First of all, I want to say thank you to The Nation Network for welcoming me in with open arms and I’m pumped to be able to provide some written pieces along with everything else we have <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Canucks_Army">going on in here in Vancouver</a>.
Let’s get to it!
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<blockquote>Thatcher Demko</blockquote>
Let’s be very clear when taking about Demko. Only Thatcher and his doctors really know what’s going on and how he’s feeling. The Canucks are going to give him as much time as he needs to get back to being the Vezina candidate goalie he is. Demko has been skating sporadically on his own. The <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/scenes-vancouver-canucks-practice-changes-materialize-ot-loss-hurricanes">fact he is skating</a> is good news, but the fact he is yet to join his teammates for a full practice is something to monitor. Had some tell me that he would start to ramp things up in early November. We’ll see what happens.
<blockquote>Erik Brann$trom</blockquote>
To say the Canucks have been pleased with the Swedish defenceman is an understatement. He is an NHL defenceman and needs to be in the lineup regularly. The biggest thing is he makes Vincent Deharnais better. Rick Tocchet has said they have looked into him playing the right side to keep him in the line-up and I’m sure it won’t be too long before we see that happen. If Brannstrom keeps up his solid play and can be trusted while making those around him better, there could be a future for him here beyond this season. I wonder if he keeps this up the conversation happens sooner than later. 
<a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/seravalli-vancouver-canucks-trying-nhl-trade-market">Frank Seravalli recently reported</a> the Canucks are trying to get ahead of things on the NHL trade front. This shouldn’t come as surprise if you know this management group and the way it operates. It’s no secret the Canucks were and always have been in the market for a top four defenceman.  Is Erik Brannstrom that guy? Not yet, but they do have very high praise for him. 
<blockquote>Brock Boe$er</blockquote>
It’s widely known that in a contract season you are going to get the absolute best out of the player. For the Canucks and Brock Boeser, you are getting that once again. He’s on a 50-goal pace. He’s in the final year of his deal that pays him $6.65 million dollars. He’s due for a raise, but how much of a raise is the question. Goal scorers get paid. Brock had 40 last season as if things stay the same 40 isn’t out of the question this year. Boeser is on Team USA’s radar for the Four Nations Face-Off in February and in a short tournament I’d say he has a decent shot to be on that team with his linemate JT Miller. 
Things have been pretty quiet around the Canuck and the Boeser camp. I think the Canucks wanted to see how Brock’s body and energy levels reacted to the early season long road-trip before beginning to make any real decisions. You can bet the Boeser camp has no problem waiting this out especially if he continues to put the puck in the net. It’s no secret Brock loves it in Vancouver and has really found a home with the Canucks. At the end of the day, I’m not entirely sure hometown discounts are a thing in this situation. Brock should get paid; the question is how much the Canucks are willing to pay him. I think you’re going to see a situation where the two sides do have a conversation at some point here soon just to get the ball rolling but this one could take some time. 
<blockquote>The Curious Case of 40</blockquote>
I’ll be the first to say that I’ve been critical of Elias Pettersson. I don’t think there’s anyone in this market, whether a member of the media, fanbase, or organization, that hasn’t been. The reason for that, of course, is because the player who registered 102 points in an NHL season seems like he no longer exists. Where are Petey’s powers, and who took them? 
You can’t blame his linemates this time. You can’t blame the system. You can’t blame the contract negotiations. So, what do we look at as the problem? Is his knee still bothering him? Is it the wrist? I mean, if you just do a simple eye test of the game without any stats, you can see he’s a different player.
The shot that he had as a weapon that other teams respected so much isn’t there.  The Canucks went out and got Pettersson all the tools around him in signing Jake DeBrusk and Daniel Sprong in hopes of lighting some sort of spark. Centremen need to be play drivers and Elias Pettersson hasn’t been that since pretty much March of last season. Players have slumps and go through things, and I think we can all agree there probably is a light at the end of the tunnel and he will break out and we won’t be talking about this forever, but when? 
He’s been called out directly and indirectly by his head coach on a few occasions. The only person that’s going to get through to Elias Pettersson is Elias Pettersson. There are players around the league, including former teammates that are wondering what’s going on with the former Calder winner. He’s paid like a superstar in the NHL and the Canucks need him to start playing like one. 
Check out the latest episode of Down to Irf, where I sat down with former Vancouver Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa!
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Kevin Bieksa Opens Up About Hockey, Family, And Mental Health | Down To Irf" width="1424" height="801" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TbPCWKjZhRI?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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&nbsp;

First of all, I want to say thank you to The Nation Network for welcoming me in with open arms and I’m pumped to be able to provide some written pieces along with everything else we have <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Canucks_Army">going on in here in Vancouver</a>.

Let’s get to it!
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2111" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="329"></div>
&nbsp;
<blockquote>Thatcher Demko</blockquote>
Let’s be very clear when taking about Demko. Only Thatcher and his doctors really know what’s going on and how he’s feeling. The Canucks are going to give him as much time as he needs to get back to being the Vezina candidate goalie he is. Demko has been skating sporadically on his own. The <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/scenes-vancouver-canucks-practice-changes-materialize-ot-loss-hurricanes">fact he is skating</a> is good news, but the fact he is yet to join his teammates for a full practice is something to monitor. Had some tell me that he would start to ramp things up in early November. We’ll see what happens.
<blockquote>Erik Brann$trom</blockquote>
To say the Canucks have been pleased with the Swedish defenceman is an understatement. He is an NHL defenceman and needs to be in the lineup regularly. The biggest thing is he makes Vincent Deharnais better. Rick Tocchet has said they have looked into him playing the right side to keep him in the line-up and I’m sure it won’t be too long before we see that happen. If Brannstrom keeps up his solid play and can be trusted while making those around him better, there could be a future for him here beyond this season. I wonder if he keeps this up the conversation happens sooner than later. 

<a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/seravalli-vancouver-canucks-trying-nhl-trade-market">Frank Seravalli recently reported</a> the Canucks are trying to get ahead of things on the NHL trade front. This shouldn’t come as surprise if you know this management group and the way it operates. It’s no secret the Canucks were and always have been in the market for a top four defenceman.  Is Erik Brannstrom that guy? Not yet, but they do have very high praise for him. 
<blockquote>Brock Boe$er</blockquote>
It’s widely known that in a contract season you are going to get the absolute best out of the player. For the Canucks and Brock Boeser, you are getting that once again. He’s on a 50-goal pace. He’s in the final year of his deal that pays him $6.65 million dollars. He’s due for a raise, but how much of a raise is the question. Goal scorers get paid. Brock had 40 last season as if things stay the same 40 isn’t out of the question this year. Boeser is on Team USA’s radar for the Four Nations Face-Off in February and in a short tournament I’d say he has a decent shot to be on that team with his linemate JT Miller. 

Things have been pretty quiet around the Canuck and the Boeser camp. I think the Canucks wanted to see how Brock’s body and energy levels reacted to the early season long road-trip before beginning to make any real decisions. You can bet the Boeser camp has no problem waiting this out especially if he continues to put the puck in the net. It’s no secret Brock loves it in Vancouver and has really found a home with the Canucks. At the end of the day, I’m not entirely sure hometown discounts are a thing in this situation. Brock should get paid; the question is how much the Canucks are willing to pay him. I think you’re going to see a situation where the two sides do have a conversation at some point here soon just to get the ball rolling but this one could take some time. 
<blockquote>The Curious Case of 40</blockquote>
I’ll be the first to say that I’ve been critical of Elias Pettersson. I don’t think there’s anyone in this market, whether a member of the media, fanbase, or organization, that hasn’t been. The reason for that, of course, is because the player who registered 102 points in an NHL season seems like he no longer exists. Where are Petey’s powers, and who took them? 

You can’t blame his linemates this time. You can’t blame the system. You can’t blame the contract negotiations. So, what do we look at as the problem? Is his knee still bothering him? Is it the wrist? I mean, if you just do a simple eye test of the game without any stats, you can see he’s a different player.

The shot that he had as a weapon that other teams respected so much isn’t there.  The Canucks went out and got Pettersson all the tools around him in signing Jake DeBrusk and Daniel Sprong in hopes of lighting some sort of spark. Centremen need to be play drivers and Elias Pettersson hasn’t been that since pretty much March of last season. Players have slumps and go through things, and I think we can all agree there probably is a light at the end of the tunnel and he will break out and we won’t be talking about this forever, but when? 

He’s been called out directly and indirectly by his head coach on a few occasions. The only person that’s going to get through to Elias Pettersson is Elias Pettersson. There are players around the league, including former teammates that are wondering what’s going on with the former Calder winner. He’s paid like a superstar in the NHL and the Canucks need him to start playing like one. 

Check out the latest episode of Down to Irf, where I sat down with former Vancouver Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbPCWKjZhRI

Sponsored by bet365
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Irf’s Monthly Canucks Musings: Demko, Brännström, Pettersson, and more

Thatcher Demko works out ahead of day two of Vancouver Canucks training camp. Sep. 21 2024

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