Welcome back to WDYTT, the only hockey column on the internet to deliver daily hits on a weekly basis, annually.
Speaking of annually, it’s time once again for the annual official Vancouver Canucks Team Awards.
Some of the awards are handed out automatically, like the one for the team’s top scorer. The rest are voted on by fans. Which usually makes for a pretty easy edition of the WDYTT for yours truly. Each year, we tend to just ask folks around this time who they voted for and why – or, if they didn’t vote, who they would have voted for.
But this year, it’s a little more complicated than that, and the reason for that is that at least two of the four voted-on awards are already forgone conclusions.
The Canucks’ undisputed 2024/25 MVP was Quinn Hughes.
Their top defender? Also, very clearly, Quinn Hughes.
(He’s also the top scorer; go figure.)
And, yeah, we realize he’s also very much in the running for “Most Exciting Player,” too, but at least on that one, there’s more room for debate.
Either way, he’s definitely not the team’s “Unsung Hero.” On many nights, he’s all we’ve had to sing about.
So, we’re asking anyway, but doing so with the realization that everyone is going to pick Hughes for the first two awards. So, what we’re really asking everyone to do is list Hughes twice and then share their votes for the “Most Exciting” and “Unsung Hero” awards.
This week, we’re asking you:

Who deserves each of the Canucks’ 2024/25 team awards for “MVP,” “Top Defender,” “Most Exciting,” and “Unsung Hero”?

Let it be known in the comment section.
Last week, we asked:

Do you believe next season will be better for the Vancouver Canucks?

You answered below!
Content Available:
Sadly, no.
Alex h:
Why is it so difficult to face reality? The Canucks are only getting worse. One thing is certain, they won’t be competitive anytime soon. They’ve already ruined their window while Quinn Hughes is still here.
Jon0:
Last season was an overperformance with many players having career years. This season was an underperformance with pretty much everything that could go wrong, going wrong.
I feel like next season will be better than this one, but worse than last season. I expect this time of year next season the Canucks will be fighting between 2nd and 3rd in the Pacific.
RDster:
This season was so bad that I have to think next season will not be as good as last season, but it will be a bit better than this season.
Neal Larter:
Canucks have floated since 2011, and until they have size grit and talent, they will forever be mediocre.
muad’dib:
If they are better it will be because PA will sacrifice the future by trading away more draft picks and prospects. Or maybe EP40 will grow up this summer and a realize that he is not the center of the universe.
Randy Hodge:
Why wouldn’t next season be better for the Canucks ? If not for injuries and adversity beyond their control, they would have made the playoffs this season.
defenceman factory:
The Canucks will be better next season. While management mistakes are adding up I’m optimistic they will make a couple strong roster additions and be a solid team next season. The further development of at least a couple young players will make a difference.
Melodrama, cancer, and a leg injury no goalie ever had before is a lot of bad luck. Has to get better. There are a lot of proud, character players on the Canucks.
Not sure how much better the Canucks will be. Have to rediscover 100-point EP40 to be a real threat.
West Coaster:
No. I don’t think next season will be better… it will be worse. Too many compounding mistakes. They have gone from being a couple of players away to needing a whole new top-six. They will need to fleece the other GMs, and that’s just not going to happen. They squandered, and dismantled, what is now a disaster season waiting to happen. I don’t want to see another Boudreau or Green type of exit next season…
Hockey Bunker:
This season was bad; based on high expectations, it felt much worse.
Could it be any worse next year? Likely not, because expectations will be low, especially if EP40 and BB are both back. And so, even if the team slips a bit, no one will be too surprised.
This is a convoluted way of saying if expectations plummet, we might have a better chance of mild positive surprise…even missing the playoffs again.
What a terrible thing it is to be a fan of this club when simply getting into the bottom of the top half is supposed to be a great accomplishment. Oh well, I always cheer for the home side.
Graham  McKinnon:
The Canucks will be worse. I don’t see us fixing our problem down the middle. Even if EP40 finds his old form (and I think that is a massive ‘if’) we still have a problem down the middle. Further, it is not crazy to think Chytil has seen his last NHL game, and if we don’t sign Suter to a new deal, then we really do have major problems down the middle.
For all the hope we had in our goaltending for this season, the stats show that it really has been on the poorer side of the equation. Basically, all we have is Quinn Hughes, and sadly that is not enough to do well.
If we keep Tocchet, then I likely won’t bother to watch next season….this season was possibly the most boring season of Canucks hockey I have had to suffer through. I even preferred the late 90s to this season, not by much, but at least there was some entertainment value. The glimmer of hope for next season is that it is possible for us to become at least a little more entertaining, though I expect more GOTI hockey to lull me to sleep.
alpacaduck:
(Winner of the author’s weekly award for eloquence)
What does it even mean to be better?
Better in the standings? Maybe. The cap going up historically benefits the Canucks, who historically put themselves in cap hell.
But better as a whole? Closer to a Cup? Being a legitimate contender without sacrificing the future for two games of playoff revenue? The last 1.5 decades say ‘no.’
copey:
No. They have no one left who can put up 80 points in a season. No offence.
Thanks stupid feud, and Tocchey Hockey, which kills scoring.
Just think, one year and two months ago: best team in the league. And now?
Uncle Jeffy:
Will the Canucks be better next season?
For a simplistic analysis, there are four basic areas that can be considered:
  1. Returning Roster: Will the returning players (i.e. excluding UFAs) be better on average next year? Well, if EP40 can return to his form of 2+ years ago, that would be a big factor. A full year of MP3 should help, and EP2 might be a net upgrade. QH is having a down year relative to his baseline, but it is unrealistic to believe that he can be much better, injuries notwithstanding. More games with Demko might help, but that is by no means a given. Otherwise, unless the rest of the roster have career years (like last season) I don’t see any reason other than an EP40 renaissance to be optimistic that rolling out the same core next year will improve things. Goaltending was statistically worse than the eye test, but I can’t see KLanky or Demko stealing more wins or causing more losses next year. Chytil might never return to form.
  2. Roster Upgrades: Will new players be improvements over the guys they are replacing? Given the lack of non-roster assets and any cap space advantage, it seems unlikely the Canucks can bring in more than maybe one difference maker at best in a trade or free agency that will be better than the players they are replacing. If BB or Suter are re-signed, it is not realistic to assume that they will materially outperform what they did this season. And without any prospects or a major lottery-win draft pick this year, it is highly unlikely that any new young talent will be a factor next year. At best, Willander might be a reasonable bottom-4 D-man… not a saviour. Another Zaddy-for-a-third deal can’t be expected. (Not trading BB at the deadline was a major missed opportunity in my opinion).
  3. Luck (injuries and PDO): Last season was a perfect storm of good fortune on the injury front; this season was the opposite. Assuming a return to middle ground (never a likely outcome for long-suffering fans), next season should see a benefit from fewer key players missing games. For PDO, this season seems to be pretty average, so a regression to the mean will have no effect.
  1. Coaching: In my opinion, RT is a high-floor / low-ceiling guy. He has done a reasonable job this season getting the most out of the team in this tumultuous season, but I just don’t see him having the capability of rolling out anything other than the same low-event system next year, or that it will be any less ineffective. 2023/24 was a PDO party that I didn’t think was a realistic representation of the team’s true level at the time, and I believe that even more now. If there is a new head coach next year, who the hell knows?
My conclusion: More of the same next year. Not much scope for the returning players (excl. EP40) to crank things up much, and not much opportunity to materially upgrade the roster. I can’t see the team being much worse though. Better (less bad) injury luck and a potential resurgence of EP40 are about the only positives I see right now.
Magic Head:
As of today, there are five teams that have been officially eliminated from the postseason. None are in the Eastern Conference, and all of them are in the Western Conference, three of them are in the Canucks’ own division. Canucks benefited from being in the worst division the past couple of years and it inflated their results. Will the Canucks be better? Canucks only have one more win than Anaheim and two more wins than Seattle as of today. I think Anaheim and Seattle will be better next season. Utah, Calgary, Nashville will be better. The only punching bags in the conference for the Canucks will be San Jose and Chicago. Help isn’t coming unless they can snag a couple top-tier free agents.
BC:
If we keep our pick, we will be a top-10 lottery pick next season.
Jibsys:
Too soon to tell and too many questions still unresolved but in general things are pointing to things being worse. Who will be the coach? who is playing 1C or 2C for this team? Will they move on Demko before he becomes a UFA? Will they sign Suter? Will they try and go for a big fish UFA? What about Boeser?
I am more on the pessimistic side of things here because in my opinion this team’s top talent has diminished since PA became the general manager. The defense is better now than it was at the start of the season, but the forward and centre depth is not looking good.
I think the team will once again look a lot different, but will not be a playoff team, unless by some miracle they are able to land a centre UFA that actually clicks. Unlikely though, the bidding will be high.
K-Dawg:
I don’t think this team will be better. I think the owner insisting they compete now has ruined this franchise. This team has not been competitive for any extended period since 2012. Since then there have been three playoff appearances and they never got close to another Final.
I feel this is a sinking ship and there isn’t much that can be done. Last year was good but that team couldn’t be kept together and then the Miller departure really put the Canucks in a bind.
Free agency isn’t going to help much. EP40 might get you a couple of assets. I’d also look at dealing Demko, Garland, and the rights to Suter and Boeser. Maybe they can get four young high-upside guys to come in and give this team a jolt. I guess these new guys would need to be around 21-23ish and show the upside.
I don’t think there’s any other way to turn this team around. It’s a big mess once again.
Kootendaydude:
No. They may get more points, but I feel with this ownership and management group. Every decision will be based on just making the playoffs. They don’t have the mindset to build a contender. They are mentally incapable of taking a step back to succeed in the future. Just a win now pretender. I see nothing but a mushy middle team for years to come.
Jim Morris:
The consensus seams to be that they’ll be worse. I don’t buy it. How many teams have ever improved while being without a goaltender of Demko’s stature? Combine that with a number of other injuries and the gong show put on by our two entitled spoiled best players and it seems to me there’s nowhere to go but up. Oh, one more thing. Personally, I’m hoping that coach Tocchet stays with us.
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