2018-19 Canucks Report Card

[-AJ-]

 

I always enjoy giving grades to our players at various points of the season and the year’s end is the best time to do one. I personally put a pretty heavy emphasis on expectation vs reality when it comes to my report cards, more than just how good a player is, though I do weigh that in a small amount as well. You are free to use whatever criteria you want, however. Share your own grades below!

 

Forwards:

 

S. Baertschi: B

 

It’s hard to give Baertschi a bad grade, since he didn’t do anything wrong, but injuries really hampered his season. He had a strong 26 games, scoring at a 28-goal pace, but couldn’t stay healthy.

 

J. Beagle: B-

 

Beagle disappointed me offensively, as I hoped he would produce more similarly to his other years, but as I’ve been shown, his defense was arguably actually better in Vancouver this year than last year in Washington, which helps make up for his lacklustre offense.

 

B. Boeser: A-

 

Boeser started a bit slow, but picked it up as the year went on. His goalscoring was notably down from last year, but his playmaking was notably up. Not really an improvement for Boeser, but he definitely avoided the dreaded sophomore slump.

 

L. Eriksson: C-

 

I was really disappointed in Eriksson this year. As a bit of a contrarian, I enjoy defending the much-maligned players of this team, but Eriksson sunk back down to his 2016-17 level of play, which was much poorer than his 2017-18 form.

 

A. Gaudette: C+

 

Gaudette started out quite poorly for me and I felt the only reason he was playing was due to Beagle’s injury. He came back a pretty different player after a few AHL games and Sutter was injured. While his offense picked up, it’s still been lacklustre since his initial burst and I feel he needs to step up his offensive consistency another level to maintain a 3rd-line role.

 

N. Goldobin: C+

 

Very mixed feelings from Goldy throughout this year. He started pretty hot, but then began to get quite cold and became a regular healthy scratch by the year’s end. There’s really no question that offensively, this was Goldobin’s best season of his career thus far for sure, but he needs to work on a consistent game to keep his job.

 

M. Granlund: B-

 

Granlund started the year off by surprising me with his strong game, but faded away very badly in the middle of the year. Two goals in the final three games of the year helped save his season a bit and his point production was better than last year’s totals.

 

B. Horvat: A

 

Horvat continues to get better and better, even when it looks like he’s reached his ceiling. His defensive game continues to improve and his face-off game is very impressive. Certainly the next team captain.

 

J. Leivo: B

 

Leivo did exceed my expectations, but definitely cooled off in the latter half of the season. He fluttered between 2nd line and 3rd line levels throughout the year, but in the end, couldn’t be consistent enough to be a legitimate top 6 forward. Still better than I expected when we traded for him though.

 

T. Motte: B+

 

I expected Motte to be either in Utica or a healthy scratch most games, but he worked his way onto this team and scored an impressive 9 goals in 74 games. He’s a workhorse and a great player to have in the bottom 6. Very surprisingly strong season.

 

T. Pearson: A

 

Pearson played only 19 games with the Canucks, so take this with a grain of salt, but when a player who I expected to get maybe 6 points in 19 games scores 9 goals, he has to get a great grade. I don’t expect this level of play to continue next year, but it was a very strong finish for Pearson with the Canucks.

 

E. Pettersson: A+

 

Impossible not to give him an A+, even with his slow finish. I predicted 51 points in 80 games, so he absolutely smashed my predictions with 66 points in 71 games. The odds of favourite to win the Calder trophy, becoming the second Canuck to do so.

 

A. Roussel: A-

 

Roussel had a career year offensively and inspired this team. He’s really taken on the Burrows role for the team and is good enough to play a middle six role while doing it.

 

T. Schaller: C

 

Oddly enough, because Schaller had 3 points in his final 6 games of the season, his stats weren’t as bad as it looked like they would be, but Schaller struggled to find his game outside of that ending stint. He couldn’t put up points and didn’t provide much else.

 

R. Spooner: C

 

He's one of the best skaters on the team and looks silky smooth out there, but for some reason can’t make any plays happen. If Spooner had the hands of Kyle Wellwood, we’d have a McDavid on our hands.

 

B. Sutter: C

 

Seems to have joined Eriksson in the doghouse recently, but like Eriksson is more maligned than I think he deserves. Sutter definitely had a poorer offensive season than in years past, but his defensive play was overlooked and I think some fans forgot how valuable he can be, since he was out for the majority of the season.

 

J. Virtanen: B

 

Virtanen struggled with consistency this year, but it’s hard to knock him too hard, since he was able to improve his production level in both goals and assists. He definitely made strides this year, but they were smaller strides than many had hoped.

 

Forwards who didn’t play enough to qualify for a grade: R. Boucher, B. Gaunce, Z. MacEwen

 

Defensemen:

 

A. Biega: A-

 

Never thought I’d see this grade for Biega, but his offensive output this year was very unexpected. He produced at the second highest rate of any of our defensemen. The only knocks against him were that he didn’t play a full season, as a frequent healthy scratch and also sometimes lacks good defensive play. Pretty amazing season for a 7/8 defenseman though.

 

A. Edler: A

 

This season was something I’d always dreamt of, but never expected from Edler. As a big Edler fan, I always wanted him to return to form and this year he finally did. Edler played only 56 games, but was exceptional during those games and by far surpassed Tanev as our best defenseman, scoring 10 goals and 24 assists in those games.
 

B. Hutton: B+

 

Given that I expected Hutton to be a 6/7 defenseman this year, he surprised me by not only making the team, but then later on being capable of well over 25 minutes a game when Edler and Tanev were both out. While he did struggle a bit with that many minutes, his offensive game returned and he’s shown a lot of growth over this year.

 

D. Pouliot: D

 

Pouliot had his occasional good moments, but they were heavily outweighed by his defensive gaffs. Even his offense wasn’t frequent enough, as his production dropped to quite a bit lower than last year. I don’t expect him to have an NHL job next year.

 

A. Sautner: C

 

Sautner has even less offense than Tanev, but also like Tanev has shown some decent defensive poise. While it’s great to see him get some time, it’s clear to me that he’s not yet ready for NHL time and may never be, given his age (nearly 25 years old).

 

L. Schenn: B

 

Schenn has very little to provide offensively, but was surprisingly solid defensively in his 18 games with the Canucks. The best part of his game was the physical nature of his game, showing that he could be a valuable extra defenseman for the Canucks going forward.

 

T. Stecher: A-

 

Stecher, like Hutton, needed a bounce-back year. Just like Hutton, he got one. Stecher returned to 20+ points and showed tons of growth on the defensive side of the game, which is very impressive for a defenseman of his stature. His +9 led the team.

 

C. Tanev: B+

 

This is probably the lowest grade I’ve ever given Tanev. While he didn’t have a bad year, it was a bit worse than usual. Tanev’s game is still largely characterized by excellent defensive plays and positioning, but we saw a few more mistakes and a little less offense than usual as well. Funnily enough, Tanev’s 55 games are the most he’s played in any of the last three years. Can we count that as progress?

 

Defensemen who didn’t play enough to qualify for a grade: G. Brisebois, B. Rafferty, Q. Hughes, J. Teves
 

Goalies:

 

J. Markstrom: A

 

I was extremely close to giving Markstrom an A+ here, but I do feel he fell off a bit from March onward. There’s no doubt, however, that this was Markstrom coming out year as a bonafide NHL starter. We’ll see if he can continue it next year, but this year, Markstrom went from being a fringe starter, to a very solid starter for any competitive team.

 

T. Demko: A-

 

Demko started a bit slow, but finished very hot in his 9 games this year actually surpasssing Markstrom save percentage with a .913 himself. His final three games were 2 wins and a shootout loss with a .945 save percentage over all three games. I expect him to play at least 20 games next year as the backup and maybe even more if he can continue to prove himself.

[SingleThorn]

Being disappointed in Eriksson seems strange. What do you expect after year #1 and #2. Seems like yet another example of not being able to separate contract and player. If you asked 'are you happy with LE's play for 6mil per year ?', then absolutely not !! At this stage, what he gave this year is exactly what should have been expected !

[Alflives]

6 minutes ago, SingleThorn said:

Being disappointed in Eriksson seems strange. What do you expect after year #1 and #2. Seems like yet another example of not being able to separate contract and player. If you asked 'are you happy with LE's play for 6mil per year ?', then absolutely not !! At this stage, what he gave this year is exactly what should have been expected !

Agreed.  I don’t know if any guy really surprised me one way or another.  

[-AJ-]

9 minutes ago, SingleThorn said:

Being disappointed in Eriksson seems strange. What do you expect after year #1 and #2. Seems like yet another example of not being able to separate contract and player. If you asked 'are you happy with LE's play for 6mil per year ?', then absolutely not !! At this stage, what he gave this year is exactly what should have been expected !

It was more based off last year. Based on his production last year, I had hopes that he had left his worst years behind him and was hoping for 35-40 points. I didn't expect him to be as bad as his 1st year in Vancouver again.

[kingofsurrey]

How can a team that missed the playoffs yet again have ZERO players with FAILING grades.

 

I wish some of you would have been marking me back when i was in highschool....  EASY pass from you guys..

 

[-AJ-]

Just now, kingofsurrey said:

How can a team that missed the playoffs yet again have ZERO players with FAILING grades.

 

I wish some of you would have been marking me back when i was in highschool....  EASY pass from you guys..

 

"I personally put a pretty heavy emphasis on expectation vs reality when it comes to my report cards"

 

Did you expect this team to make the playoffs?

[kingofsurrey]

Forwards:

 

S. Baertschi: C-

J. Beagle: C-

B. Boeser: B

L. Eriksson: F

A. Gaudette: C

N. Goldobin: F

M. Granlund: C-

B. Horvat: A

J. Leivo: C+

T. Motte: C+

T. Pearson: C+

E. Pettersson: A

A. Roussel: B

T. Schaller: F

R. Spooner: F

B. Sutter:  F

J. Virtanen: C+

 

Defensemen:

 

A. Biega: C

A. Edler: B

B. Hutton: C

D. Pouliot: D

A. Sautner: C

L. Schenn: C

T. Stecher: B

C. Tanev: C

 

 

Goalies:

 

J. Markstrom: A

T. Demko: B

 

[higgyfan]

17 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Agreed.  I don’t know if any guy really surprised me one way or another.  

I was surprised by Pettersson for sure.  He became an NHL 1st line C, despite not playing C in Sweden.  A+

 

Bo's incredible season was a surprise as well.  Despite playing most of the season with questionable linemates (the season before he had Vanek and Boeser), as well as having to take on defensive duties with the Beagle or Sutter injuries.

 

This year, he put up 1st line points, carried the team on his back often enough, took care of d-zone duties and sealed his captaincy.  A+

 

[Alflives]

1 minute ago, higgyfan said:

I was surprised by Pettersson for sure.  He became an NHL 1st line C, despite not playing C in Sweden.  A+

 

Bo's incredible season was a surprise as well.  Despite playing most of the season with questionable linemates (the season before he had Vanek and Boeser), as well as having to take on defensive duties with the Beagle or Sutter injuries.

 

This year, he put up 1st line points, carried the team on his back often enough, took care of d-zone duties and sealed his captaincy.  A+

 

Yes those two were great, but I wasn’t surprised by their doing that well.  

[Mathew Barzal]

Tried to not include players who didn't surpass 30 games, their performance is probably not indicative of long term contributions. The most notable cases for me this year were probably Goldobin, Markstrom, and Tanev.

 

I initially thought Goldobin would benefit from bonding with someone like Pettersson, who is the embodiment of the superstar mentality. Petey's work ethic and attention to detail are unrivalled on this team. Unfortunately, nothing this season showed me that Goldobin was looking to improve his game. Instead, it appeared to me as if Goldobin was trying to modify his existing game in order to satisfy the coaching staff. Every time he received praise from Green it was like visible cruise control button was pressed.

 

He's a likeable kid who says all the right things, but talk is cheap. He has no place on this team if he doesn't take a big step in the offseason.

 

Markstrom, what can you say. Stats show he hasn't taken a step since last year but those who have watched the games know. The man is one of the fiercest competitors on the team and working with Ian Clark has clearly made a big difference in his ability to bring consistency to his game. Looking forward to him holding down the fort next year as well.

 

Tanev might have been the biggest disappointment for me this year. I'm not sure if it's the compounding effect of multiple injuries or if it was just a down year for him but he was making a lot of noticeable mistakes on the defensive side of thing this year that I am not accustomed to seeing from him. That being said, he is our best defender and I hope he has a productive, healthy offseason. He'll likely be logging big minutes again next year.

 

Forwards:

 

E. Pettersson: A

B. Horvat: A-

 

T. Motte: B+

A. Roussel: B

 

J. Leivo: B-

J. Beagle: B-

B. Boeser: B-

J. Virtanen: B-

 

A. Gaudette: C+

M. Granlund: C+

N. Goldobin: C

T. Schaller: C

L. Eriksson: C-

 

S. Baertschi: N/A

R. Spooner: N/A

B. Sutter:  N/A

T. Pearson: N/A

 

Defensemen:

 

A. Biega: B

A. Edler: B

T. Stecher: B

B. Hutton: B-

 

C. Tanev: C+

E. Gudbranson: C

 

D. Pouliot: D

 

L. Schenn: N/A

Q. Hughes: N/A

A. Sautner: N/A

 

Goalies:

 

J. Markstrom: A

T. Demko: N/A

 

[kingofsurrey]

16 minutes ago, Mathew Barzal said:

Tried to not include players who didn't surpass 30 games, their performance is probably not indicative of long term contributions. The most notable cases for me this year were probably Goldobin, Markstrom, and Tanev.

 

I initially thought Goldobin would benefit from bonding with someone like Pettersson, who is the embodiment of the superstar mentality. Petey's work ethic and attention to detail are unrivalled on this team. Unfortunately, nothing this season showed me that Goldobin was looking to improve his game. Instead, it appeared to me as if Goldobin was trying to modify his existing game in order to satisfy the coaching staff. Every time he received praise from Green it was like visible cruise control button was pressed.

 

He's a likeable kid who says all the right things, but talk is cheap. He has no place on this team if he doesn't take a big step in the offseason.

 

Markstrom, what can you say. Stats show he hasn't taken a step since last year but those who have watched the games know. The man is one of the fiercest competitors on the team and working with Ian Clark has clearly made a big difference in his ability to bring consistency to his game. Looking forward to him holding down the fort next year as well.

 

Tanev might have been the biggest disappointment for me this year. I'm not sure if it's the compounding effect of multiple injuries or if it was just a down year for him but he was making a lot of noticeable mistakes on the defensive side of thing this year that I am not accustomed to seeing from him. That being said, he is our best defender and I hope he has a productive, healthy offseason. He'll likely be logging big minutes again next year.

 

Forwards:

 

E. Pettersson: A

B. Horvat: A-

 

T. Motte: B+

A. Roussel: B

 

J. Leivo: B-

J. Beagle: B-

B. Boeser: B-

J. Virtanen: B-

 

A. Gaudette: C+

M. Granlund: C+

N. Goldobin: C

T. Schaller: C

L. Eriksson: C-

 

S. Baertschi: N/A

R. Spooner: N/A

B. Sutter:  N/A

T. Pearson: N/A

 

Defensemen:

 

A. Biega: B

A. Edler: B

T. Stecher: B

B. Hutton: B-

 

C. Tanev: C+

E. Gudbranson: C

 

D. Pouliot: D

 

L. Schenn: N/A

Q. Hughes: N/A

A. Sautner: N/A

 

Goalies:

 

J. Markstrom: A

T. Demko: N/A

r

Wow, not one failing grade for a forward....  ?   Did our club just win the Stanley Cup or President Cup... ?

 

Really , one of the worst D groups in the NHL and you gave out only 1 D.

This thread reminds me of Christmas....   giving gifts away...

[Mathew Barzal]

14 minutes ago, kingofsurrey said:

Wow, not one failing grade for a forward....  ?   Did our club just win the Stanley Cup or President Cup... ?

 

Really , one of the worst D groups in the NHL and you gave out only 1 D.

This thread reminds me of Christmas....   giving gifts away...

I'm not going to give way bad grades just because players are being forced into roles above their pay grade. That's not their fault.

[kingofsurrey]

22 minutes ago, Mathew Barzal said:

I'm not going to give way bad grades just because players are being forced into roles above their pay grade. That's not their fault.

When players are struggling... it is absolutely their fault.

 

This is professional  sports not a CHARITY organization. 

[naslund.is.king]

51 minutes ago, kingofsurrey said:

Wow, not one failing grade for a forward....  ?   Did our club just win the Stanley Cup or President Cup... ?

 

Really , one of the worst D groups in the NHL and you gave out only 1 D.

This thread reminds me of Christmas....   giving gifts away...

i Think everyone understands how you feel. 

[Smashian Kassian]

Forwards:

 

Pettersson: A+

Horvat:  A

Boeser: A-

Roussel: A-

 

Leivo: B

Pearson: B

Baertschi: B-

Motte: B-

 

Virtanen: C+

Gaudette: C

Granlund: C

Beagle: C

Goldobin: C-

Sutter: C-

 

Spooner: D

Eriksson: D

Schaller: F

 

Defensemen:

 

Edler: A

Hughes: A-

 

Stecher: B+  

Schenn: B

Hutton: B-

Tanev: B-

 

Biega: C+

Sautner: C 

 

Pouliot: D

 

Goalies:

 

Markstrom: A+

Demko: B+

 

 

[Chris12345]

2 hours ago, SingleThorn said:

Being disappointed in Eriksson seems strange. What do you expect after year #1 and #2. Seems like yet another example of not being able to separate contract and player. If you asked 'are you happy with LE's play for 6mil per year ?', then absolutely not !! At this stage, what he gave this year is exactly what should have been expected !

Well to be perfectly honest my expectations are to never see him in a Canucks jersey ever again. 

 

So yes, I was really disappointed.

[Sygvard]

He made it pretty clear that it was based on how they performed relative to his own expectations. They are not absolute grades and can't be compared to each other, much less to other teams or an absolute standard. 

 

Pearson with an A is obviously not an equivalent player to Horvat with an A. He just exceeded the (relatively low) expectations for him. 

 

Considering that most people expected this team to be hot garbage, they did better than most people expected. It makes sense that their grades relative to expectations would be generally quite good. Grade them relative to a GOOD team and I admit it looks a lot less pretty. 

 

 

[Mathew Barzal]

40 minutes ago, kingofsurrey said:

When players are struggling... it is absolutely their fault.

 

This is professional  sports not a CHARITY organization. 

If your teams best forward was Tyler Motte, and you put Motte on the first line, is it his fault he can't score 30 goals and 70 points?

[kingofsurrey]

3 minutes ago, Mathew Barzal said:

If your teams best forward was Tyler Motte, and you put Motte on the first line, is it his fault he can't score 30 goals and 70 points?

Yes, of course it is.

 

Guys that make excuses would never become pro hockey players....  To become good enough for the show... you have to accept responsibility for your own performances on the ice each and every game.  NHL players i would think  are harder on themselves than coaches  / media  or fans.

[DS4quality]

 

Pettersson - A

 

Horvat - B+

Boeser -  B

Roussel - B

Pearson - B-

Leivo - B-

 

Beagle- C

Motte - C

Virtanen - C-

Gaudette - C-

Goldobin - C-

 

Eriksson - D+

 

Schaller-F

Spooner-F

Granlund-F

 

Stecher-B

Edler - B

Tanev - C+

Hutton - C+

Schenn- C

Biega-C

Pouliot-F

Gudbranson *- F- - or G

 

Not enough info:

Hughes (projected A) 

Baertschi (was a

Sutter (was a C) 

Saunter (C ish) 

Teves (C ish) 

Brisebois (C ish) 

McEwen (C ish) 

 

These are my own personal rankings of how I felt they played. Most players still have a lot of upside 

 

I feel like the defense got a little better when Guddy left. I like the guy, but not on my team.