Author Archives: Jaden Teja

The Best Canucks Of All Time 10-6

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If you haven’t read my article on my all-time Canucks lineup, check it out HERE. I decided to kick things up a notch by ranking the 10 best Canucks of all time. I want to keep it based on the same criteria as my all-time team, focusing on players who had the majority of their success with the Canucks. However, I will value longevity a little more because I want to highlight players who were “True Canucks” and embodied what it meant to play for this franchise. Don’t get me wrong, though; this list will still feature only elite players. I have a feeling you’ve already started making your own list in your head, so let’s stop the introduction and jump right into it.

10. Todd Bertuzzi

When you think about Todd Bertuzzi’s time in Vancouver, you probably think about that infamous hit on Steve Moore in 2004. It’s a shame that’s how his time in Vancouver will be remembered. During the 2000s, Bertuzzi was one of the best power forwards in the NHL. He brought physicality to the West Coast Express line, along with goal-scoring prowess. From 2000 to 2006, Bertuzzi averaged 30 goals a season, headlined by his 2003 campaign. He scored 46 goals, which was good for third in the NHL, and had 96 points, finishing fifth in the league. He also finished fifth in Hart Trophy voting. Bertuzzi finished his career 10th all-time in Canucks scoring.

9. Stan Smyl

Stan Smyl spent his entire 13-year career in Vancouver. “Steamer” is most known for playing a huge role during Vancouver’s run to the Stanley Cup Final in 1982. Like I mentioned in my previous article, he had eight straight years of scoring at least 20 goals and three years of scoring over 30. Smyl also has 673 points, which is the 5th most in franchise history. Smyl is a franchise icon and one of Vancouver’s first star players. He’s more than deserving of being in the top 10.

8. Elias Pettersson

Say what you want, but Elias Pettersson is already a top 10 Canuck of all time. Like I said in my other article, take this season completely out of your mind. Before this season, Pettersson was averaging over a point per game in his career. He’s the second Canuck ever to win the Calder Trophy, and his 102 points in 2023 are the eighth-best in franchise history. When “Petey” is at his best, he is one of the most electrifying players in the NHL, and we’ve seen him perform at an elite level multiple times. He’s already ninth in Canucks scoring, and I think when his career is done, he has a chance at taking the top spot.

7. Trevor Linden

Everyone in Vancouver knows and loves Trevor Linden. Not just from his play on the ice, but also from his Club 16 fitness center. But this article is just about his play on the ice. The Canucks drafted Linden second overall in 1988, and he started producing right away, scoring at least 30 goals in six of his first seven seasons. He never put up flashy numbers,his career high in points was 80 in 1996.But Linden was a leader and a player who made everyone around him better. He finished his career as the Canucks’ fourth all-time leading scorer.

6. Quinn Hughes

You can say this is recency bias, you can say I don’t know what I’m talking about. I ask you this, have you watched the Canucks this year or the last three years? Can you name a Canuck who impacts the team more than Quinn Hughes does? I’m not just talking about players on this team; I’m talking about all-time. I’m going to say no. I think Quinn Hughes is the most impactful player the Canucks have ever had. Quinn’s a pretty quiet guy, and he lets his play do the talking. He will go down as the best draft pick in franchise history because there’s no way he should have fallen to seventh overall. From his very first game, we knew Hughes was different. The Canucks have never had a defenceman as dominant as he is. He’s gotten better each year, and in 2022, his game took another step. Hughes established himself as one of the best defencemen in the NHL and proved it by leading all defensemen in scoring in 2024, becoming the first defenceman in franchise history to win the Norris Trophy. Hughes was having an MVP-caliber year this season before he got hurt. We know how valuable Hughes is, and he has the numbers to back it up. He is about to pass Alex Edler in scoring for a defenseman in half the games. Even though Hughes has only been in the league for seven years, he is already a top 10 Canuck of all time.

All-Time Canucks Roster

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I know this Canucks season hasn’t been what we hoped it would be. The magic of last season seems like it was a decade ago. I don’t know about you, but for me, the worst part is that we haven’t had consistent playoff hockey here in years. The last time this team was a consistent contender was during the Sedin era. However, I still have faith that this group will figure it out. It may not be this year, but I believe we can get back to the playoffs very soon. Lately I’ve been feeling super nostalgic and have been watching videos of playoff runs from years past. Don’t you miss those years when the Sedin twins were dominating, or the years with the West Coast Express line? Imagine if the Canucks still had them with this current roster.

This got me thinking about what an all-time Canucks lineup would look like. So, I put one together. I made the roster with players who had their success predominantly with the Canucks. That’s why you won’t see Cam Neely, Mats Sundin, or Igor Larionov on this team. This was super hard to make and I changed it around a ton but I finally settled on a final roster.  Without further ado, here is my all-time Canucks team.

Forwards


Line 1: Daniel Sedin – Henrik Sedin – Pavel Bure


Line 2: Markus Naslund – Brendan Morrison – Todd Bertuzzi


Line 3: Stan Smyl – Elias Pettersson – Trevor Linden


Line 4: Thomas Gradin – JT Miller – Tony Tanti

Honourable Mentions: Alexander Mogilny, Ryan Kesler, Cliff Ronning, Alex Burrows

Ok, the first line shouldn’t be debatable. They are the three best Canucks ever. The Twins are number one and two in scoring, they’re both Hall of Famers, and each has won an Art Ross trophy, Henrik even won the Hart Trophy. Pavel Bure is arguably the most skilled player the Canucks have ever had. He had three 50-plus goal seasons in Vancouver, including back-to-back 60-goal seasons in 1993 and 1994. Bure is hands down the best goal-scorer the Canucks have ever had and one of the best of all time. Doesn’t this make you wonder how good they would be if they actually played on a line together? Bure, one of the best goal scorers of all time, playing with one of the best passers the league has ever seen in Henrik Sedin. Imagine those slap passes to Bure, or those magical between-the-legs passes finding him in the slot. Even better, picture this, Bure streaking down the wing, breaking a defenders ankles, dishing it to Daniel, who passes it to Henrik, who gives it back to Bure for a beautiful tic-tac-toe goal. That’s every Canucks fan’s dream.

For the second line, you know I had to keep the West Coast Express line together. Naslund, Morrison, and Bertuzzi were the best line in all of hockey in the early 2000s. Naslund was the star. From 2001-2004, he had four seasons over a point per game, headlined by having 104 points in 2003, and finished top five in Hart Trophy voting for three straight years. Bertuzzi was one of the best power forwards in the league at the time, and Morrison complemented them perfectly. So you know I had to keep the three of them together.

Now the bottom six is where it got really hard. First off, I want you to completely forget this season.

Elias Pettersson belongs on this team. He is already ninth all-time in points and could jump to number six if he has a great season next year. He is one of only seven Canucks to have 100 points in a season, and before this year, he was over a point per game in his career. So before you type up a storm in the comments, Pettersson has the numbers and six great seasons backing him up.

Stan Smyl may not be the “sexiest” pick, but “Steamer” was one of the few great players the Canucks had in the ‘80s and was a huge part of the 1982 Cup run. From 1980-83, Smyl averaged 81 points and 34 goals in an 82 game season, and had eight straight years of scoring at least 20 goals.

Trevor Linden shouldn’t be debatable. He is Mr. Canuck and helped lead them to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals in 1994, all while averaging 32 goals and 70 points a year from 1991-1994.

The fourth line could have gone to multiple guys.Thomas Gradin is the one player who should be here no matter what. He is sixth all-time in scoring, had three 30-plus-goal seasons, and three straight years of being over a point per game.

If you were a Canucks fan who grew up in the 2010s, you might not agree with these last two spots and wished they would have gone to Alex Burrows and Ryan Kesler instead. But hear me out. JT Miller takes the center spot because he is 11th in scoring and was over a point per game as a Canuck. The only other player to do that was Pavel Bure. Throw in the fact that he had three straight years of over 30 goals and the seventh-highest scoring season as a Canuck with 103 points last season.

As much as I wanted to put the Dragon Slayer Alex Burrows on here, I couldn’t justify leaving Tony Tanti off the team. Tanti had three 40 plus-goal seasons and two 39 goal seasons from 1984-1988. Burrows’ best goal-scoring year was 35 goals in 2010, and that was the only time he scored above 30. You probably have fond memories of Burrows, as do I, but he just missed the cut.

Kesler scored 41 goals in 2011, but his second-highest was only 25, so he just missed. Alexander Mogilny had 55 goals and 107 points in 1996, but injuries limited him in the seasons after that. Cliff Ronning was another solid player who just missed, but he wasn’t a Canuck long enough to make my all-time team.

Defense


Pair 1: Quinn Hughes – Mattias Ohlund


Pair 2: Alex Edler – Jyrki Lumme


Pair 3: Ed Jovanovski – Kevin Bieksa

Honourable Mentions: Harold Snepts, Dave Babych, Dan Hamhuis

Quinn Hughes is already the best defenceman in franchise history. If you think otherwise, either you haven’t watched hockey since 2011 or you’re just jealous of him. He needs no explanation for being on this team, his Norris Trophy speaks for itself.

Mattias Ohlund was one of the most underrated defencemen in the early 2000s. He finished 10th in Norris Trophy voting in 2002 and is third all-time in points and second in goals for a defenceman in franchise history.

Before Quinn Hughes came along, Alex Edler was the standard for Canucks defencemen. He is the leader in points and goals for defencemen in franchise history… for now. He was so consistent for many years in Vancouver. Jyrki Lumme is fourth in points and third in goals for a Canuck defenceman and was one of their first offensive defencemen.

The Canucks got Ed Jovanovski in the package for Pavel Bure, and that was for a reason. When you trade a franchise icon in his prime, you would hope to get an elite player or two in return. That’s what Jovanovski was. “Jovocop” finished in the top six in Norris Trophy voting in back-to-back seasons in 2002 and 2003 for Vancouver.

Kevin Bieksa takes the last spot for me. He is seventh in points and ninth in goals for defencemen and had Norris votes in 2007 and 2012. If I had to add a seventh defenceman, it would have been Dan Hamhuis. He received Norris votes in his first three years in Vancouver and finished 10th in 2012. He was arguably the best defenceman on the 2011 team, and that’s saying a lot considering how good that blue line was.

Goalies


Roberto Luongo


Kirk McLean

Honourable Mentions: Richard Brodeur, Thatcher Demko

The goalies were the easiest part of making the team. Roberto Luongo is the best goalie in franchise history. He gave the Canucks a chance to win every game for eight seasons. He was the backbone of the 2011 Stanley Cup team, the leader in every major goaltending category in franchise history, and is a Hall of Famer. Kirk McLean was a two-time Vezina Trophy finalist and, before Luongo, was the leader in wins and shutouts.

I’m sure you disagree with half of my picks, sound off in the comments and let me know what you think I should change.

Ranking The 5 Best NFL Draft Classes Since 2000

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In case you didn’t know, the NFL draft is just a few weeks away, with the first round taking place on April 24th. The draft is often considered the most important part of the offseason, especially for teams with a high pick. Why? Having a great draft can turn a team from a rebuilder to a contender instantly, while a bad draft can keep teams stuck in mediocrity. We saw just last year the Washington Commanders make it to the NFC Championship game after finishing with the second-worst record the year before. So many draft classes have changed franchises around, and in this article, I’m going to highlight them. I’m going to be ranking the top draft classes since 2000.

1. 2012 Seattle Seahawks

Key Players: Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner, Bruce Irvin

This draft class put the exclamation point on the Seahawks’ rebuild. The Seahawks drafted two future Hall of Famers, and neither of them was a first-round pick. How many teams can you name who’ve done that? Bobby Wagner is one of the best linebackers of all time; he’s an 11-time All-Pro, with six of those being first-team All-Pro. You know about the Legion of Boom, Seattle’s legendary secondary from 2012-2016, but without Wagner, the defense wouldn’t have become what it is today. During his time in Seattle, Wagner led the NFL in tackles three separate times. Anytime you can draft your franchise quarterback in the third round, your draft is already a success. Well, Russell Wilson over-delivered, taking Seattle to two Super Bowls, winning one, and being a top-five quarterback for the better part of a decade during his time in Seattle. The Seahawks also drafted Bruce Irvin, Jeremy Lane, and J.R. Sweezy, who all were starters and played vital roles in Seattle’s back-to-back Super Bowl appearances in 2013 and 2014. This draft class will not only go down as one of the best of the 2000s but as one of the best of all time.

2. 2017 New Orleans Saints

Key Players: Alvin Kamara, Marshon Lattimore, Ryan Ramczyk

After three straight seasons of missing the playoffs, it seemed like the Saints were going to waste Drew Brees’s final prime seasons. Boy, did the Saints change that in the 2017 draft. They drafted multiple elite players, including three who’ve made at least three Pro Bowls, Alvin Kamara, Marshon Lattimore, and Trey Hendrickson. They also drafted a three-time All-Pro in Ryan Ramczyk. Six of the seven players the Saints drafted made an immediate impact, highlighted by Kamara and Lattimore, who respectively won Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year. This draft set up the Saints for four straight 10-plus-win seasons, including a trip to the 2018 NFC Championship game. (We aren’t going to talk about the missed pass interference call.) It’s safe to say that this draft by the Saints is up there with some of the best ever. It may have taken the number one spot if it resulted in a Super Bowl.

3. 2018 Baltimore Ravens

Key Players: Lamar Jackson, Mark Andrews, Orlando Brown

The Baltimore Ravens hadn’t made the playoffs in three seasons prior to 2018. They hadn’t won their division in six years and needed a change. The Ravens had the last pick of the first round in the draft, and they made a franchise-altering pick, they drafted Lamar Jackson, and oh, did it ever pay off. Two MVPs and three All-Pro selections later, it’s looking to be one of the best draft picks in franchise history, and that’s not all. In the third round, the Ravens drafted right tackle Orlando Brown, who made two Pro Bowls during his time in Baltimore, and three picks later, they drafted Mark Andrews, who is one of the best tight ends in the NFL and broke the record for most receiving touchdowns in Ravens history.

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1872065293192970710

4. 2004 Arizona Cardinals

Key Players: Larry Fitzgerald, Darnell Dockett, Karlos Dansby

Anytime you draft one of the best players of all time at their position, it automatically makes it a great draft class. But when you draft other players who’ve made a key impact on your team’s Super Bowl run, it makes it one of the best of all time. Larry Fitzgerald’s resume speaks for itself. Over 17,000 receiving yards, 121 touchdowns, and over 1,400 catches, second only to Jerry Rice. But Fitzgerald wasn’t the only splash the Cardinals made in this draft. They also took defensive standouts Karlos Dansby in the second round and Darnell Dockett in the third round. Both players made multiple Pro Bowls and played key parts in the Cardinals making a Super Bowl appearance in 2008.

 

5. 2010 Seattle Seahawks

Key Players: Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Golden Tate

Yup, the Seahawks have two draft classes on my list, and they’ve earned them. In this draft, they took both Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, who combined for 11 Pro Bowls and seven All-Pro selections in the 2010s. They were easily the top safety duo in the NFL during their time together and were two of the biggest reasons the Seahawks had one of the best defenses of all time. Seattle also took left tackle Russell Okung, who started 72 games for the team and made a Pro Bowl, as well as Golden Tate in the second round, who was an electrifying receiver and one of Russell Wilson’s top targets during Seattle’s Super Bowl run in 2013.

That’s my list. Is there anyone I missed? Let me know in the comments below.