year than creating scoring opportunities for his linemates. That being said, this is the Canucks’ best chance to take a run at the Cup. We’ve never had this many players playing above their pay grade. This won’t be the case next year. As $20 million will be going to Hronek and Pettersson. Plus another $2.6 million for the OEL buyout. Imagine removing $11 million in player personnel off this team. That’s what we’re stuck with next year. Going all in this year was the right idea.

No Canuck fan is “confident” in his team, unless they were just born this year. But, that’s some sweet d-corps. I’m more confident in the d-corps than I have been in a decade or longer. They have a waiting list of guys who can play. I must have died and gone to heaven. Remember those ultra-thin Trojan ads: “thinner than the Canucks’ defensive depth.” It’s not the case anymore.

The top-six, minus Miller, makes me feel less confident. I’m not sure what to expect from Petey day-to-day and none of the wingers, besides Hogs, seem very capable of driving play. Do I think Boeser is going to crush it in the playoffs? Nope. I’m still looking daily for that big, top-six TDL addition. Get Guentzel and my confidence will go way up.

But I tell you what, this season has been way more fun than the last one. And the whole city, province, and Canuck fan diaspora is better off for it.

Confident? I’ve never felt confident all season. I keep waiting for the balloon to burst, but the team still hangs in there through adversity. I think the team will settle in and perform well as we head to the playoffs. What that holds in regard to wins, we will have to wait and see, as there are so many variables in the long road of the “second season.” One thing is for sure, they will NOT QUIT and I will be cheering for them every step of the way.

Still confident the Canucks will make the playoffs – but winning a Stanley Cup (which should be the real goal), is still a pipedream…

The Canucks are actually better than I expected. Credit to them. I thought they would make the playoffs, but just barely.

But I have never thought this team was being built to take any serious run at a Cup, and still don’t.

They have not paid the required dues, and there is only a few players willing to play gritty, playoff-style hockey.

I am afraid their competitive window to learn that and acquire those type of players is extremely small. Possibly next year and that’s it.

But the wins have been fun this season!

No, I’m not. They have turned into their own worst enemy. Tocchet needs to clear space at the end of the bench, or leave them sitting in the dressing room in their jockstraps when the team hits the ice.

I was confident we would make the playoffs prior to Game 1 of the season and I am still just as confident. Granted, I think they will win the Pacific. It is hard as a certified PTSD Canucks fan for most of my life to not sit here and wait for the other shoe to drop. I don’t think it will; we will end the season with a solid top-six in the West playoff berth. When it comes to the playoffs, I have come to the conclusion that it matters not who we play in the playoffs. Just ask the Leafs fans who were chanting “we want Florida” last year. Would it be nice to not play Vegas? Sure, but we will have to go through them regardless most likely, so let’s try it when we are fresh. Would we have felt invincible in 2011 if we did not first slay the dragon? I am just as confident we will make the playoffs and I am just as confident the playoffs will play out the way they need to in order for either immediate success or a learning opportunity for next season.

The NHL season is long which wears on the body and mind. With the recent play and undisciplined penalties, you can see that the team is tired mentally, which is causing breakdowns in individuals play.

The team has two key players out with injuries, which has affected the way the team plays. When Soucy returns, expect the defense to start tightening up as the pairings get back to being more consistent. Once Joshua is back, the third line will become a real force with Lindholm centering Joshua and Garland. Then again the line may be re-united with Blueger being the center. With Joshua being out, the third line has been just ok, but the team has missed the energy the third line would produce and create for the team.

Once the trade deadline has passed, expect the coaching staff will take full advantage of the home stands to use the practices to get the team back on course of being tough to beat, and Kessel slides into the lineup and gets nine points to get over a personal point milestone and shows the team why he is considered a legend of being a great teammate.

Have full confidence that the management will assemble a team that will compete in the playoffs and that the coaching staff will get the team further than anyone could have dreamed of back in September.

Bains will be sent back to Abbotsford and gives Abbotsford the boost they need for a playoff run.