For the remainder of his current deal, Quinn Hughes is the best value on the Vancouver Canucks. Full stop. With what the team gets from its captain at $7.85M, it’s an absolute bargain — one of the best in the league. He may not double his annual salary on his next contract, but it won’t be far off. And he’ll still likely provide value even at that inflated price point. As for the other contracts that represent a win for the hockey club, it’s hard to argue with what Kiefer Sherwood delivered for $1.5M in the first year of his two year pact with the hockey club.

If Thatcher Demko could promise full health and a return to his 2023-24 form from the start of the season, I would lump him in as a value deal at $5M in the final year of his current contract. But because there are still many question marks surrounding the netminder’s health heading into next season, I’m going to say Jake DeBrusk and Marcus Pettersson — both at $5.5M — for a top line scoring winger and a second pair defenceman both represent solid value in today’s NHL economy.

Given recent form, you’d have to put Elias Pettersson’s $11.6M annual salary in the burdensome contract bins. If he can get back to anywhere close to being the player that racked up 102 points a few seasons ago, then his contract will be commensurate with that type of production. But he’s coming of a 15-goal and 45-point campaign that was bogged down by injuries. That’s not a lot of value for $11.6M. Really, the Canucks have cleared their books of contracts that truly handcuff them. If Kevin Lankinen proves to be a clear-cut back up, then his $4.5M becomes tougher to justify. But he earned a raise and negotiated from a position of strength with Demko fightning through a variety of injuries last season. Brock Boeser needs to be in the neighbourhood of 30 goals next season to extract value from his $7.25M contract. And Nils Höglander’s now making $3M per season and another eight-goal campaign simply won’t cut it at that rate. But in saying that, he represents the very real possibility of value if he can get back close to being a 20-goal guy.

I’m going to go ahead and define break out star as someone that hasn’t yet popped at the NHL level. Others may define it differently. I think a fully healthy Filip Chytil has the potential to emerge as more than a 45-point guy. Does that qualify as break out star? Maybe, maybe not. Beyond Chytil, I guess I have to look at recent first round draft picks Jonathan Lekkerimäki and Tom Willander. Lekkerimäki got his feet wet in the NHL last season while Willander is still looking to make his big league debut.

Both should have an opportunity to make a claim for a roster spot at training camp. Does Lekkerimäki need more time as a top-line player in Abbotsford? Is Willander ready to make the jump from college to the NHL? Those seem like legitimate questions that can’t be answered at this very moment. I’m not sure the Canucks have any young players in the system that are going to blow the doors off the hockey world next season. But certainly Victor Mancini and fellow defender Elias Pettersson will be looking to advance their careers, and one of them may end up being the guy who breaks out the most.

Let me qualify this answer with the fact that I don’t profess to be a prospects expert and really only watched Danila Klimovich closely in the playoffs. While it’s true that he scored a couple of huge double-overtime goals, he was also a healthy scratch on a number of occasions. To his credit, he made the most of his regular-season opportunities to play higher in the lineup while so many of his teammates were shuttled in and out of Vancouver. When the team was stacked for the playoffs, Klimovich regularly found himself in a bottom six role where his production was muted. It is wild that at just 22, he has already played 218 AHL regular season games and scored 52 goals.

I think he remains in the project category, but should have a chance to be a regular top six forward all season in Abbotsford. His team-leading 25 goals last year is nothing to scoff at and likely put him back on track within the organization. The best thing a player like Klimovich can do is keep his head down, work hard, continue to score goals and force the Canucks to consider calling him up at some point. There is still a gap to bridge before that happens, but I don’t think it’s entirely out of the question at some point next season.

This feels like a simple math equation to me. And it’s one that favours the PWHL Vancouver team that needs a nickname in a hurry. Not only is PWHL Vancouver one of eight teams in its league, but it was stacked in an expansion draft and is favoured by some to win a title in its inaugural season. When I look at the Canucks, I think they’ll be in a battle just to make the playoffs and, at this point, they still seem like they have plenty of ground to cover to be a true contender. I like the fact that PWHL Vancouver has a chance to be very competitive in its first season of operation. So as one of eight teams that may only have to beat two other opponents (possibly three) to get their hands on the Walter Cup as opposed to the Canucks who are one of 32 teams and would have to go four playoff rounds to win it all, I think PWHL Vancouver stands to win a title sooner than its crosstown counterparts.