<p>Just several hours away from the 2019-20 regular season starting for the Canucks, some bold predictions coming out of the media and a Canucks legend up to his typical social media expertise.</p>
<p>On the former, Elliotte Friedman released an opening-night 31 Thoughts blog that featured all sorts of juicy information. But the main bit that grabbed every Canucks fan&#8217;s attention was one of the key figures in the hockey media landscape almost going with Vancouver&#8217;s Elias Pettersson as his Hart Trophy Candidate.</p>
<p>As he mentions in his post:</p>
<blockquote><p>Whatever happens tonight in the Alberta capital, it is already a victory for the Oilers. There were plenty of rumours during the summer <a class="sn-player-post-link" href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/players/connor-mcdavid/878032" data-player="878032" data-an-opt-label="Connor McDavid (878032) - 31 Thoughts: NHL opening night promises intrigue, fireworks (4749872)" data-an-category="Player Tooltip Link" data-an-track-hover="true">Connor McDavid</a> would not be ready opening night, but he’ll be out there with the “C” on his jersey, leading Edmonton against Vancouver. I went with <a class="sn-player-post-link" href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/players/nathan-mackinnon/741404" data-player="741404" data-an-opt-label="Nathan MacKinnon (741404) - 31 Thoughts: NHL opening night promises intrigue, fireworks (4749872)" data-an-category="Player Tooltip Link" data-an-track-hover="true">Nathan MacKinnon</a> as my Hart Trophy pick in our <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/sportsnet-nhl-insider-predictions-2019-20-season/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sportsnet.ca predictions</a>, but <a class="sn-player-post-link initialized bound" style="background: transparent;color: #156bac;text-decoration: none" href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/players/elias-pettersson/1057103" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-player="1057103" data-an-opt-label="Elias Pettersson (1057103) - 31 Thoughts: NHL opening night promises intrigue, fireworks (4749872)" data-an-category="Player Tooltip Link" data-an-track-hover="true"></p>
<div class='player-info-container nhl-tooltip-van'>
        <img class='team-logo' src='https://images.rogersdigitalmedia.com/www.sportsnet.ca/team_logos/200x200/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks.png'></p>
<div class='first-name'>Elias</div>
<div class='last-name'>Pettersson</div>
<div class='player-position'>Centre</div>
<div class='player-birthplace'>Sundsvall, SWE</div>
<div class='player-photo'>
<div class='player-photo-inner'>
            	<img class='img-responsive' src='//assets1.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/players/nhl/e/elias-pettersson.png' />
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<p>        &lt;/div&gt;</p>
<p>    &lt;/div&gt;</p>
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<div class='player-stats-row'>
<div class='statistic text-center'>
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<div class='type'>g</div>
<div class='value'>1</div>
<p>            &lt;/div&gt;</p>
<div class='statistic text-center'>
<div class='type'>a</div>
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<div class='type'>sog</div>
<div class='value'>2</div>
<p>            &lt;/div&gt;</p>
<div class='statistic text-center'>
<div class='type'>s%</div>
<div class='value'>50.0</div>
<p>            &lt;/div&gt;<br />
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<div class='player-status-container'>
<div class='status-card-active-height'>
<div class='status-active'>
<div class="status-container">Status: <span class="active">Active</span></div>
<p>&lt;br/&gt;<br />
            &lt;/div&gt;</p>
<div class='clearfix'></div>
<div class='full-profile'><a class='tooltip-player-link' target='_blank' data-player='1057103' href='/hockey/nhl/players/elias-pettersson/1057103'>Full Profile</a>
            </div>
<p>        &lt;/div&gt;</p>
<p>    &lt;/div&gt;</p>
<p>&lt;/div&gt;<br />
&#8221; data-toggle=&#8221;tooltip&#8221; data-placement=&#8221;auto&#8221; data-html=&#8221;true&#8221; data-trigger=&#8221;hover click focus&#8221;&gt;Elias Pettersson</a> was very, very high on my list.</p>
<p>There are players in this league who recognize McDavid’s greatness, but want to make it clear to everyone they see themselves at the same level. <a class="sn-player-post-link initialized bound" style="background: transparent;color: #156bac;text-decoration: none" href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/players/mitchell-marner/878035" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-player="878035" data-an-opt-label="Mitch Marner (878035) - 31 Thoughts: NHL opening night promises intrigue, fireworks (4749872)" data-an-category="Player Tooltip Link" data-an-track-hover="true"></p>
<div class='player-info-container nhl-tooltip-tor'>
        <img class='team-logo' src='https://images.rogersdigitalmedia.com/www.sportsnet.ca/team_logos/200x200/hockey/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs.png'></p>
<div class='first-name'>Mitchell</div>
<div class='last-name'>Marner</div>
<div class='player-position'>Right Wing</div>
<div class='player-birthplace'>Markham, ON</div>
<div class='player-photo'>
<div class='player-photo-inner'>
            	<img class='img-responsive' src='//assets1.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/players/nhl/m/mitchell-marner.png' />
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<p>        &lt;/div&gt;</p>
<p>    &lt;/div&gt;</p>
<div class='player-stats nhl-tooltip-tor'>
<div class='player-stats-row'>
<div class='statistic text-center'>
<div class='type'>gp</div>
<div class='value'>1</div>
<p>            &lt;/div&gt;</p>
<div class='statistic text-center'>
<div class='type'>g</div>
<div class='value'>0</div>
<p>            &lt;/div&gt;</p>
<div class='statistic text-center'>
<div class='type'>a</div>
<div class='value'>1</div>
<p>            &lt;/div&gt;<br />
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<div class='player-stats-row'>
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<div class='type'>+/-</div>
<div class='value'>-1</div>
<p>            &lt;/div&gt;</p>
<div class='statistic text-center'>
<div class='type'>sog</div>
<div class='value'>2</div>
<p>            &lt;/div&gt;</p>
<div class='statistic text-center'>
<div class='type'>s%</div>
<div class='value'>0.0</div>
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<div class='player-status-container'>
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<div class='status-active'>
<div class="status-container">Status: <span class="active">Active</span></div>
<p>&lt;br/&gt;<br />
            &lt;/div&gt;</p>
<div class='clearfix'></div>
<div class='full-profile'><a class='tooltip-player-link' target='_blank' data-player='878035' href='/hockey/nhl/players/mitchell-marner/878035'>Full Profile</a>
            </div>
<p>        &lt;/div&gt;</p>
<p>    &lt;/div&gt;</p>
<p>&lt;/div&gt;<br />
&#8221; data-toggle=&#8221;tooltip&#8221; data-placement=&#8221;auto&#8221; data-html=&#8221;true&#8221; data-trigger=&#8221;hover click focus&#8221;&gt;Mitch Marner</a> and <a class="sn-player-post-link" href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/players/auston-matthews/920210" data-player="920210" data-an-opt-label="Auston Matthews (920210) - 31 Thoughts: NHL opening night promises intrigue, fireworks (4749872)" data-an-category="Player Tooltip Link" data-an-track-hover="true">Auston Matthews</a> are two of them. Pettersson is another. On the road, Vancouver does not control the matchup, but I hope we see Pettersson get a few shifts versus McDavid. Who gets that puck? How hard does the other work to get it back? This is a showdown we’ve earned, Travis Green and Dave Tippett. Give it to us.</p>
<p>It’s a massive season for Vancouver, too. Get out of the province if you want to talk about anything other than a playoff berth.</p></blockquote>
<p>After his stellar Calder Trophy-winning season, it makes sense to get that excited about another season from the Swedish centre.</p>
<p>From a possibly future legend to a past one, Roberto Luongo had a little bit of a laugh at the extent of the Canucks&#8217; captaincy talk.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Look what I found when I zoomed out a little <a href="https://t.co/5ug8hSh5QO">https://t.co/5ug8hSh5QO</a> <a href="https://t.co/0pCuUrvYPk">pic.twitter.com/0pCuUrvYPk</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Strombone (@strombone1) <a href="https://twitter.com/strombone1/status/1179153497637507072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>It&#8217;s a perfect way to remember about a great time to be a Canucks fan and will always be in the records book as a goaltender as a captain.</p>
<p>Puck drops for the first game of the season tonight at 7:00 pm against the Edmonton Oilers in some place called &#8220;Alberta&#8221;.</p>

Just several hours away from the 2019-20 regular season starting for the Canucks, some bold predictions coming out of the media and a Canucks legend up to his typical social media expertise.

On the former, Elliotte Friedman released an opening-night 31 Thoughts blog that featured all sorts of juicy information. But the main bit that grabbed every Canucks fan's attention was one of the key figures in the hockey media landscape almost going with Vancouver's Elias Pettersson as his Hart Trophy Candidate.

As he mentions in his post:
<blockquote>Whatever happens tonight in the Alberta capital, it is already a victory for the Oilers. There were plenty of rumours during the summer <a class="sn-player-post-link" href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/players/connor-mcdavid/878032" data-player="878032" data-an-opt-label="Connor McDavid (878032) - 31 Thoughts: NHL opening night promises intrigue, fireworks (4749872)" data-an-category="Player Tooltip Link" data-an-track-hover="true">Connor McDavid</a> would not be ready opening night, but he’ll be out there with the “C” on his jersey, leading Edmonton against Vancouver. I went with <a class="sn-player-post-link" href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/players/nathan-mackinnon/741404" data-player="741404" data-an-opt-label="Nathan MacKinnon (741404) - 31 Thoughts: NHL opening night promises intrigue, fireworks (4749872)" data-an-category="Player Tooltip Link" data-an-track-hover="true">Nathan MacKinnon</a> as my Hart Trophy pick in our <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/sportsnet-nhl-insider-predictions-2019-20-season/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sportsnet.ca predictions</a>, but <a class="sn-player-post-link initialized bound" style="background: transparent;color: #156bac;text-decoration: none" href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/players/elias-pettersson/1057103" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-player="1057103" data-an-opt-label="Elias Pettersson (1057103) - 31 Thoughts: NHL opening night promises intrigue, fireworks (4749872)" data-an-category="Player Tooltip Link" data-an-track-hover="true">

    <div class='player-info-container nhl-tooltip-van'>
        <img class='team-logo' src='https://images.rogersdigitalmedia.com/www.sportsnet.ca/team_logos/200x200/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks.png'>
        <div class='first-name'>Elias</div>
        <div class='last-name'>Pettersson</div>
        <div class='player-position'>Centre</div>
        <div class='player-birthplace'>Sundsvall, SWE</div>

        <div class='player-photo'>
            <div class='player-photo-inner'>
            	<img class='img-responsive' src='//assets1.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/players/nhl/e/elias-pettersson.png' />
            </div>
        &lt;/div&gt;

    &lt;/div&gt;

    <div class='player-stats nhl-tooltip-van'>
        <div class='player-stats-row'>
            <div class='statistic text-center'>
                <div class='type'>gp</div>
                <div class='value'>1</div>
            &lt;/div&gt;
            <div class='statistic text-center'>
                <div class='type'>g</div>
                <div class='value'>1</div>
            &lt;/div&gt;
            <div class='statistic text-center'>
                <div class='type'>a</div>
                <div class='value'>0</div>
            &lt;/div&gt;
        &lt;/div&gt;
        <div class='player-stats-row'>
            <div class='statistic text-center'>
                <div class='type'>+/-</div>
                <div class='value'>1</div>
            &lt;/div&gt;
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                <div class='type'>sog</div>
                <div class='value'>2</div>
            &lt;/div&gt;
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                <div class='type'>s%</div>
                <div class='value'>50.0</div>
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    <div class='player-status-container'>
                <div class='status-card-active-height'>
            <div class='status-active'>
                <div class="status-container">Status: <span class="active">Active</span></div>&lt;br/&gt;
            &lt;/div&gt;
                    <div class='clearfix'></div>
            <div class='full-profile'><a class='tooltip-player-link' target='_blank' data-player='1057103' href='/hockey/nhl/players/elias-pettersson/1057103'>Full Profile</a>
            </div>

        &lt;/div&gt;

    &lt;/div&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;
" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="auto" data-html="true" data-trigger="hover click focus"&gt;Elias Pettersson</a> was very, very high on my list.

There are players in this league who recognize McDavid’s greatness, but want to make it clear to everyone they see themselves at the same level. <a class="sn-player-post-link initialized bound" style="background: transparent;color: #156bac;text-decoration: none" href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/players/mitchell-marner/878035" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-player="878035" data-an-opt-label="Mitch Marner (878035) - 31 Thoughts: NHL opening night promises intrigue, fireworks (4749872)" data-an-category="Player Tooltip Link" data-an-track-hover="true">

    <div class='player-info-container nhl-tooltip-tor'>
        <img class='team-logo' src='https://images.rogersdigitalmedia.com/www.sportsnet.ca/team_logos/200x200/hockey/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs.png'>
        <div class='first-name'>Mitchell</div>
        <div class='last-name'>Marner</div>
        <div class='player-position'>Right Wing</div>
        <div class='player-birthplace'>Markham, ON</div>

        <div class='player-photo'>
            <div class='player-photo-inner'>
            	<img class='img-responsive' src='//assets1.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/players/nhl/m/mitchell-marner.png' />
            </div>
        &lt;/div&gt;

    &lt;/div&gt;

    <div class='player-stats nhl-tooltip-tor'>
        <div class='player-stats-row'>
            <div class='statistic text-center'>
                <div class='type'>gp</div>
                <div class='value'>1</div>
            &lt;/div&gt;
            <div class='statistic text-center'>
                <div class='type'>g</div>
                <div class='value'>0</div>
            &lt;/div&gt;
            <div class='statistic text-center'>
                <div class='type'>a</div>
                <div class='value'>1</div>
            &lt;/div&gt;
        &lt;/div&gt;
        <div class='player-stats-row'>
            <div class='statistic text-center'>
                <div class='type'>+/-</div>
                <div class='value'>-1</div>
            &lt;/div&gt;
            <div class='statistic text-center'>
                <div class='type'>sog</div>
                <div class='value'>2</div>
            &lt;/div&gt;
            <div class='statistic text-center'>
                <div class='type'>s%</div>
                <div class='value'>0.0</div>
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    <div class='player-status-container'>
                <div class='status-card-active-height'>
            <div class='status-active'>
                <div class="status-container">Status: <span class="active">Active</span></div>&lt;br/&gt;
            &lt;/div&gt;
                    <div class='clearfix'></div>
            <div class='full-profile'><a class='tooltip-player-link' target='_blank' data-player='878035' href='/hockey/nhl/players/mitchell-marner/878035'>Full Profile</a>
            </div>

        &lt;/div&gt;

    &lt;/div&gt;

&lt;/div&gt;
" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="auto" data-html="true" data-trigger="hover click focus"&gt;Mitch Marner</a> and <a class="sn-player-post-link" href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/players/auston-matthews/920210" data-player="920210" data-an-opt-label="Auston Matthews (920210) - 31 Thoughts: NHL opening night promises intrigue, fireworks (4749872)" data-an-category="Player Tooltip Link" data-an-track-hover="true">Auston Matthews</a> are two of them. Pettersson is another. On the road, Vancouver does not control the matchup, but I hope we see Pettersson get a few shifts versus McDavid. Who gets that puck? How hard does the other work to get it back? This is a showdown we’ve earned, Travis Green and Dave Tippett. Give it to us.

It’s a massive season for Vancouver, too. Get out of the province if you want to talk about anything other than a playoff berth.</blockquote>
After his stellar Calder Trophy-winning season, it makes sense to get that excited about another season from the Swedish centre.

From a possibly future legend to a past one, Roberto Luongo had a little bit of a laugh at the extent of the Canucks' captaincy talk.

https://twitter.com/strombone1/status/1179153497637507072?s=20

It's a perfect way to remember about a great time to be a Canucks fan and will always be in the records book as a goaltender as a captain.

Puck drops for the first game of the season tonight at 7:00 pm against the Edmonton Oilers in some place called "Alberta".

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