Price is Right: Star players shining once again for Canucks

We’ve spent a lot of time on this show extolling the virtues of this player or that over the past few months, as we’ve watched each of the Vancouver Canucks top players go on some pretty impressive tears.

Can we take a moment to reflect on what that means for the fanbase as a whole, though?

The first third of this season was damaging. Not only because it sunk the team for the season, but far worse is that it cast doubt on what the team had in the first place.

We marvelled at the early seasons of Hughes and Pettersson and Boeser, and the fact that we had a shred of doubt about them was unsettling as if we were told about a true alien landing or parallel universes.

Thankfully, it wasn’t real. Not really.

Petey is now back. Not back with point; that actually started back in February. Petey, the complete player, is back. Dangling with confidence, hitting guys, the back checks and anticipation.

As Jeff will discuss later in the Patdown, Quinn Hughes has diversified the game already and shows the possibility of even more growth.

And now, there are even new players to fawn over. Vasiliy Podkolzin has been the best player on the ice at times and just might be the unluckiest player in the NHL, but experience often changes one’s so-called “luck.”

Those glorious chances will be converted the more he sees them. As for the assists that go unconverted? Yeah, that’ll change too. But his points are coming now as he sees some time in the top 6 and even, gasp, the PP.

And speaking of the PP.  Again, even if you aren’t a great “team,” even if there isn’t much depth,  we thought this collection of talent would at least work a decent PP. But even that was too much to ask in the fall.

Faith, in this regard, has also been restored, however.  Overall, the Canucks power play is 9th in the league at 22.9 percent..  and since February 1st, the Canucks own the best PP in the league at 29.6 percent.

Losses happen. Even elite teams stub their toes.

But elite players disappearing early in their careers would be devastating to this organization and a fanbase that has seen almost nothing for a decade.

The stars are shining again, thank goodness, because it was a dark, dark night not long ago.

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