Welcome back to WDYTT, the only hockey column on the internet that is going on vacation as soon as this article is finished. Woohoo!

Speaking of vacation, it’s actually something that the Vancouver Canucks are trying to avoid right now. In most lines of work, getting to start the summer a few months early would be an absolute dream. In the NHL, however, it means you didn’t make the playoffs, and that’s a bad thing (for most).

The Canucks will be in a dogfight for a Wild Card spot from here on out. With the standings changing every night, it’s impossible to make any concrete predictions. So, we thought we’d tackle the topic of the potential playoffs with a hypothetical of sorts. A thought experiment.

With the standings being as tight as they are, and with the Canucks likely to be in a wild card position if they make it at all, there are a litany of possible first-round opponents currently ranked ahead of the Canucks.

They could be facing down a matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights, Edmonton Oilers, or LA Kings, the three teams currently ranked ahead of them in the Pacific. Or, it might be a cross-divisional matchup against the league-leading Winnipeg Jets, the Dallas Stars, or the Colorado Avalanche.

None of the above look like a particularly easy challenge for these Vancouver Canucks. But, surely, some of them are easier than others?

That’s the kind of thinking we’re after here today. Were we ask you which potential playoff opponent you’re most confident in the Canucks being able to beat, we understand that a popular answer might be ‘none of them.’ And, hey, that’s fair. But to avoid this column’s responses being too dreary and repetitive, we’re going to rephrase the question slightly.

This week, we’re asking:

Let it be known in the comment section.

You answered below!

Best? It may not have materialized the way it could’ve, but flipping Tucker Poolman’s contract and a 4th for Brannstrom was a wonderful move.

Worst? Sold low on JT, gave Podz to a division contender for a 4th, used the Rangers’ pick instead of their own in the Pitt trade which guaranteed they were still planning on gunning for the playoffs despite moving JT and having an anemic EP40 – BUT the worst trades are the ones that didn’t happen.

“We’ll be more competitive with Boeser” is an absurd statement that should’ve never entered the chat. Not to mention ownership openly trashing the guy and his league-wide value after failing to move him.

Pius will forever be a middle-six C/W, but he should’ve been moved too.

Good job moving Soucy for a 3rd, but they’ve definitely lost more trades than they’ve won.

Hard to pick a best trade. None have been that great. The return on Miller was passable. Have to see more of Mancini to say it’s better than that, but a 1st round pick, a prospect, and a decent roster player is pretty standard return.

The return on a late first rounder to the Pens is also kinda ho-hum. If DOC proves to be a reliable middle-six winger, it’s okay. Getting Desharnais and Heinen off the books is probably a positive. Marcus is a perfectly fine 2LD. A team drafting well into the twenties would be lucky to find such a player after three years of development.

If I had to pick, I suppose the trade with the Pens is better. There are many who overstate the value of a late 1st rounder and might not agree.

The Podkolzin trade was awful. If Sprong had been worth anything, it wouldn’t look quite so bad. Sprong sucks and so does the Podz trade.

The trade for Marcus Petterson and DoC is probably the best trade they made this year. Both players slot into the lineup and the addition of MPetey has really solidified our D core.

Worse trade was Podz. I don’t believe as firmly as others that he was gonna fit with this team, but sending him to a divisional rival who was in a tough spot at the start of the year (due to the offer sheets) for a tiny return was pretty poor.

Not really a trade, but I’m counting the exchange of Lindholm and Zadorov for Forbort and DeBrusk. It’s not that I didn’t like Lindholm or Zadorov, but I think the money is better spent with the players we signed.

I didn’t like the trade Sprong trade. Not that big of a deal, but he had potential to help with scoring. Gave him away for nothing. I know he hasn’t done anything this year in Seattle either, but he might have helped our scoring.

The worst trades are the ones they didn’t make. UFAs Boeser and Suter should have been moved. Additionally, Miller was the wrong guy to trade if they want to actually stand a chance to win anything.

As for the best trade, I think they made two trades for future considerations this year, those guys are looking pretty good.

Best trade was the Miller deal. They knew Marcus was available for a first. They wanted a puck moving D with size. I get that we all liked Miller over EP40, but all you would have got for EP40 at that time was someone taking his full salary, Maybe. The Miller deal set up the Penguins deal and snapped him from under about 11 teams marking him down for trade deadline. We may be in a iffy spot at the moment, but the team is definitely stronger and faster since.

Sad to see JT Miller take his temper and his passion to New York. We’ll miss his toughness and skill. He often dragged the team into the fight. His personality and presence was so strong that Petey sort of lost his way in JT’s shadow. Just finding it again now in the last few games. Final analysis: Rangers will benefit more in the short term, but the Canucks benefit more in the long term.

Victor “Mafioso” Mancini is da Mafia bomb, he’ll bury you with a hit. Marcus “Aurelius” Petterson, aka “Hail Caesar,” commands the D-zone like an emperor. O’Connor is a young, rising star. No doubt he’ll pot 20 in the coming years. Might surprise and get 30. He’s smart, moves his feet, works hard, and gets to the net. He’ll find some finish.

You can just see how happy all these guys are to be here and get a chance to flourish with the likes of Quinn Hughes and Dekey Pete. Collectively, they will outperform JT Miller and Melvin Fernstrom. (The other prospect is a long shot to even make the NHL.)

The future looks bright for the Vancouver Canucks. Allvin is playing the long game. Wants to win a Stanley Cup for the first time in Canada for the past 32 years and first time in Vancouver since 1970. We need a SC parade through the streets of Vancouver. In fact, tour that glorious cup throughout the entire province. Can you imagine Kelowna, Kamloops, Prince George celebrating a Vancouver Canucks Championship?! The players would be immortalized like Terry Fox. We need this like South Africa needed to win the rugby World Cup when they kicked apartheid to the curb. We wanna kick a 25% tariff to the curb. Just wanna see them boys win one Stanley Cup before I die. Bring it home, boys!

Best trade was the Marcus Pettersson trade. Vancouver turned a massive weakness – their entire defense after Hughes and Hronek – into a long-term strength along the emergence of EP25. O’Connor is a fine asset, and they shed some salary in the deal as well.

Honorable mention to the JT Miller trade. I don’t think anyone was truly happy with the outcome, but it’s hard to imagine Vancouver getting out of that situation better than they did.

Nothing else was really consequential. I’ll cop out and say the worst trade was nothing – literally, the nothing that happened at the trade deadline.

Best trade: Black Skate jersey for the woeful blue whale jersey.

Worst trade: The woeful whale jersey for the GOAT skate jersey.