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The hits keep coming for the Canucks after a busy weekend. Coming off a fight-back to get a point in OT against the NHL’s best team, the Avalanche, up next are the Winnipeg Jets, another league behemoth who have legitimate sights on the Stanley Cup. As Ben Kuzma wrote, while the Canucks didn’t get two points, the way they got the game to overtime was impressive.
“I liked the resilience,” said Foote. “They’re a team that capitalizes on small mistakes and it was a good game. In our 3-on-3, we didn’t wedge twice and kind of got off it. It happens at this level when you want to win so bad and players want to get after it and try too much.
“We’ll address it. It’s slight. You’re playing against a team like that and leading the league and we’re learning.”
In Ben’s report cards, there were a lot of B’s, but one player nailed it and got an A.
Quinn Hughes (A): Relished Makar challenge. Speed, wheels, deals, scoring chances. Seven shots, 11 attempts.
If you missed it on Saturday, Patrick Johnston did the marking on the win against Columbus, he was a little more generous with four players pulling down an A-grade.
In this week’s schedule analysis, Ben looks at the importance of getting to overtime and what those points mean at the end of the season, and how the team has practised those conditions:
However, overtime is ensuring Grade A scoring chances without losing possession. No shots that either drift wide or saved and possibly leading to losing an offensive-zone faceoff. If that means endless circling in the neutral zone to find the right mix of players and opportunities, so be it.
One of the biggest traffic drivers for our website over the weekend was Patrick Johnston’s story on GM Patrik Allvin’s comments on the state of the Canucks. Obviously this has been a hot topic with the team over the last decade, is a full teardown rebuild the way to go or can you “re-tool” on the fly?
And how else was he going to answer? The moment he starts talking about rebuild with ownership, he’s out the door. His original plan, built in tandem with president Jim Rutherford, was to push toward Stanley Cup contention. And in 2024, it did look like they were going in the right direction. Allvin doesn’t have that lineup anymore, but that’s not really an excuse he can play here.
The team has ended up with a mushy middle roster. He could go blow it up but then that’s the end of his job, so he’s just pressing on. And, sure, he’s not wrong about saying they could be a contender with some sharp additions. A couple top-end players and they’re back to where they were in 2024.
The Athletic look at some early-season NHL storylines and while it’s not exactly something to get excited about, the Canucks get a mention.
You can see the season-long stories coming into focus — a fun October is nice and all, but we’ve still got five months to go. That’s why it’s nice to see some intriguing season-long storylines starting to form. You’ve got the Penguins trying to put together one last run with the old guard. The Panthers, proud two-time defending Cup champs, decimated by injury and trying desperately not to fall too far out of the race while they wait for their injured stars to return. The Bruins, staking a claim as a true “nobody believed in us” playoff contender. Utah, Detroit and Seattle all finally looking like they’re ready to make an impact. Must-win teams like the Oilers, Wild, Leafs and Canucks who aren’t winning enough yet.
Not Canucks related, but ESPN had a fun story celebrating two B.C. NHL stars, Macklin Celebrini and Conor Bedard. The kids from North Vancouver both had huge months and ESPN is surmising we may have the next Sid v. Ovi rivalry on our hands.
Looking at the points race one month into the season gave us a glimpse into the future — even if for one fleeting moment.
Upon gazing at the very mountaintop of goals and assists prior to Saturday night’s games, one wouldn’t see the familiar names of Connor McDavid (21 points, tied for third), Jack Eichel (also 21, after leading for much of the season), Nathan MacKinnon (20 points, tied for eighth) or even Leon Draisaitl (17 points).
It was Macklin Celebrini’s 23 points in first, and Connor Bedard in second with 22. According to ESPN Research, Celebrini and Bedard are the only players both 20 or younger to rank top two in points (tied or outright) through that stage of season or later (230 GP) in NHL history.
I found it poetic that in a week where hockey fans celebrated what could be one of the last meetings between two of the greatest rivals in NHL history — Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin — we see perhaps the next big hockey rivalry emerging atop the leaderboard in the 20-year-old Bedard and the 19-year-old Celebrini. Like Crosby and Ovechkin, who were selected first overall a year apart (2005 and 2004), Bedard (2023) and Celebrini (2024) are also sequential first overall picks.
Bedard had Crosby-like hype entering the league. Unlike Crosby, Bedard won the Calder Trophy his rookie season. But entering the 2025-26 season, there was already some chatter about whether Celebrini is better than Bedard right now.
That chatter is thawing in favour of the excitement that is surely growing in seeing future NHL superstars cement their status right before our eyes. Even if the “rivalry” might not be as intense as the heyday of Ovi vs. Sid — until the two meet in the playoffs once or twice — Bedard vs. Celebrini can at the very least be a battle of skill and flash that both clearly possess.
Will they remain atop the points race for the entire season? Maybe not. McDavid (still the best player in the NHL), MacKinnon and the rest of the usual suspects will certainly have a lot to say about that. But, even if it’s for this one fleeting weekend, it’s fun to have a taste of the NHL’s long-term future.
Check back for more Canucks news throughout the day …