Canucks this week: The Gretzky reward, driving the PDO wave and that hearsay

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The Vancouver Canucks are immediately related once more.

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Their turnaround, from contenders within the Connor Bedard sweepstakes to Stanley Cup hopefuls, has the hockey world speaking — and speaking, and speaking.

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So let’s drop the puck on the primary version of your weekly roundup of what the pundits, gamers and prognosticators are saying in regards to the native hockey membership:

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The Wayner abides

The Nice One is aware of a wagon when he sees one.

Wayne Gretzky was on the town yesterday to see his outdated good friend Rick Tocchet and had excessive reward for what the Canucks are doing on the sport day skate.

“Clearly their report speaks for itself. I’m positive all people within the space is fairly enthusiastic about the place they’re and what they’ve achieved to this point. They bought to be proud. Watching the video games, they’re taking part in with plenty of coronary heart and taking part in onerous,” stated Gretzky, based on media persona Bob “The Moj” Marjanovich.

“Their goaltending has been stable, their finest gamers are taking part in at a excessive stage — Hughes and Miller and Pettersson — and everybody else has jumped on the wagon. They deserve all of the accolades they’re getting proper now. It’s been enjoyable to observe.”

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Gretzky took within the Canucks-Senators sport at Rogers Area with none apart from Canucks proprietor Francesco Aquilini and Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger.

I imply, take a look at that {photograph}:

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Gretzky even bought a standing ovation when his greatness was flashed throughout the huge new jumbotron.

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Gretzky brought about a stir in Vancouver over the Christmas break when he advised the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast he was provided a 25 per cent possession stake within the Canucks — and an enormous increase — if he signed in Vancouver after profitable the Stanley Cup with the Oilers in 1988.

To listen to the Nice One inform it, Vancouver businessman Nelson Skalbania — who didn’t personal the staff on the time however had signed a 17-year-old Gretzky years earlier than to a WHL contract with the Indianapolis Racers — known as him up with the far-fetched supply.

“How dumb was I,” Gretzky joked, as he recalled the story.

“I talked to Nelson Skalbania on a regular basis. Proper? He known as me at 7 a.m. once we gained the Stanley Cup and stated ‘I’m going to purchase the Vancouver Canucks. I’ll offer you 25 per cent possession of the staff and three million {dollars} a yr,” he stated.

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“Now the best paid was me at the moment at eight-hundred grand Canadian. And I used to be like, ‘you recognize, Mr. Skalbania, you recognize I really like you to dying nevertheless it’s not going to work for me.’”

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As we all know right here in these components, Gretzky doesn’t at all times reply nicely to premature telephone calls.

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Some excessive reward

Lifelong hockey man Jacques Martin is aware of onerous work when he sees it.

The Senators’ interim head coach was frank in his evaluation of his staff’s effort on Tuesday, giving the Canucks and Tocchet the last word praise.

“It was a lesson realized about how onerous it’s important to compete, how onerous it’s important to play,” stated Martin.

It’s a message we’ve heard post-game from a number of head coaches this season after dealing with the Canucks.

In the end, the staff is incomes the repute across the league of being onerous to play towards.

Getting their flowers

Don’t look now, however the halfway level of the season is quick approaching.

The NHL is about to announce its first batch of All-Stars on Thursday (one from every staff, with the remaining 12 gamers voted in by followers) and the awards race is already heating up.

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ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski polls precise Skilled Hockey Writers Affiliation voters month-to-month to see the place their heads are at, and some Canucks preserve popping up.

Quinn Hughes is being critically thought of for the Hart Trophy. The Canucks’ captain has been within the top-3 in voting the final couple of months and leads all defencemen in factors (46).

“The best way the Canucks have turned it round with him on the helm is excellent,” one voter stated. “The Hart goes to the ‘participant adjudged to be essentially the most beneficial to his staff.’ If that doesn’t outline Hughes this season, I don’t know what does.”

A shock submission for the Hart was J.T. Miller.

“It’s onerous to not discover Miller’s starring function within the Canucks’ beautiful rise,” stated one voter, who had Nathan MacKinnon profitable it. “Not solely does he lead the staff in factors, he’s excelling at each ends of the ice.”

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Hughes leads the pack in Norris Trophy voting, with Cale Makar the one different D-man to earn first-place votes.

Goaltender Thatcher Demko is in pole place for the Vezina Trophy, whereas head coach Rick Tocchet is on observe for a Jack Adams Award.

This could possibly be a record-setting award season for the group.

Prime-pair plaudits

How good has the Hughes-Hronek pairing been for the Canucks this season?

TSN’s Travis Yost has them among the many two finest pairs within the league, in a current piece on TSN.ca

Yost was watching the Jets’ formidable duo of Josh Morrissey and Dylan DeMelo when he started questioning what the most effective pair within the league is, and his ideas took him straight out west.

“The Canucks are dominant with their top-pair on the ice — the Hughes and Hronek pairing are 18-goals higher than the opponents they’ve confronted,” Yost writes.

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“What’s fascinating is that this group is getting their success extra so off of quantity than high quality probabilities: they’re carrying simply 49 per cent of the anticipated purpose share as a pairing, however 54 per cent of the photographs, which has been a boon for his or her offensive manufacturing.”

Yost summarizes that each pairs in Winnipeg and Vancouver are so good as a result of not solely are they good in their very own zone, they’re cellular and may transfer the puck, turning transitions and offensive alternatives into targets.

It’s the best way of the longer term.

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That ‘hearsay’

All of us want it hadn’t been put on the market.

Elias Pettersson jettisoning off to Chicago to play with Bedard subsequent season — an thought as far-fetched as it might be crushing to Canucks followers had it occur.

However that’s what former NHLer Matt Murley surmised to Colby Armstrong on a Spittin Chiclets spinoff present a couple of days in the past, saying, sans proof, that he might see it occur.

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It was a hearsay that lingered lengthy sufficient for Sportsnet’s ace Elliotte Friedman to smell round.

On the 32 Ideas podcast with Jeff Marek on Friday, Friedman first joked, “perhaps Chicago’s gonna supply sheet him,” then dug into it.

“I’ve listened to Matt Murley’s work. He’s not an fool. He hears issues. I’ve seen the stuff that he experiences. He will get info. Individuals speak to him. I’d say about this one, I believe it’s untimely however I’d say that there’s one one who might cease all of this, and that’s Pettersson.”

Friedman went on: “I consider the Vancouver Canucks have determined that when Pettersson is prepared, they’re going to throw a considerably sized bag of money at him.”

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Pettersson, a restricted free agent at season’s finish, has stated he solely needs to play for a profitable staff.

You’d suppose the Canucks are doing sufficient profitable of late.

Friedman additionally talked about how rumours like this not solely influence the notion of followers, however that of gamers themselves.

“It in all probability isn’t one thing that’s on Pettersson’s thoughts proper now, however as a result of he’s a star and a franchise cornerstone — and due to the place he performs — that’s simply life within the massive metropolis.”

“I assure you that he hates it is a factor.”

With that stated, might we by no means converse of it once more.

Lengthy odds nonetheless

They’re in third place within the total standings with a 24-10-3 report.

They’re tied for first in wins with 24 and a +46 purpose differential that blows the league away.

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However do you have to peruse the newest Stanley Cup betting odds, you’d suppose the Canucks have been a center of the pack staff.

The native oddsmaker, playnow.com, additionally locations the Canucks with the thirteenth finest odds to win their first-ever Stanley Cup — paying 21-to-1.

Most groups should be the place they’re, however are the Canucks actually deserving to be behind the Kings and Oilers (each 14-to-1), Panthers (16-to-1) and Jets (20-to-1)?

For the ever devoted, there could possibly be gold in them hills.

Energy rankings

When cash isn’t on the road, the prognosticators are extra beneficial to the native staff.

ESPN has the Canucks in fifth place of their newest rankings, with the Kings, Golden Knights, Bruins and Rangers forward of them.

The Seattle Instances’ newer rating — taken after the Flyers loss — is much more beneficial with the Canucks second total, behind the Rangers.

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Using the PDO wave

The PDO spike will proceed till the morale of the analytics crowd improves.

Puck luck has definitely been a narrative for the Pacific Division leaders this season, because the Canucks’ PDO (a puck luck indicator that measures 5-on-5 taking pictures share and save share) continues to shoot for the moon.

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Will that puck luck finally even out? Positive, however these on this market harping on about regression for weeks should be sweating at this level.

The PDO chatter reached fever pitch Tuesday after the Canucks scored targets towards the Senators that will as nicely have been steered into the web by the Hockey Gods themselves.

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The web additionally reacted accordingly:

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Even head coach Rick Tocchet touched on puck luck after Tuesday’s win, as a substitute chalking it as much as the gamers capitalizing on alternatives.

“Capitalizing? Early on, sure. There have been a few occasions the place our stress bought us these targets. We will’t keep it at a 60 minute tempo, I get it.”

Backside line: simply benefit from the trip, Canucks followers — nonetheless far it goes.

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