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I mistakenly read that as Botox Horvat. Like.. whaaa?

I get what you're saying, Mikey. I still think Horvat would be a fine captain. But EP certainly is making a case for himself. I think part of me also thinks Horvat does more than what he actually does. I think of him as a Linden type player, but in reality, Linden would dish out massive hits now and then, and always finish a check. Horvat occasionally hits, but nothing too memorable. So he plays strong defensively, which Pettersson does too, he wins a lot of faceoffs, but so did Manny Malhotra, he puts up reasonable amount of points, he speaks well with the media, and he has good relations with teammates. His plus / minus isn't good this year, but you could chalk it up to all the defensive zone faceoffs he takes. You couldn't go too wrong naming him captain. The question mark for me is could you end up going so much better by waiting and naming EP captain? Maybe that's what Canucks management is trying to figure out.

Mikey, you keep mentioning faceoffs. Just because Horvat is good at faceoffs, should that be a deciding factor on whether he captains a team? Depending on Gaudette's ceiling, Horvat may find himself as a third-line centre in a couple of years. Is that where we want a captain? Just asking in all seriousness.

The Bure / Linden comparison don't hold much water to me in terms of captain material. Bure was 100% sniper, whereas Pettersson is both a goal scorer and play maker. Pettersson plays centre, and seems to have a knack to take control of a game better than Bure. Linden was a solid captain. I think Horvat could be pretty similar to Linden - not your flashiest offensive talent, just a meat-and-potatoes, honest, hard-working guy out there. Up until this season, to me, it was a no-brainer that the captain would be Horvat. But EP has so much potential to be a league MVP and perhaps bring this team to its first championship. When you have someone that special, the meat-and-potatoes guy with great locker room leadership qualities can't compare as easily to an elite star.

This part has surprised me. I really thought Horvat would have been standing up for teammates more than he has this year. But if that's not part of his repertoire,then what exactly is making him the default captain in many people's minds? It also confused me as to why he wasn't already given the captaincy if he was meant to be our next captain. It would have made the most sense to give it to him before this season started. He's not a rookie anymore - he's in his fifth season. Why the hesitancy by Canucks management?

It's interesting, as Linden was actually known as a quiet leader who let his actions on the ice do his speaking, as was Naslund. You could argue Henrik was pretty reserved early on too. I think some of those characteristics can be taught over time. I'm just thinking that EP's stats are already through the roof, and the guy owned the Swedish Elite League. He could very well be a Hart Trophy winner down the road. People pay to see him. He already has several game winning goals. Would it be a mistake not to give him the C? And this isn't to say Horvat wouldn't be a good captain - I think he would. It's just, we have something very special with Pettersson, and it would almost seem wrong not to think of him as a potential captain.

When this season started, I was a bit surprised that they hadn't yet made Horvat the captain of the Canucks. I wasn't sure why they wanted to wait - did he really need more time, with less pressure on him? Then I saw what EP40 brings to the team. He may very well turn out to be the best Canuck of all time. Forgot the Calder, in some circles his name comes up in Hart trophy discussions already. So now I wonder, who really should be the captain of this team? It's a bit of apples to oranges, but I think back to Gretzky and Messier on the Oilers. One was pure offense, while Messier brought some sandpaper and more traditional leadership qualities (although we as Canucks fans can rightfully dispute that). But it was #99 who was the captain, because, ultimately, he was a superior player. On the flip side, we had Linden and Bure play together, with Linden getting the captaincy.. although to be fair, Linden was given the captaincy before Bure even arrived. This season, Horvat is having a record year offensively. He also plays responsibly at both ends of the ice. Still, if we have an opportunity to give one of these players the captaincy, and in 10 years from now, we'll be looking back on it, reflecting on whether it was the right decision, who do you think it should go to? I'm leaning more towards EP40 every passing day.

Hutton and Stecher will be taking a back seat to Tryamkin if he returns. Those two are admirable defenders, but not on the same level.

Tryamkin would easily slide in as our #3 defenseman right now. Plus he would be either the first or second most feared player on the team. No excuses - he is already better than the majority of our defense and he has played one NHL season. I wonder if you'll be able to get a new coastal.view of Tryamkin when he's on our top defensive pairing in 2021?

I was pretty impressed with Q Hughes. He has a lot of imagination, and will bring life to our back end. The one drawback is that he is definitely a gambler out there, often placing himself out of position for the benefit of a scoring opportunity. But if he's paired with a stay-at-home dman, his skill set should really complement our new offensive-minded core.

People keep talking about Tryamkin coming in out of shape. Maybe he was, but personally I do think when players are that big, being in shape is a bit different. People were on Chara too, and on Buff for the same reasons. But I think different rules may apply when you’re abnormally big like these guys. It’s not meant to be a cop out, but a truth.

Lots of love for Hutton on this thread but I'm not there. He just makes too many defensive mistakes and too often has poor coverage, showing up on the wrong side of highlight reels. He has the worst plus / minus on the team right now.

There you have it. He bleeds blue and green, a true Canucks at heart. Injured like the rest of the team.

At this point, I'd guess he signs with the Canucks in 2020/21 for $3.5 x 2 years, with some potential bonuses.

Thanks Stierlitz. I had wondered about this. I wonder how much he was offered to stay in the NHL. And I wonder how much will entice him to come back.

Is it known what type of injury he has? Hope it's something he can fully recover from.

Maybe he can talk a few of his teammates to come play. His team must have a few other solid defensemen to have that kind of record.

Really appreciate your updates, Stierlitz! Keep them coming. Tryamkin is one of our prized prospects who will come back and make a big difference to this team. IN TRYAMKIN I BELIEVE!

Nice to hear he is getting lots of ice time. Based on the Canucks' preseason, they could really use him this year.

TRYAMKIN COME RETURN TO THE CANUCKS! Two more seasons of waiting is too long. The Canucks are like Bruce Banner, and Tryamkin makes them the Hulk! HULK SMASH!!

Has there been any more detail on why he hasn't been playing regularly? He was absent from the game on Thursday, but played on Tuesday. He's played 4 out of the 6 games for Avtomobilist so far with one assist and no word on why he was scratched for two (not consecutive) games.

Hmm, stripped of his captaincy, and scratched twice early in the season. Something seems up for sure.

Yes Please! Further "evidence" that he's on his way here, he isn't listed on the team according to the highly reliable sofascore: https://www.sofascore.com/team/ice-hockey/avtomobilist-yekaterinburg/36346

Maybe in order to understand mankind, we have to look at the word itself: “Mankind.” Basically, it’s made up of two separate words, mank and ind. What do these words mean? It’s a mystery, and that’s why so is mankind.

Most people don't realize That two large pieces of coral, Painted brown, and attached to his skull With common wood screws can make a child look like a deer.