As much an anything, Canucks fans are looking to create a Quinn Hughes Appreciation Society.
In 2024, they witnessed the return of playoff hockey. That was a high point. But they also witnessed their team stumble its way through the first half of the 2024-25 season.
So what are the resolutions Canucks fans are making this season?
— Shane Austin via BlueSky
We are going to be reminded just how big a load Hughes carries for this team when he misses Saturday’s game with his undisclosed injury, apparently suffered last Saturday versus Ottawa.
There’s just no filling the hole left by him. He’s the most thrilling and dynamic skater this city has seen, certainly since Pavel Bure. The Canucks control the game when he’s on the ice; they chase it when he’s on the bench.
We’re likely to see ugly hockey for as long as he’s out.
Much like Andy Bernard, who said “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.” I resolve not to take for granted all of the successes the team currently have in the quest for the Cup. Too many dark years to not appreciate what we have now.
— Derek Kwan via BlueSky
This is a long-winded version of the answer every veteran athlete gives when they’re asked about what the advice they give to athletes getting sent to enter the big stage for the first time: just enjoy it.
What they always mean is that the first time is when everything looks rich and pure, with no nonsense. The world seems all yours. It’s a moment you will never feel again.
So try to hold on to that spirit as best you can.
It’s good advice for fans, too.
To be grateful that we are beyond the darkness (Jim Benning and COVID eras) and to enjoy the sporting thrills (like a roller-coaster, for there to be highs, there must be lows) no matter the result.
— The Tao of Oat on BlueSky
This is a lovely follow-on to the point made above.
Hot take: Most talented Canuck roster all time. May they find a way to put it all together.
— Aaron via BlueKsy
This is bold. And I’m sorry Aaron, I just don’t think you can look at this D corps, even with the best defenceman in team history, and say it’s better than the 2011 defence corps. The forwards are good and pretty deep, but again, the 2011 forwards had the Sedins and two of the best two-way forwards in team history in Alex Burrows and Ryan Kesler in their primes.
I admire the optimism, but I’m not buying it.
— Myra C. via BlueSky
That’s been clearly the case since the summer. This is a big, bruising group that, outside of Hughes and Hronek and, when he’s on his game, Erik Brännström, doesn’t have a whole of puck-moving talent.
As for the ghost face, that’s just how the man focuses.
Let’s hope we get to see it again soon.