Do you think the Canucks are playing as a team now…rather than all plays start and end with Quinn Hughes
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JPat’s Monday Mailbag: How many consecutive wins would make you believe Canucks could make the playoffs?
Dec 22, 2025, 11:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 22, 2025, 10:35 EST
Are the Vancouver Canucks red hot? Is the NHL’s Eastern Conference overrated? Is it a little bit of Column A and a little bit of Column B? Even the most optimistic among the Canucks fan base couldn’t have expected a four-game win streak given where this team was at the outset of the current road trip. But here they are, mowing down opponents and climbing their way out of the league basement.
And tonight in Philadelphia, the Canucks have the chance to head into the holiday break on the team’s first five-game win streak in nearly two years. Indeed, the Canucks have delivered the goods on this road trip. And speaking of delivering, it’s time to dive into our weekly Monday mailbag.
Without question, the Canucks are not deferring to one player the way they did far too often when Quinn Hughes was still on the roster. Without question, Hughes is a great player, but the Canucks seemed content to stand around and watch their former captain attempt to do much of the heavy lifting on his own. These are all elite-level players who made it to the NHL on the merits of their own skills. Now, those same players are expected to shoulder more of the load and figure things out without one central figure commanding the puck on every shift. The team’s star power certainly took a hit on December 12th, but perhaps the upshot is that more players will now have the chance to dig in and put their best foot forward. Through four games since the trade, the Canucks have 13 goals from nine different scorers and 15 different players have made offensive contributions. So they are spreading the offence and getting a bunch of guys involved. Almost sounds like the definition of a team.
how many wins in a row would it take you to believe the canucks can make the playoffs? 10? 15? 20? 30!?
What kind of savage would need to see 20 straight victories? A mere 10-game win streak is all I need to witness to truly believe this version of the Canucks is a playoff contender. Of course, 10 straight wins would match the franchise record set back in the West Coast Express days in November of 2002. So it’s been a while. But show me 10 in a row, and I’ll start to believe that the playoffs might just be possible. That is a sentence I never imagined uttering 10 days ago.
Which veteran is going to be Rudolph for this team after Christmas? Who’s guiding the sleigh?
Seems pretty obvious that Thatcher Demko is the only vet truly capable of hauling this team around to deliver the goods. Others might chip in. But if we’re talking lead dog – or reindeer, in this case – Demko seems like the guy. Now, his red nose may be obstructed by his mask. But make no mistake, when their ace goalie is on top of his game, his teammates will know it. And they won’t be calling names, and they’ll gladly allow him to play in their games. Maybe too many games for the liking of some in the fan base.
Yes. I’m going to say yes. But which Petey will we see there is a different question altogether. Remember, people thought getting to represent Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off would bring out the best in the enigmatic centre. Instead, he barely saw the ice. A year later, and as the stakes go up heading to the Olympics, it’s impossible to know what sort of role Pettersson will have and what his federation truly expects he can and will deliver in Milan. Leo Carlsson, Mika Zibanejad, Joel Eriksson-Ek, and even Elias Lindholm may have more to offer at centre ice. So, again, it becomes a question of where Sweden slots Pettersson and what kind of impact he will have in a high-intensity best-on-best tournament.
Could the Canucks soon have the best 3rd and 4th lines in the nhl? It’s the money-puck way to win.
That feels like a stretch. I’m not even sure who the third and fourth lines are. What do the lines look like when Elias Pettersson returns? What do the lines look like when Kiefer Sherwood is inevitably dealt? Is David Kämpf the third line centre? Fourth line guy? Or does he come out of the lineup altogether if Teddy Blueger is ever medically cleared to return? Is Nils Höglander included in this discussion? Or how about Aatu Räty? Honestly, it’s impossible to answer this question due to the many moving parts. There are some intriguing combinations in the mix, and certainly the Öhgren-Sasson-Karlsson line looked impressive on Saturday night in Boston. But without so many others in offensive funks, that trio feels like one of the top two lines for the Canucks rather than being pegged as fourth liners. So who knows?
what’s the reason for scratching räty??
This question was posed prior to the game in Boston on Saturday, so it was good to see Räty return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the previous three games. He was the low ice time guy (9:48), but registered a career-high eight hits and did what he always does in the faceoff circle, winning nine of 12 draws. Adam Foote hasn’t come right out and explained why Räty was the odd man out for the first three games after the trade with Minnesota. Part of it, I think, was that the team started to win and the coaches decided to stick with the guys that got the job done. I also have a hunch that the Canucks have some concerns with his off puck play and are prioritizing speed in their bottom six, and that’s one area that the 23-year-old Finn doesn’t really measure up. With two new additions from Minnesota and a healthy Nils Höglander, there is now competition for spots in the lineup on a nightly basis. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. And with Pettersson and Blueger potentially getting back soon, that internal competition is only going to ratchet up. It’s going to be interesting to monitor Räty’s usage moving forward. He can certainly win draws. But is that enough for him to be an everyday player for this team? This past week would suggest it is not.
Has anybody even seen Derek Forbort?
Yes, several people saw Derek Forbort at a recent season ticket holder event. There he is!
forbort sign of life 🙏
Unless that was a cardboard cutout, that’s Forbort in between Linus Karlsson and Drew O’Connor. So we have people who have laid eyes on him. And in uniform, too. However, there is no update of any kind about where he is in his recovery from a midsection injury that has prevented him from playing all but the first two games of this season. The Canucks insist he hopes to play again at some point this season, but he hasn’t practiced with the team in ages. So we’ll need to get another update from Adam Foote when the club gets home off the road and skates again on December 27th at Rogers Arena.
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