WWYDW: Which Vancouver Canuck needs to put in the most work this summer?
1 year ago
Welcome back to WWYDW, the only hockey column on the internet that isn’t at least partially written by ChatGPT.
Speaking of inventions, the summer is typically thought of as the perfect time for hockey players to reinvent themselves. Sure, hockey is a winter sport, but it’s often been said that the in-between months are just as — if not more — important than the regular season when it comes to an individual’s on-ice success.
Now, we realize that already starting talk of summer in late April might seem strange. But as far as the Vancouver Canucks are concerned, it’s summer-time already. And there are several players on the roster who must know that they need to have big-time summer-times in 2023…or suffer the consequences.
Any way you slice it, the 2022/23 season was a disappointment for the Canucks, and there were definitely more than a handful of disappointing personal performances strewn across the roster. But that’s in the past. There are now more than four months to go until Training Camp 2023 opens. That’s plenty of time to work with. It’s enough time to make major changes to a player’s fitness, their skating, their play-style, and any other number of things that might need to be worked on in an offseason.
It’s just a matter of time, dedication, and effort.
You can probably see where this is all leading.
This week, we’re asking you:
Which Vancouver Canuck needs to put in the most work this summer? (And on what?)
Let it be known in the comment section.
Of the 16 options, who do you most want to win the Stanley Cup in 2023?
You answered below!
Chris the Curmudgeon:
(Winner of the author’s weekly award for eloquence)
(Winner of the author’s weekly award for eloquence)
Every year the Canucks miss the playoffs, I generate a metric to stratify my cheering priorities, customized to that year’s participants. Since I only really want to see the Canucks win, it is structured primarily by lowest negative preference. Here is this year’s:
- Not Boston.
- Not the Leaves, then not Edmonton (we will never, ever hear the end of it in either case).
- No new US-based winners. Until my suffering for lack of Cup ends, no one else gets relief either. This means no to Seattle, Las Vegas, Minnesota and Florida.
- Normally, this slot is reserved for “no division rivals”. However, I am rescuing the only team that would still be left here (see below).
- Teams with individual players I am cheering against. This year, that means no Islanders, as Horvat has earned himself a quick comeuppance.
- Teams on whom I am neutral: Tampa Bay, Colorado, Rangers, Devils, Carolina, Dallas.
- Teams with ex-Canucks I would like to see win Cup. As hard as it is to say, that brings the Kings all the way here due to Edler. Unfortunately for Schenn, Rule 2 is not open to exceptions.
- Any Canadian team that isn’t Edmonton, Calgary, or Toronto. In this case, the Jets.
So by my metric, this year Winnipeg is my first choice, then LA.
JCanuck:
I’m rooting for Eddy.
It would be nice to see him win.
Kootendaydude:
I know they are Canadian, but it really is hard to cheer for the Oilers. I’m an old guy, so last year I cheered for Tampa right from the get go. After watching the way that LA controlled the Canucks, I considered them a worthy underdog to cheer for. Plus, Doughty and Kopitar are old guys.
bruce donice:
Hockey is just entertainment now that Canucks are no longer playing. Went out to Abbotsford and watched their first playoff game. Höglander will be back in the NHL next season. So, was able to get a Canuck playoff game in and will likely put more into cheering on the Abbotsford Canucks than having any emotional attachment to the NHL playoffs.
Kearnsie:
Nov 8, 1985
Oilers 13, Canucks 0
Never forget.
DerekP63:
Not Booins, not Laffs, not Ugliers, leaving only Winnipeg in Canada. Not Devils, not Vegas, not Islanders (hope Bo is golfing next week), not Dallas or Minnesota, so who’s left? LA, Tampa, Carolina, Florida, Rangers, Colorado, Seattle, and Winnipeg. Not Seattle, that would be a tough pill to swallow. The rest, I’m pretty indifferent to, so in reverse order of indifference: LA, Rangers, Panthers, Hurricanes, Lightning, Avalanche, Jets. Winnipeg maybe should be rewarded for having to live through any mosquito season there.
BeerCan Boyd:
No one. I’m a Canucks fan, why would I want any other team to win the Cup?
Icehole:
Once the Canucks are out, I watch the games for good hockey. It doesn’t matter to me who wins.
John Bates:
I’m a Canucks fan, but could stand to see Jets win. Otherwise, I like Vegas and Seattle, ‘cause I enjoy their fan-bases when I visit those cities. I couldn’t care less about how long teams have been in the league, the players are all that matters.
Mark Arty:
Once the Islanders , Coilers, and Laffs are gone, my year will be complete.
51Geezer:
Go Jets! Dearth to Bettman!
Quinns Quest:
Can Abby win it all? Oh wait, what about the ex-Canucks farm club Moose turned into the Jets again?
Anyway, no one is picking Hughes’ brothers. Probably because they look to be going down in NJ.
Well, as Canuck fans, all the other choices seem more bitter-tasting from past rivalries. It’s a sad thought after 50-plus years of missing out on the Cup.
Jesse James Town:
I AM MOTTE! GETTTTTT’EM.
Chris the Curmudgeon (again):
It’s not about wanting another team to win the Cup, it’s about wanting the teams you hate the most to not win it. In 2012, not long after we were knocked out in the first round by the Kings, I got a good measure of relief from seeing the 7th-seeded Washington Capitals take the Bruins out in Game 7 OT. It would have been easy enough for me to say “the Canucks are out, I don’t care,” but you’d better believe I was cheering my lungs out over that moment.
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