JT Miller, Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes are tied for the Art Ross battle, but that’s not the only surprising statistic from the Canucks’ hot start.
If the NHL season ended today, the Vancouver Canucks would be looking to win every major award.
Quinn Hughes is the favorite to win the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman. Thatcher Demko is making a strong case for winning the Vezina Trophy as a top goaltender. JT Miller is racking up points while playing a matchup role against every opponent’s top line, earning him a spot in the Zelke Trophy as the top defensive forward. Elias Pettersson has to fight Hughes for the Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay for Most Valuable/Outstanding Player, but he’s such a gentleman that he’ll never do that. He wants them to hand him the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct.
And let’s not forget Rick Tocchet, who won the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year, and Patrick Alvin, who won the Jim Gregory Award as General Manager of the Year.
All the Canucks are missing is a notable rookie eligible for the Calder Trophy, but Vancouver’s Connor Bedard could be an honorary Canuck at the ceremony.
Miller, Pettersson, Hughes lead in Art Ross race
Additionally, there are awards that are purely about numbers, such as the Art Ross Trophy, which goes to the league’s top scorer, and the Rocket Richard, which goes to the league’s top scorer.
The Canucks have been all over the leaderboards all season, but now, over a month into the season, they’re all at the top.
JT Miller, Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes all had 26 points in 16 games, leading the NHL in scoring, two points behind David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins and Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers. ing.
This is one of those wild statistics that is almost impossible to verify, but it is true. feel This is unprecedented. Three of his players on the same team have not only led him in NHL scoring for over a month since the start of the season, but he also tied for the lead in points, let alone that of his three players. Obviously one of my guys is a defenseman. It’s hard to avoid comparing Hughes to Paul Coffey, who was frequently near the top of the NHL scoring race in the ’80s along with teammates Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.
If Art Ross were awarded today, Miller would hold the first tiebreaker with 10 goals to Pettersson’s seven and Hughes’ six. For the record, the second tiebreaker is the player who has played the fewest games, and the Canucks are tied there with three teams. After that, no matter which player scores first, the tiebreak is pretty wild. If that happened, Pettersson would score before Miller or Hughes.
Of course, Hughes also leads the defenseman scoring race, leading Colorado Avalanche rival Cale Makar by five points. Hughes is on track for 133 points, the most by a defenseman since Coffey rode shotgun with Gretzky in 1985-86.
For those who care about plus/minus, Hughes also leads the league in that stat with a plus-18 rating.
Boser moves into tie for lead in Rocket Richard race
Amid all the statistics, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that Brock Boeser is tied for the league’s leading scorer and is on the list to replace Rocket Richard.
Boeser has 13 goals in 16 games, tied for the league lead with Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Kyle Connor of the Winnipeg Jets. That’s a pace of 67 goals in 82 games a season. Strangely, unlike the Art Ross Trophy, Rocket Richard has no tiebreaker. If the season ends today, Boeser will share the award with Matthews and Conner.
Remember, Boeser is playing a matchup role on Miller’s side, facing some of the toughest competition in the NHL, and racking up goals like he played brilliantly in the All-Star Game. is.
All Stars across the board
By the way, only six Canucks could represent the Pacific region in the All-Star Game, and other teams were not required to send players.
How can the NHL choose between Pettersson, Miller, Boeser, Hughes and Demko to send to the All-Star Game? And how do you remove Filip Hronek, who has scored in 11 consecutive games, tying the franchise record held by Dennis Kearns and Jiri Bubla, and has 17 points in 16 games, ranking third among NHL defensemen? Was it possible?
I would like him to join the all-star team at the end of the year. Peterson and Miller are first-team and second-team All-Stars at center, Boeser is a second-team All-Star at right wing, Hughes and Hronek are first-team and second-team All-Stars on defense, and Demko is a first-team All-Star in net.
Can the Canucks compete for the Presidents Trophy?
The end result of these individual successes is, of course, team success.
The Canucks are tied for first place in the Western Conference with the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights at 12-3-1. They sit atop the NHL, just one point behind the Boston Bruins. With both teams playing the Canucks and Golden Knights on Thursday night, the Canucks could likely lead the race to win the Presidents Trophy and be the favorites for every other NHL award.
Is it too early to expect the Stanley Cup to match all other hardware?
