Welcome back to WDYTT, not the only hockey column on the internet in mourning this week.

Speaking of mourning, we’ll take this opportunity to share in the Vancouver Canuck-wide feeling of loss in the wake of the passing of John Garrett.

Garrett was a Vancouver icon for too many reasons to list here, not the least of which was his broadcasting career. Suffice it to say that few brought more colour to the art of colour commentary. That Garrett will be missed by so many is a testament to the impact he made while here.

It’s been a difficult year in the Canucks broadcasting world. About three months ago, we lost the legendary, gondola-inspiring Jim Robson. Now, the man who wore the nickname “Cheech” has followed. It’s a time for reflection. As much attention as the disaster on the ice got during the 2025-26 season, it’s the stuff like this that reminds us that what happens off the ice is always more important.

There’s more to life than hockey, and both Robson and Garrett proved that during their lives spent in hockey.

With all that in mind, it’s definitely time to share some of our fondest memories of both men and the other broadcasters they shared the booth with over the years of Canucks hockey.

This week, we’re asking you:

Let it be known in the comment section.

You answered below!

Expected a 28th place finish, they finished 32^nd. I knew they’d be bad, but wowsah…they really sucked.

I picked the Canucks to win the weak Pacific.

So, I was right the Pacific was weak, no team really was good enough to be a playoff team in a normal year.

But I grossly overestimated the ability of the team.

In the positive note the team was so terrible, the draft may be a happy ending.

This is a funny question. I guess I viewed this team as pretenders being led by a front office with delusions of grandeur.

Everything really fell apart and this team and front office were exposed for what they are. So, all in all, it is more or less what I expected.

I thought the team would be in the hunt for a wildcard spot. My thinking was that the turmoil of the 2024-25 season would be behind them, and that a capable defensive coach would allow the flawed team to stay in the mix. Boy, was I wrong!

Edit: I looked back to see what I actually wrote before the season.

I thought we would be in the hunt for a playoff spot.

I optimistically thought/hoped that Demko would stay healthy, and I believed the Canucks had a great young defense behind Hughes and Hronek. I figured if they could make some trades to improve the forward group, especially at centre, we would stand a strong to even make a bit of noise in the playoffs.

I figured if Demko went down with an injury, we were in trouble, and if we didn’t improve the forward group, it was going to be tough.

I had absolutely no thought that we would be so bad defensively. I was very wrong about that.

Worse than I thought, as I had them at 66 points and 7th in the division, with only Calgary below them.

I have never thought this team was well put together. Too small, too soft, and no identity as a team.

While I didn’t see them as a playoff team, I also didn’t believe the FO would let them sink to the bottom of the league either. As weak as the Pacific is, next year should be more of the same, barring a major Demko resurgence or some other such miracle on ice.

The FO needs to truly learn from this. At one point, this club had some nice young pieces. Instead of building more depth and adding more young talent, the Canucks suffered from POS (Premature Optimism Syndrome) and made some hail mary shots much too soon. Now they are where they are and there is no little blue pill to save them.

They’re gonna have to do this rebuild the hard way, which means more of the same next year.

Preseason expectations did not last long. Like many, I hoped the Canucks could contend for a wildcard spot. Before the end of October that expectation was gone. Foote’s D-zone system was immediately recognized as flawed. It was also evident Kane was going to be less than bargained for and Boeser was going to be a slug. While EP40 initially appeared healthy and a little stronger, this waned as the season wore on.

Another disappointment out of the gate was that Hughes still hadn’t realized he is a crappy shooter, but was more determined than ever to take the most shots.

After lowering initial expectations, I hoped the Canucks could be competitive, play some entertaining hockey, and we could see some young players develop. Wasn’t long before injuries derailed even those modest expectations.

By the time December hit and Hughes got traded, the only option was to lean into a bad year and start rebuilding. Miller and Hughes gone, Demko hurt, Boeser leaving slime trails, and Pettersson struggling just nothing left of what was once a half-decent core.

The only expectation the Canucks exceeded is on how thoroughly they could tank the season. Not sure there has ever been coaching systems more poorly suited to a team’s personnel. Hopefully there is no lasting damage.

I’m afraid to look at my own receipts from last September. Bet lot us are. Think I had them as a playoff bubble team, but could anyone have predicted how much of a defensive train wreck they became under Foote’s systems?

I never had the 2025/26 Vancouver Canucks being a playoff team and was concerned about the choice of Foote for head coach given his experience in Kelowna and, sure enough, they turned out to be a LOT worse than I expected. I can’t see rolling this coach back out there next season; it’s Manny time, in my opinion.

I thought Canucks were going to have a very good year, especially with Demko being back “healthy” and ready to play a whole season.

I believed it so much that in my office hockey pool, I had the following Canucks in my pool:

Boeser

Pettersson

Demko

DeBrusk

Quinn Hughes

We were allowed one trade a month, and I ended up trading out all my Canucks players except for Quinn Hughes.

Since Hughes was traded, I technically had no more Canucks players in my pool.

I ended up finished third overall in the hockey pool, and probably could have won if I hadn’t bet so heavily on the Canucks.

I did not have any expectations for where the team would land, but I figured if most things broke their way, they could have a plus differential and make the playoffs. Almost nothing broke their way. Chytil, Höglander, Lekkerimäki, and Blueger were murdered early. That was big blow down the middle. Höglander was expected to contribute something, and looked great in pre-season. The PP should have been better. The PK continued to be awful. Pettersson was abysmal at scoring again. Other than the rookies, all the top-six had down years. The goaltending was surprisingly bad. Lankinen was a sieve.

The system was too complicated – the tire fires were aplenty. I figured the talent dictated a more careful zone coverage instead of the aggressive tag team pressure counterstrike nonsense they could never get their heads around. Didn’t help there were like two practices all year.

Ultimately, I actually got what I wanted, a Hughes trade, and the return seems to get better everyday. We won’t be shoveling out $14 million or whatever to him. That was always going to be an issue. Now we are cap flush, we got talent coming, so I like the where things are.

Expectations?

I got nothing.

I was worried when they made Foote coach. There were the usual good things said about him, but I felt he was over his head. They finished last, which was surprising, but not unexpected with all the turmoil around this team

I had the Canucks finishing 5th in the Pacific Div. I had the Oilers, Knights, and Ducks with the wild cards going to two teams from Central. Wasn’t far off. Last season, other teams started to show progress, and it wasn’t hard to see they would overtake the Canucks, but I didn’t foresee EVERYONE over taking them.

As for next season…I hope they tank again, because 2027 is the draft that will really make a difference in our search for elite talent.