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WDYTF Schadenfreude Checkup: Which other team’s struggles are you most enjoying this year?
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Photo credit: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Stephan Roget
Apr 3, 2026, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 3, 2026, 13:13 EDT
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Welcome back to WDYTF, the only hockey column on the internet to still be worth living for.
Speaking of things to live for, there’s not much left for the fans of the Vancouver Canucks. The 2025-26 season is nearly at a merciful close, and between that and the Draft Lottery in May, there’s very little going on.
But if there’s one extra thing that Vancouver fans should have learned to embrace over the years, it’s schadenfreude. For the unfamiliar, this delightful German word doesn’t exist in other languages, but roughly translates to “pleasure derived from another person’s misfortune.” It’s one of those things where, even if you didn’t know it by name, you’ve almost certainly felt it before. And if not, well, congratulations on being better than the rest of us.
As bad as the 2025-26 campaign has played out for the Canucks, it’s also been a pretty fine year for Canucks-related schadenfreude. Or, in other words, it’s been a fine year for misfortune, finding those teams and individuals who Canuck fans tend to root against.
You’ve got the moral collapse of the Toronto Maple Leafs. You’ve got the Edmonton Goaltending Crisis, Chapter VII. JT Miller and the Rangers are already eliminated from the playoffs. The Vegas Golden Knights hired John Tortorella to save their season, and if you don’t know why that one qualifies for schadenfreude, just give it a minute.
We understand if this line of thinking is not for everyone. But, come on, at least give it a try. It’s something you’ve undoubtedly earned after suffering through this particular year of Canucks hockey.
This week, we’re asking you:

Which other teams’ 2025-25 misfortunes are you enjoying most from your perspective as a Canuck fan?

Let it be known in the comment section.
Last week, we asked:

What is your three-item wish-list for the 2026 Canucks offseason?

You answered below!
burnabybob:
Trade Elias Pettersson (40) without retaining salary. Draft one of McKenna, Stenberg, or Verhoeff, and don’t sign any free agents to long and expensive contracts.
BigBA:
My list:
  1. Aquilinis sell, or in the least they hire someone outside of the organization to come in and clean house. No more Francesco, Twins, Rutherford, Allvin, Johnson, Foote, or Malhotra.
  2. Owners go 100% new school. Hire someone from a well-run organization with a history of success. Put Granato in Abbotsford as the GM and promote Castonguay to have a bigger position with the big club…maybe the GM.
  3. Hronek, Elias and Marcus Pettersson, Boeser, DeBrusk. and Lankinen or Demko are traded out by the draft.
Jibsys:
Pretty easy list;
  1. Trade Elias Pettersson without retention. He seems checked out and despite who was right or wrong in the locker room divide, there is still a lingering stench and moving EP40 finally gives closure.
  2. In the first round draft elite skill, then draft players with grit and determination.
  3. Fire Allvin. He has been a true disaster in the contracts he has awarded and the trades he has made.
defenceman factory:
1) Acquire an additional 2026 1st rd pick.
2) Acquire an additional 2027 1st rd pick.
3) Acquire a grade A winger prospect (19-21).
Those are the outputs I want to see. The real want is to see this management team perform and utilize all its assets to achieve those outputs. They have some tradable veterans (DeBrusk, Rossi, MPettersson). They have some decent young players and prospects who do not project very high (Räty, Höglander, Karlsson, Sasson, Dervin, Bjorck etc.). They also have a lot of cap space and extra picks after the first round.
Way too many possible scenarios to acquire the things I listed to debate each one, but if the Canucks accomplish those three things, most fans would be ecstatic.
spiel:
(Winner of the author’s weekly award for eloquence)
1) Gavin McKenna
2) Gavin McKenna
3) Gavin McKenna
kanucked:
Since these are wishes and not expectations, these aren’t likely to come true. But here we go. My wishes for the offseason:
  1. New Ownership in the Geoffry Molson model. Someone who is a hockey fan and committed to the team, but patient and allows the professionals to run the organization.
  2. The Canuck’s 2026 draft exceeds the haul Dallas drafted in 2017.
  3. The team hires an exceptional GM.
Not a lot to ask.
Kearnsie:
  1. Fire the front office ASAP, no way JR and PA should be allowed to make the Canucks draft picks.
  2. Draft Gavin McKenna.
  3. Fire the coaching staff.
muad’dib:
1 – New owner.
2 – Lower ticket prices.
3 – Get bigger and nastier.
Fozzy Bear:
McKenna and the Ruck Bros, Let’s Go!!!
SalmonFudge:
1.No more EP40 on the team.
2.No retained salary from EP40.
  1. Never hear of EP40 again.
Kiwi Canuck:
It seems like all we ever do is wish…If only some would come true!
1) Lose the lottery but still retain the 1OA pick.
2) Trade that 1OA pick to the Hawks for their 3OA and 11OA picks.
3) Use those three 1sts (including the 25th) and the 33rd and 38th picks wisely.
We could potentially draft Verhoeff (or Malhotra), Hemming, Command, L. Ruck, and Pantelas. They may even throw in M. Ruck for free! Be a good Genie!
Richard Hickey:
Wish 1 – We won’t know if it fully comes true immediately, but the wish is to win the lottery, draft McKenna, and have him turn into a franchise player and future Hall of Famer.
Wish 2 – Acquire more assets via the trade market, preferably from DeBrusk and O’Connor trades out of town.
Wish 3 – A bargain short-term signing of Patrick Laine.
Poisonden:
  1. Win the draft lottery.
  2. Pick top-two in the draft lottery.
  3. Either 1. or 2.
RDster:
The usual: a C, a D and a G in the draft so that this ownership and management can delude themselves into thinking the core is in place, declare the rebuild complete, and scuffle along in 18th to 24th in league standings for ANOTHER 15 years like they always do.
RagnarokOroboros:
1) Canucks break the curse, win the draft lottery, and draft first overall.
2) Canucks trade players like Pettersson, Höglander, DeBrusk before the draft, and they don’t retain salary.
3) Canucks get free agents that have the potential to be traded by next years trade deadline for assets. Look for the next Corey Perry or Keifer Sherwood.
Bonus: Canucks stick to the rebuild plan without taking any shortcuts. I swear if they trade away any of their draft picks, I will be pissed off.
Bartholomew Gimble:
  1. Keep our first round pick and take McKenna.
  2. Find a way to trade for Conor Geekie or Dean Letourneau or similar large frame offensive prospect ready for prime time but still less than 22. Yes, I would trade the Minny first for either of these.
  3. Replace Adam Foote.
Gored1970:
  1. Fire the Management Team. These goofs built the worst team in the league, so why trust them with the rebuild.
  2. Fire Foote. Our team play in our end is a joke, the young D-men are regressing, and our PP and PK are among the worst in the league. Hopefully the new management team will hire a coach who works well with younger players.
  3. Draft offence. If we drop to 3rd, take Malhotra, Roobroeck/Shilov at 25, and Liam Ruck at 33.
C Ellis:
5 days ago
I started trying to put together three items for the Canucks this summer, and realized the wish list to be competitive at any point in the near future is so much longer than three. But in an attempt to prioritize:
1 – Revise coaching staff. A last place finish is great and all (not really, but if you’re going to stink… be the stinkiest) but the Canucks need to move on from the tank commander and make a long-term commitment to a new coach tagged with a priority on development. Make sure to interview as many people as possible and gather as much external intel as the possible on how different people would handle the team from a personality(dressing room) and on-ice strategy standpoint and then pick. I really don’t care who it is, be it Manny or Rikard Grönborg, or someone that may be widely considered a “dinosaur”, so long as they have enough job security not to be riding veterans extra hard interviewing for their next job, management team has done their due diligence and research, and there is belief in the candidates ability to develop.
2 – Make at least one trade to capitalize cap space for assets. Cap space isn’t at the premium it was the last few years, but there’s definitely a contract or two around the league where the Canucks could pull a Montreal Monahan and collect assets to take a body with the intention of revitalizing value and re-selling in the future.
3 – Take some swings.
Patrik Laine on a show-me deal, Pinchuk/Hugg/Machulin from overseas, Cleaves/Hughes/Hryckowian from college. We should have lots of SPC slots available, so take advantage of it!
Bond:
  1. Acquire another first round pick at this years draft.
  2. Trade one of Lankinen or Demko.
  3. Send Allvin packing.
….
  1. Re-sign Kane !! (Just kidding.)
Faceit:
Fire the entire coaching staff a couple hours after the season ends.
Fire the entire management staff between the second and third period of the last game.
Win the draft lottery for first overall.
Harold Druken:
New Coach, new GM, and new President. We’re only keeping Francesco.
54 years on…..?:
  1. If not already set in stone, determine what a future Canucks player looks like in terms of skill, size, speed, and character. Set the bar high.
  2. Trade out players that don’t fit that model and timeframe
  3. Sign UFAs that fit the style and add toughness/grit. Make sure they have future TDL value. Overpay on $, not term, if necessary.
The draft will take care of itself.
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