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JPat’s Monday Canucks Mailbag: Could Quinn Hughes really win the Hart Trophy?
Jeff Paterson's weekly Vancouver Canucks mailbag.
Jeff Paterson
Aug 18, 2025, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 19, 2025, 01:59 EDT
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We made it! Okay, it’s not quite hockey season just yet, but this is the final Monday mailbag of the summer.
Fear not, the feature will return on September 8th and by then, we’ll be just days away from the Vancouver Canucks prospects facing off against a group of the top young players in Seattle’s system. So we’re not too far away from being able to dig into actual hockey being played. However, there are still a few weeks to grind through. So be patient. Relax. And enjoy this week’s edition of the CanucksArmy Monday Mailbag.
Quinn Hughes turns 26 on October 14th. He’s entering his seventh full season in the National Hockey League. It is fair to say that he may very well be at the absolute apex of his career. And yet, that also may not be enough to allow him to reach the century mark.
You have to consider that just one defenceman over the past 32 years has accomplished that feat. And he barely got there (Erik Karlsson produced 101 points in 2022-23). So while not impossible, it is an improbable outcome even for an otherworldly player like Quinn Hughes.
Now, the second part of the question seems more attainable. If Hughes stays healthy, has a massive season – even if he falls short of reaching 100 points – and propels the Canucks to the playoffs, a Hart trophy isn’t out of the realm of possibility. He was playing at that level up until Christmas last season. But let’s not get carried away. In the era of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov and Connor Hellebuyck, breaking through to join the Hart Trophy winners club is going to be an awfully tall order for a defenceman on a team many are projecting to be in a battle just to be in the Wild Card mix.
The simple answer: pass the puck to Quinn Hughes and let the captain run wild. Hughes is going to get his points. That much is obvious. It still remains shocking to think Quinn Hughes had 26 more points than anyone else on the team last season. The Canucks need to find a way to harness his greatness and figure out how others can benefit more from the captain’s outrageous production levels.
As for Elias Pettersson, hopefully he returns stronger than ever and has found a way to regain speed in his skating stride and added zip on his shot. NHL Edge data proved he was lacking in both areas last season. The Canucks need a confident EP40 to be a play-driving beast who also feasts on the power play. In his 102-point campaign, Pettersson had 25 power play points, but also added nine short-handed points and scored three overtime goals, as well. In other words, he impacted all areas of the game and at all strengths. It’s the only way to rack up points at the rate he did. And without question, he’ll need some help, too.
If Pettersson can get back to being an elite playmaker, he will require his linemates to be in fine goal-scoring form. Look, jumping from 45 points last season back into triple digits is a monumental ask. Sure, he’s being paid to be a top producer, but as much as people are demanding a return to his 100-point form based solely on his paycheque, that is much easier said than done. For it to happen, Pettersson has to make it happen – but he’ll also require just about every bounce imaginable. 
Most of them. Tyler Myers might drive since he spends his offseasons in Kelowna. Regardless of the mode of transportation used to get here, yes, players should be filtering back into town by the end of the month and over the Labour Day weekend. The team’s annual Jake Milford golf event is slated for September 8th, which is a week earlier than usual. And that may very well be by design to ensure all players have checked in 10 days prior to training camp. While some of the group will skate in that first week of September, the rest will get in plenty of on-ice workouts between the Jake and the first day of camp in Penticton on September 18th.
My gut tells me that much of what Adam Foote does in his first year as head coach will resemble plenty of what Rick Tocchet did in his time behind the bench. I would assume that will include using a similar training camp blueprint while sprinkling in his own touches. Tocchet conducted a highly organized camp last year, employing two sheets of ice at the South Okanagan Events Centre to maximize what the Canucks were able to accomplish in Penticton. There were plenty of teaching moments and several drills aimed at driving tempo, encouraging battles and testing conditioning levels. Foote was heavily involved in the planning and execution of last year’s training camp, so I would expect him to follow a similar playbook.
Ultimately, camp is so short these days (two or three sessions of drills and possibly a scrimmage), it’s hard to read too much into how much will be accomplished. Training camp is the launch pad for the season, but ultimately Foote and the Canucks will be judged by what they do once they leave Penticton.
Full credit to the Vancouver Whitecaps for everything they’ve done this season. They were already near the top of the Major League Soccer table before making the massive splash with the addition of German legend Thomas Müller. The Caps deserve all the goodwill they’ve earned with their performance on the pitch and now rightfully seem to be basking in the glow of the Müller addition and the global attention that has attracted. But the Canucks are the Canucks. And I don’t think the addition of Müller is enough to knock the hockey club from its perch in this town over the long haul.
If the Whitecaps can have the type of autumn that has eluded them over the years and can push for an MLS Cup, then sure, the gap between the teams will surely narrow in terms of buzz in the market. But the Caps need to hold up their end of the bargain. As we’ve seen over the past decade, even when the Canucks struggle, they still take up almost all the oxygen in this city’s sporting landscape. So I think a lot still has to happen for the Canucks to play second fiddle to anyone in Vancouver. Even next summer, when the FIFA World Cup 2026 is in town, the Canucks’ cap situation and Quinn Hughes’ future here will still likely dominate discussions.

Have soccer fans Hendrik & Daniel challenged Müller to a Grouse Grind?

— DSto (@dsto2.bsky.social) 2025-08-16T17:00:24.867Z

This feels like a charity challenge that has to happen. Müller looks like he could rip up the Grind without breaking much of a sweat, while we know the Sedins continue to crush the dreams of Canucks prospects each summer by regularly posting faster hike times than young players half their age. Müller would get some great content out of it, and if we’ve seen one thing about him in his brief time on the ground in Vancouver, it’s that he is a content machine. The Sedins don’t need the social media cred, but we know they’re great competitors and would want to prove that they still run this town. Plus, they’d have home mountain advantage working in their favour. If it can be arranged, I think it’s the cross-over sporting event this city didn’t know it needed. But we’d have to make sure we give Henrik the respect he’s earned and spell his name properly on the promotional material.

PRESENTED BY WHISTLER GOLF CLUB

This article is a presentation of the Arnold Palmer designed Whistler Golf Club.  Spring preparations are underway with opening day on May 9th.  Whistler Golf Club is now accepting online bookings for the entire 2025 season, so no need to wait to get those times locked in.  If you have a group of 12 or more, get those times on hold now as prime times are filling up fast.  For more information, head to https://www.whistlergolf.com/

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