-AJ-

To me "greatest" encapsulates more than skill/excitement, but overall skill in all categories (defense, offense, etc) as well as other intangible factors. I would use the term "best" for that more of a strictly skill/excitement measurement, but I suppose it's somewhat semantics.

Hank. The success over such a long period of time does it for me and his peaks weren't too bad either. I can't stop grinning these days when I reminisce over old Sedin highlight clips.

Even if you want to view it that way, he was traded again in '96 as a pending UFA.

Gretzky was traded.

I suppose it depends a bit on if you're talking about the playoff team or the regular season team.

I give this thread a week. But this isn't really that surprising. Nothing new. Far as I know, we've had these in the past before.

No idea to be honest. He's never worn #11 in the NHL.

Ehhh, I strongly differentiate between greatest in their primes vs greatest overall. Bure's 1st here, but I have him far lower than most in my overall greatness list for Canucks.

I do think there's a real chance that he's worth that money if he keeps up last year or even improves more. The question isn't so much if he's worth it but more so just making it all work under the cap. I suppose it's notable that he's already making nearly $6M, so $7.5M would only be just over $1.5M more, so it's not a huge increase.

If we're talking about their prime as a Canuck, I'm going with Bure. Luongo is my 2nd place guy. Bertuzzi, Naslund, and Hank and Dank all get consideration for 3rd through 6th. After that, Jovo (6th in Norris voting twice), McLean (2nd in Vezina voting), Brodeur (1982 playoffs), and Smith (6th in Hart voting) get consideration. Kesler (Selke) and Mogilny (55 goals) probably deserve some thought too. Might have to make a more detailed list later... EDIT: I wrote an essay. Here you go: 1. Pavel Bure Not much to say here. 60 goals twice and it was more impressive in 1993-94 when points totals dropped quite a bit from most players. His 60 goals led the league in 1993-94 and he did it while missing 8 games. 2. Roberto Luongo If it weren’t for Brodeur’s best years, Luongo would definitely have a Vezina right now. His shutout streaks were something to behold, twice going three straight games without being scored on (If memory serves). 3. Henrik Sedin This is definitely 2009-10. Hank finally showed some scoring touch with 29 goals and an insane 83 assists for 112 points winning the Art Ross and the Hart. Hank led the NHL in assists three years in a row starting with that year. 4. Daniel Sedin I would probably point to 2009-10 as Daniel’s best year. He only played 63 games, but still managed a solid 29 goals and very impressive 56 assists for 85 points, on pace for 38 goals, 73 assists, and 111 points (oddly close to Henrik’s total). 5. Markus Naslund This is for his 2002-03 season, in which he finished 2nd in both goals (48 goals) and points (104 points). He finished 2nd in Hart voting, but won the Lester B. Pearson trophy and was voted the best left wing in the NHL. 6. Todd Bertuzzi I seriously considered Bertuzzi above Naslund, but went against it in the end. 2001-02 was actually Bertuzzi’s best year, with 85 points (36 goals and 49 assists) in just 72 games. His 1.18 points-per-game led the NHL and he was voted the 3rd best left wing in the NHL and 6th best right wing, as he played both positions. His combo of skill and size is nearly impossible to find in the NHL. 7. Kirk McLean This is where things get tough for me, but I went with McLean here. He was 3rd in Vezina voting in 1988-89, but his best year was 1991-92 when he led the team to 4th in the NHL, by far the Canucks’ best season to that date. McLean led the NHL with 38 wins and 5 shutouts and for his efforts placed 2nd in Vezina voting, losing to Patrick Roy and an incredible 4th in Hart voting. 8. Richard Brodeur Brodeur actually had some very strong regular seasons in the early 80s (he finished 6th in Vezina voting in 1981-82), but his peak was undoubtedly in the 1982 playoffs. His .918 save percentage was outstanding for the 80s and led the entire NHL in those playoffs, by far besting even Billy Smith’s strong .906 that year. There’s no doubt that Brodeur would’ve won the Conn Smythe if Vancouver had done the unthinkable and beat the Islanders. 9. Gary Smith Few fans remember the 1974-75 season, but every one that does will point to Smith as the primary reason for success. Gary Smith led the Canucks to their first winning season and a regular season division championship. Smith finished 3rd in All-Star Team voting (essentially the old modern-day Vezina) and 6th in Hart voting. 10. Ryan Kesler This one is a combination of the 2010-11 regular season and the 2nd round of the 2011 playoffs. Kesler’s career highlight was definitely 2010-11, winning the Selke and finishing 8th in Hart voting due to his great combination of incredible defense and potent offense (41 goals). He’s one of just two players to score more than 40 goals since Markus Naslund last did it in 2002-03. Over the 6-game series against the Nashville Predators in the 2nd round of the playoffs, Kesler scored 5 goals and 6 assists for 11 points, single-handedly carrying the offense for Vancouver. 11. Jacob Markstrom Not actually on the listed options, but I think he deserves to be for his 2019-20 season. Markstrom finished 4th in Vezina voting and even got some Hart consideration, finishing 15th in Hart voting. His playoffs were also very strong with a shutout and a .919 save percentage in 14 games. 12. Alexander Mogilny It all came together in 1995-96 with 55 goals and 107 points. Mogilny was voted the 2nd best right wing in the league behind Jagr and finished 4th in Lady Byng voting. He’s one of two Canucks to score 50+ goals in a season. 13. Ed Jovanovski Had the best seasons any Canuck defenseman has had thus far in both 2001-02 and 2002-03, finishing 6th in Norris voting both years. Known for both his dynamic offense and punishing hits, Jovanovski was built for any kind of hockey. His offense in 2002-03 was particularly impressive, being on pace for 56 points in 82 games, which would’ve placed him 3rd in the NHL among defensemen. 14. Stan Smyl This is built from a combination of a strong 1982 playoff run (18 points in 17 games) and a very good (and sometimes underrated) 1982-83 season. Smyl had 38 goals and 88 points in just 74 games. In 80 games, he was on pace for 41 goals and 95 points, which would’ve made him the first Canuck with over 90 points in a season. Smyl also play a brilliant combination of offensive force and physical force. 15. Trevor Linden Although Linden was quite good for many years in the regular season, five times scoring 30+ goals and once hitting 80 points, he truly made his mark in the playoffs. During his first tenure with Vancouver, Linden had 80 points in 79 playoff games over the various years, truly showing how he stepped up his game when it really mattered and inspired the team. 16. Thomas Gradin Gradin’s best regular season was 1981-82 when he finished 11th in Byng voting with 37 goals and 86 points in 76 games. He was on pace for 93 points that year. That said, Gradin’s true calling card was his 1982 playoff performance, when he led the Canucks with 19 points in 17 games during their run. He had 38 points in 38 playoff games with the Canucks, another one who stepped up his game during important moments. 17. Orland Kurtenbach I actually hold the overall opinion that Kurtenbach is a bit overrated in Canuck-land, but his big call to fame is his injury-shortened 1970-71 season. He was by far the best player on the team, scoring 53 points in 52 games and up until his injury, the Canucks looked to be in contention for a playoff spot. He finished 7th in Hart voting that year. 18. Patrik Sundstrom Sundstrom simply gets on here for a strong 1983-84 season, becoming the first Canuck to surpass the 90-point mark with 91 points in 78 games. He had the record for the most points in a season by Canuck centre until Henrik Sedin beat it many years later. 19. Tony Tanti Tanti was the sniper that whetted Vancouvers appetite for snipers. He scored 45 goals and 86 points in 1983-84 and finished 7th in All-Star team voting and three years later scored 41 goals and finished 6th in All-Star team voting. Tanti, however, struggled to replicate that success in the playoffs, scoring just 1 goal and 10 points in 18 playoff games with the Canucks. 20. Mattias Ohlund While Ohlund could put up some points and could definitely score goals, it was the combination of that with his hard-nosed style that won him some fans and a 10th place finish in Norris voting in 2001-02. Ohlund also had a few strong playoff runs including 7 points in 12 games during the 2007 playoffs. 21. Alex Edler Edler’s highest points-per-game was 2010-11 with 0.65 points-per-game (pace for 53 points), but injuries held him back. In 2011-12, he had 49 points which earned him 13th place in Norris voting. Edler could both put up points and defend, all while using his size as a formidable hitter when he wanted. Edler often stepped up his physical game in the playoffs and regularly flattened other star players. 22. Quinn Hughes Another one not on the list of options, but I felt it would be neat to add him in. Hughes had an incredible rookie season and it could be argued the best rookie season of any Canuck ever, even though he didn’t win the Calder. He was on pace to rival the 63-point record by Doug Lidster and finished 15th in Norris voting, as well as 10th in All-Star Team voting. 23. Jyrki Lumme Lumme was a steady supply of offense from the Canuck blue line for many years and received some All-Star team consideration in both 1991-92 and 1992-93. In 1995-96, Lumme scored 17 goals and 54 points, despite missing two games. 24. Elias Pettersson “Petey” has yet to have a super strong season, but he’s already impressed pundits and in 2019-20, he finished 7th in All-Star team voting as a centre. Crucially, he also performs in the playoffs, as he had 18 points in 17 playoff games in the 2020 play-in round and playoffs. 25. Geoff Courtnall Although Courtnall had some strong regular seasons in Vancouver, this is heavily about his playoff performances. From 1991 to 1993, Courtnall had 36 points in 30 playoff games and was also a key part of the 1994 run with 19 points in 24 games. 26. Cliff Ronning Ronning was at his best in 1992-93 with 85 points in 79 games. He also had some strong playoff performances with 8 goals and 13 points in 13 games in the 1992 playoffs. 27. Greg Adams Finishing off the 1990s run is Greg Adams, who received some Lady Byng votes in two of his years with the Canucks. His points as a Canuck topped out at 76 with 36 goals in 1987-88, but he had 56 points in 53 games in 1992-93 as well. He had a very strong 1993 playoffs with 7 goals and 13 points in 12 games. 28. Petri Skriko Skriko had 38 goals and 78 points in 1985-86 and the next year received some Lady Byng votes with a similarly strong year. Skriko struggled in the 1986 playoffs, but was better in the 1989 first round, scoring 6 points in 7 games. 29. Bo Horvat It’s tough to figure out where exactly to place Horvat as he’s not one who’s had one incredible year, but rather been a very stable supply of supplementary offense, solid defense, and great leadership. Horvat has also been good in the playoffs thus far with 11 goals and 16 points in 23 games, scoring some clutch goals along the way. 30. Brendan Morrison I almost placed Morrison above Horvat, but I gave Horvat the edge due to some intangibles and also the fact that Horvat hasn’t played with Naslund and Bertuzzi. Still, Morrison managed 71 points in 2002-03 and was especially good at scoring overtime goals, as he most famously did in the 2004 playoffs. He led the Canucks in OT goals for years until Daniel Sedin passed him. 31. Alexandre Burrows Like Morrison, Burrows had the benefit of playing with incredible linemates, but like Morrison, was also a great player in his own right. Burrows scored tons of goals playing with the Sedins, topping out at 35 goals and 67 points in 2009-10, but he was also an excellent defensive forward and regularly received a little Selke attention, peaking at 11th in Selke voting in 2008-09. He had the unique accolade of scoring 28 goals in 2008-09 without scoring a single powerplay goal, an uncommon achievement. 32. Doug Lidster I only felt the need to add Lidster to this list because he’s the current record-holder for most points by a Canuck defenseman. The truth of the matter is that Lidster did score 63 points in 1986-87, but it was in the 80s when scoring was far higher than many other eras and even with that many points, Lidster only barely received any consideration, with some minor attention for the All-Star Team voting. Lidster finished 6th in point scoring among defensemen that year. 33. Dennis Kearns Kearns topped out at an impressive 60 points in 1976-77 and received some minor consideration for the All-Star Team as a result. His 55 assists are still the record among defensemen, though Quinn Hughes may rival that in the coming years. 34. Andre Boudrias I’m a big Boudrias fan and think he’s too often forgotten among Canucks, but although 78 points in 77 games is great, it’s not amazing enough to compare to some of the great primes of some others on this list. His 62 assists were a Canuck record for a long time until Henrik Sedin beat it with 71 assists. Honourable mention: Thatcher Demko – I decided not to put Demko on the list for such a short good stint, but we all know how insane he was in the 2nd round of the 2020 playoffs.

I'm not actually sure on that. An early extension to avoid the QO is an interesting idea if it's allowed.

Some contracts come off the books next year, but another option is simply not to tender a QO and hope to sign him as a UFA. Risky, but could be cheaper.

Now that's just plain mean.

I remember when high school girls couldn't stop talking about Taylor Pyatt's eyes. Guess Petey's the next Pyatt?

I very distinctly remember this quote from Shorty and couldn't contain my excitement. Shorty's a legend and I hope the team can follow.

First thing I thought of. Was quite the legend, especially as a rookie.

I suspect Alf just doesn't keep up with other teams in the league much. Looks like a good deal IMO. Vrana should be good for 30+ goals and 60+ points for the next few years at least I'd think.

1987 is very tempting and I could be persuaded to change my mind, but I went with 2002 Salt Lake City. 2010 was pretty good too. Definitely teams from my personal experience weighing heavily here. Didn't watch any teams before the 2002 team.

ELCs vs second contracts. Apples vs Oranges. Juolevi also has a one-way contract and Rathbone's ELC is a two-way deal.

Probably children or grandchildren I presume.

Horvat looking very lean. Almost reminds me of Lidstrom...in his 40s.

Definitely a risky deal, but my gut is that it'll work out for the Rangers. I think Shesterkin is the real deal. We'll see how he handles 50+ games though.

Financial terms were not disclosed...might have to bring Ted Lindsay back out here.

Trotz should be head coach, but I'll settle for assistant.

And we just don't sign Dickinson? We have about $15M available I think. Your predictions use up all that money leaving none for Dickinson.