Author Archives: Jaden Teja

The Canucks Oilers Rivalry

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Kamryn touched on her Oilers fandom if you haven’t read her article you can find HERE

 

I would rather focus on the rivalry in the 2020s specifically and mainly last year’s playoff series.

 

Sure Oilers fan can be on their high horse all they want. They’ve earned that right. I gotta hand it to them coming back from 3-0 down in the stanley cup final was pretty impressive. However, what I don’t get is Oilers fans talking like they’ve been good for the last decade. I’m not hating on last year’s playoff run. I would never hate on a team that went to game seven of the stanley cup final. ( I know that feeling all too well).  The Oilers haven’t had much forward depth in past seasons which led to a back-to-back first round losses in 2020 and 2021. The crazy thing was that Oilers fans thought Connor Mcdavid and Leon Draisaitl would carry them to a cup like its the NBA. Hockey is the ultimate team game two players aren’t going to win you a championship. Too bad Oilers fans can’t grasp that concept. The amount of times I’ve seen Oilers fans hype up their team in the playoffs with one of the worst bottom sixes in the league is hilarious.

The rivalry with the Canucks has always been entertaining. I’m sure all of the older Canucks fans have nightmares about Wayne Gretzky absolutely lighting us up. I have to watch Connor Mcdavid do the same thing so now I know how they feel. The two teams haven’t been good at the same time until last year. In the early 2010s the Canucks were dominating with the Sedin twins. In the later 2010s Mcdavid and Draisaitl started to emerge and Edmonton started winning more. One thing is for sure though, no matter the era the games have always been entertaining, 

 

Last years playoff series was super entertaining. Almost every game coming down to the wire. The two teams match up pretty evenly top end talent wise. Who  wouldn’t want to see a battle between Connor Mcdavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hymen and Evan Bouchard vs Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, JT Miller, and Quinn Hughes. Just two teams with tons of star power going at it. While Edmonton did get the better of us last year I want to see this matchup again. Who wouldn’t?

The JT Miller Dilemma

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Ah yes, it’s about time we talk about this, the JT Miller dilemma. To trade or not to trade? With how the season has gone for the Canucks this year, we saw the old version of JT Miller. The laziness, the turnovers and horrible defensive play have all returned. Miller still has five years left on an eight million-dollar contract. After last year I loved that deal. Miller put up 103 points and played shutdown defence. The Canucks looked like geniuses for trading Bo Horvat over JT Miller. Elias Pettersson and JT Miller looked like a dominant  one-two punch and one of the best in the league. With 31.9 seconds left in game five against Edmonton in the second round, Miller scored the biggest goal of his life and had Canucks fans jumping with joy as they took a 3-2 series lead.

Unfortunately, that looks like the peak for JT Miller in Vancouver. The Canucks lost the series and the team hasn’t recovered. Last year was supposed to be the start of greatness. Hockey was finally fun in this city. Now it seems like forever ago. It’s back to agony and pain. Multiple teams have shown interest in the star center. The Canucks rejected a deal from the New York Rangers earlier this year which would have sent Mika Zibanejad to Vancouver. Has the core of Elias  Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, Brock Boeser,Thatcher Demko, Filip Hronek and JT Miller hit its ceiling? 

 

With Miller’s play and contract added with the fact he’s the oldest out of the bunch is the most expendable. Rumors him and Pettersson don’t get along just to the fact Miller might be out the door. So what do the Canucks do? Trading Miller for picks and prospects would be a waste of everything that this team has done since 2015 to now. So I don’t think that’s what they should do. If Miller is shipped out, it should be for a center who is between 25-26 and maybe a defenceman. Adding a defenceman might be wishful thinking but it’s what the Canucks need. I have a ton of trust in Patrick Allvin and I know he will get a good return but this core is good enough to win a cup. It’s just a matter of all of the pieces fitting  together.

Gambling Culture

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What are your thoughts on gambling? I’m not talking about sitting on slots or blackjack. I’m talking about the new age of gambling, specifically parlays. It seems like everytime you turn on the T.V. there’s a gambling ad. The thing with this culture is that it’s become way too common.

Gambling companies are huge and they know how to make money off you. The new phenomenon on making parlays is perfect for these companies. Get people to put a small amount of money in with a potential of a big payout with it having a small chance of hitting. Its that simple. Its fool proof for these companies. I mean to a normal person putting ten dollars to win twelve-hundred seems like great odds. (I’m totally not talking from experience). 

The thing is for you to make that much money the odds gotta be against you. As much as you like Brock Boeser Elias Pettersson and J.T Miller are all gonna get three shots on goal its not likely. I gotta give credit to these gambling companies. These lines they come up with are so perfect. As someone who thinks they know sports knowing how teams and players are going to play feels easy. Its anything but easy I see myself looking at some of the lines and thinking to my self “ wow thats a really good line”. When I see players miss or go over by one projected prop I can’t do anything but tip my cap to these companies. 

 

Do I like it it being promoted everywhere? No. Especially because I know how bad it can be and the path you can go on. However companies got to make money and people want to make money. If you put down 50 parlays, one’s gotta hit right? Personally I’m not for it but I gotta admit how easy it is and how easy they make it seem I don’t blame people for trying. What I’m saying is you will not make money gambling. I promise, the amount of times I see people thinking that they will make money is insane. If you do gamble use your game sense.

NFL Awards Predictions

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With the regular season over all voting ballots are in. The NFL Honors are just a few weeks away and I’m going to be giving my input on who I think will win the major awards.

 

MVP: Josh Allen

 

Remember when the Bills traded Stefon Diggs to the Texans and everyone was worried about Josh Allens production? What a time that was. Allen just had his best year of his career with arguably the his worst supporting cast since 2019.Allen has taken care of the ball the best he’s ever had and also landed the Bills the #2 seed in the AFC. 

 

Honorable mentions Lamar Jackson Saquon Barkley.

 

Offensive player of the year: Saquon Barkley.

 

Man I’m sorry Giants fans. There’s so many things I could say about this but I’ll keep it short. Barkley became the ninth running back to rush for 2000 yards and likely would broken the single season rushing record if he played in week 18. The rest of NFL fans saw what Barkley could do when he has a good offensive line. Giants fans will just have more nightmares. 

 

Honorable mentions Derrick Henry Ja’marr Chase

 

Defensive player of the year: Patrick Surtain II

 

Patrick Surtain II has an amazing year. He’s the only cornerback in the league this season with at least four interceptions, a pick-six and 10-plus passes defended. He’s also done with while traveling with the opponents top receiver all year ans shutting them down. Only six cornerbacks have won defensive player of the year and Surtain has a great case to make it seven.

Offensive rookie of the year: Jayden Daniels

 

This was so close for me to pick. Daniels and Brock Bowers have both had impressive years.I hate to be that guy, but Daniels gets the slight edge because he is a quarterback. He has almost single handedly turned around the Commanders franchise and helped them win a playoff game for the first time in over a decade.He’s also fourth among all QBs in completion percentage (70.5), the highest by a rookie in the common draft era (since 1967). 

 

Honorable mentions Brock Bowers Malik Nabers

 

Coach of the year: Kevin O’Connell

 

When people heard that Sam Darnold was gonna be the starting quarterback the expectations dropped lower for the Vikings than they already were. O’Connell led this team to a record of 14-3. He also did this while having a top 10 scoring offence and defense. Not bad for coach whos team was supposed to be re-building. O’Connell proved no matter the situation he can still get the most out of his players and team.

Canucks Kings Preview

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It’s Canucks game day….. Yay. The boys look to bounce back after a pitiful performance in Winnipeg. Don’t Worry Canucks fans it can only go up from here. Atleast I hope. I wanna say that a bright spot is that we are back on home ice, but we know with this team that might be a disadvantage. So what’s there to look forward to? The hope. I know it’s killing all of us, but it’s all we have. This team shows flashes but never puts up a complete product.

 We can hope this is the game Pettersson and Miller figure it out. Hope that the defence plays at the level we know it can. Hope all four lines are clicking. I’m not losing this hope at all but the clock is ticking. As of right now the Canucks are one point out of a playoff spot and LA is above them in the standings. So safe to say this is a must win game. 

 

My prediction: You’ll never hear me say the Canucks will lose. I am the ultimate optimist. That’s not going to stop now. I can see us winning this game. We need production from top guys. I can’t talk about the Kings without talking about what happened last time. Tanner Jeannot concusses Brock Boeser and forces Boeser to miss seven games. This seems like a perfect game for scoring to get back on track. Nothing will be more satisfying than the Canucks whooping the Kings on home ice. Add in a couple goals from Petey, Miller and Brock. The team goes on a run and soon enough everything is fine and dandy in Canuck land again.

Playoff Quarterback Ranking Part 2

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Hopefully you read part one of me ranking the quarterbacks remaining in the playoffs. If not you can find that HERE .This is where we jump up a tier and rank the elite QBs hoping to lead their teams to football immortality.

 

  1. Jalen Hurts

 

I know the passing numbers aren’t there in large part to the addition of Saquon Barkley, but Hurts is still among the games best signal callers. Don’t tell me you forgot about his super bowl performance from just two years ago. One of the best ever in a losing effort. That form of Jalen Hurts didn’t just disappear; he still has it. Hurts can hurt defenses will his arm and his legs making him one of the most dangerous QBs in the playoffs. He’s certainly one I would want leading my team.

 

  1. Lamar Jackson

 

You could rank the top three guys in any order and I Wouldn’t be mad. In my opinion I think this is the best version of Lamar Jackson we’ve seen in the NFL. Derrick Henry has complemented his game perfect making Jackson even more of a threat. His passing game has taking massive strides since his rookie year but is it at a super bowl winning level. Last year in the AFC championship game Jackson threw the ball 37 times and the Ravens weren’t able to get it done. With two minutes left on the clock down four do I trust Jackson to go down the field and score. I can’t say I’m 100% sure. 

  1. Josh Allen 

 

In my opinion Allen should win this years MVP. He is playing the best football of his life and is willing the Bills to victories week in and week out. The biggest thing about Allen before was he threw too many interceptions. This year he’s only thrown six. Throw that in with 41 combined touchdowns and you have a super bowl run in the making. Allen looks more determined than ever to take Buffalo to football glory.

 

1.Patrick Mahomes

 

Did you seriously think anyone else was gonna be number one? He has a passer rating of 105.8 with 5,135 yards, 41 touchdowns and only 8 interceptions in 18 games in the playoffs in his career. I don’t care about his regular season stats this year. The playoffs are a different breed, and Mahomes resume speaks for it self. Until someone knocks Mahomes off the top of the throne, theres no one else I want quarterbacking my team in the playoffs.

Playoff Quarterback Ranking Part 1

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Quarterback is the most important position in football by far. If you can have an elite player at almost any other position, but if you don’t have a great quarterback you probably aren’t winning the super bowl. We are in the divisional round, every team needs to have a great quarterback to at least it here. However only a few signal callers can take their team to the promise land. I’m going to be ranking the remaining eight quarterbacks based on who I would want on my team in the playoffs in part one of two in this series.

 

  1. Matthew Stafford

 

I know you may hate Stafford being this low, but there’s only eight quarterbacks left. Stafford is still a solid QB but not what he once was. Stafford only threw 20 touchdown passes, his lowest since 2019. The Rams have been relying on Kyren Williams  and the run game a ton this year. I know Stafford won a super bowl in 2021, but for this years playoffs he’s last on my list of QBs.

 

  1. C.J Stroud

 

I am a fan of Stroud, but he just hasn’t been great this year. Teams have started to figure him out in his second season which has led to some ugly interceptions. Stroud ceiling is still extremely high, he made some of those highlight plays last game. He’s just been too inconsistent for me to trust but he could very well prove wrong if the Texans upset the Chiefs. 

 

  1. Jayden Daniels

 

Jayden Daniels rookie year has been spectacular. He has single handedly turned around the Commanders franchise. His dual threat ability is what you need to win in the playoffs. He can make unbelievable throws and can juke any defender out of their shoes. We gotta remember he’s still just a rookie. As much as I like him I don’t know if I can put him above the rest of the remaining QBs. Don’t get me wrong though, Daniels is still a great quarterback but I still think hes a tier below the QBs you can win a championship with. 

  1. Jared Goff

 

Goff completely surprised me this year. Top five in touchdowns and passing yards, I didn’t see that coming. I know a lot of it is his scheme, but man it works. Goff is slinging the ball like I’ve never seen him before. He’s exactly what the Lions need to captain their offence. He spreads the ball so well and is the best in the league off of play action. You see, that’s the problem. Goff’s a great quarterback when is team is in the lead or the game is close. I still have my doubts he can win his team a game with just his arm. Thats why he is only number five.

NFL Divisional Round Predictions

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Arguably the best weekend of the NFL season is here. It’s the divisional round. We have some great matchups and I can’t wait to see how it plays out. Some teams are looking to get over the hump, while others are looking to make history. All I can say is that we are in for some great football. 

 

Kansas City Chiefs vs Houston Texans: I know Kansas City hasn’t played well all year, yeah Patrick Mahomes had his worst year as a pro and Houston’s defence picked off Justin Herbert four times. I don’t care, they’re still the Chiefs. Are you telling me you are betting against Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs? I don’t think so. C.J. Stroud hasn’t been great this year either and he’s going to be missing two of his top targets. The Chiefs are looking to be the first team ever to three-peat and nothings getting in Mahomes’ way. Especially not the Texans, sorry Chiefs haters. I got Kansas City taking this . Another year of watching Patrick Mahomes in the AFC Championship game.  Score prediction Kansas City 24: Houston: 16

 

Detroit Lions vs Washington Commanders: Washington played a thrilling game vs Tampa Bay in the wild card round. Jayden Daniels added to his already stellar rookie resume becoming the fourth rookie quarterback to win a playoff game on the road. Unfortunately for Washington I think the road stops here. Detroit is poised for a super bowl run. From the moment they lost the NFC Championship game you could tell this team was on the brink of something great. The Lions have dealt with injuries on both sides of the ball, but that hasn’t seemed to stop them. I see the Lions making back to the NFC title game in back-to-back seasons. Score prediction Detroit Lions 34: Washington Commanders: 23.

Philadelphia Eagles vs Los Angeles Rams: These teams played in the regular season on Sunday Night Football, and the whole world saw Saquon Barkley single handed beat the Rams. Barkley rushed for 255 yards and two touchdowns in a dominating performance. Do I think he does the same thing again? No. The was pretty close until the fourth quarter but I think the Eagles will be too much for the Rams to handle. From Jalen Hurts to AJ Brown to the dominating defence I think Philly’s firepower will lead back to the NFC Championship game for the second time in three years. Score prediction Philadelphia Eagles: 30 Los Angeles Rams : 14

 

Buffalo Bills vs Baltimore Ravens: The game we can’t wait to watch. Josh Allen vs Lamar Jackson. The two teams who haven’t been able to beat Kansas City in the postseason. Two teams whose quarterbacks could have their legacy defined by this game. All this takes place Sunday at 3:30. So who wins? Baltimore ragdolled the Bills in week 5 and the Bills defence had no answer for Derrick Henry and the Ravens rushing attack. With that being said, that was months ago. Since then the Bills added Amari Cooper and Josh Allen is playing the best football of his life. This game could truly go either way. In my gut I think this is the year the Bills finally put it all together and make a run. Score prediction Buffalo Bills: 34  Baltimore Ravens: 31 

NHL MVP Race Part 2

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I hope you are coming from part one of this article of breaking down the super close race for the NHL’s hart trophy. If you haven’t read it click HERE Without further ado let’s look at the next four players MVP cases. 

 

Quinn Hughes: If you’re a Canucks fan you know what Quinn Hughes means to this franchise. It’s hard to imagine where the Canucks would be without him. They’ve been plagued with injuries to key players and Elias Pettersson has not played his best by any means. Hughes has single handedly kept his team in the playoff race. He’s also done it by logging big minutes playing without his defence partner Filip Hronek who missed 21 games and leading all defencemen in scoring. The 2024 norris trophy winner is looking to become the first defenceman since 2000 to win MVP.

Connor Hellebuyck: Last year Connor Hellebuyck had a record of 37-19-4 along with five shutouts good for his second vezina trophy. You would think that’s hard to top right? So far this season Hellebuyck’s record is 27-6-2 and six shutouts. That’s right he has the same amount of shutouts as regulation losses. The Jets starting off the season winning 15 of their 16 games and Hellebuyck hasn’t looked back. He leads all goalies in save percentage goals against average as well as shutouts. He’s looking to become the first goalie since 2015 to win the hart and I think he has a great shot.

 

Nikita Kucherov: When the Lightning let captain Steven Stamkos walk in free agency a ton of people had questions about the team. Some even questioned if Kucherovs’ production would fall off. He shut the nay-sayers up really quick this year. He had a career high 144 points last year and this year is proving he still is an offensive power house. He is currently second in scoring and is looking to add to an already impressive resume. The lightning may not be the elite team they once were but Kucherov can still put up points at an elite level.

 

Kirill Kaprisov: Kaprisov has always been one of the most underrated players in the league in my opinion. Which is wild, because he’s done nothing but put the puck in the back of the net since he entered the NHL. He started this year on fire and was first in scoring at one point which propelled Minnesota to the top of the Western Conference. The Wild had never had too much offensive firepower and when Kaprisov missed time they struggled. If Minnesota finishes as a top team and “Kirill the thrill” keeps putting up points, he will have a great case of becoming the player in Wild history to win MVP. 

Canucks Fans, Is It Time To Panic?

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Is it time to press the panic button in Canuck land? We lost 6-0 to the Jets and nobody looked good. Kyle Connor had a hat-trick before you could even blink. The game finished before it started. The thing is, if this game was just a one off I wouldn’t even care. The thing is it’s not. The Canucks haven’t played consistent hockey all season. Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller have played like a shell of themselves. The defence outside of Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek is AHL caliber. This loss is still kind of fresh and I’m a Canucks fan so I might be a little irrational. 

 

However, I don’t think what I’m saying isn’t wrong. The Canucks aren’t playing good hockey. Last year they were a top tier team from game one of the season. This year it was the exact opposite. Last year the Canucks beat the Oilers 8-1 on opening night. What did they do this year? Blow a 4-1 lead to the Calgary Flames. Vancouver hasn’t played good defence as a team, I’m saying as a team because Quinn Hughes is playing at an MVP level. This is one of the reasons the Canucks haven’t been able to close out any games which has led to ten overtime losses. Ten overtime losses! If they had won half of those we would be second in the pacific division. With how close the western conference is every point matters. As of right now the team just isn’t playing good enough plain and simple.

Now time to address the elephant in the room. Whatever’s going on with Pettersson and Miller they need to get it sorted. I’m not talking about this supposed feud between the two stars. The two of them aren’t playing like themselves at all which has led to a ton of trade talks. Does it happen? I hope not the Canucks need both of them at their best if they want to make a deep playoff run. A trade might mean blowing up everything. For what one decent playoff run? I don’t think that’s the way to go about it.

 

So what happens next? I’m a big optimist. I still think this team figures it out. One thing that needs to happen is that they need to trade for a legit top-4 defenceman. Carson Soucy, Tyler Myers and Vincent Desharnais aren’t cutting it. This team desperately needs a defenceman that can play well logging top-4 minutes if they want any chance at a deep run.