VANCOUVER — Making predictions for the Vancouver Canucks in recent years has not been too difficult. The team was bad, rebuilding and wasn’t going to make the National Hockey League playoffs. Simple.
The Canucks continue to trend in the right direction and have an excellent group of young foundational players that should shepherd in better seasons ahead. But this season? It could go either way.
Here’s one bold prediction for the New Year: the franchise’s 50-year-old Stanley Cup drought isn’t ending this spring.
As for these three other bold predictions for 2020, we’re pretty sure you won’t print them at home to stick on your fridge and check for accuracy 12 months from now.
Quinn Hughes will not only make the Canucks the first organization since the 1969-70 New York Rangers to have a player finish in the top three in Calder Trophy balloting for three straight seasons, he will be part of the closest rookie vote since 2013.
Hughes and fellow defenceman Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche have been front-runners since the season began, but Buffalo Sabres forward Victor Olofsson has charged past them in scoring this month and looks like a formidable contender for the Calder.
Makar has lost a little ground due to an upper-body injury sustained in early December, while Hughes’ ice time spiked during the injury absence of top Vancouver defenceman Alex Edler. Hughes, 20, and Makar, 21, are two of the most exciting defencemen to enter the NHL in years, but Olofsson has the advantage of playing with star Sabres Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart near the eastern hub of awards voters.
Age should count against Olofsson – but it doesn’t always with the Professional Hockey Writers Association – because he is 24 and prepped for his “rookie” NHL season by spending the last four years in the elite Swedish Hockey League. Makar and Hughes, by contrast, are true freshmen who were still in college hockey this time last season. That doesn’t make for an apples-to-apples comparison.
Hughes could lose some support because, until now, more of his points have come on the power play than at even-strength.
In 2013, Jonathan Huberdeau of the Florida Panthers edged Montreal Canadien Brendan Gallagher for the Calder Trophy after tying with 54 first-place votes. Huberdeau received more second- and third-place votes in balloting that saw the Chicago Blackhawks’ Brandon Saad finish a relatively close third with 30 first-place ticks.
Canuck Elias Pettersson won the Calder Trophy last season, a year after Vancouver’s Brock Boeser was the runner-up to Matt Barzal of the New York Islanders.
In 1971, Rangers goalie Gilles Villemure finished third in Calder voting, one year after teammate Bill Fairbairn was the runner-up. New York’s Brad Park was third in rookie balloting in 1969.
Trivia footnote: Villemure was a 31-year-old “rookie” in 1971 because he spent most of the 1960s in the minors, including three seasons in Vancouver when the Canucks were in the old Western League, at a time when the NHL had only six teams.
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OLLI COW
Olli Juolevi, the fifth-overall pick from 2016 who remains the Canucks’ best defence prospect (after Hughes), will either be a regular in Vancouver by the end of 2020 or playing for another organization – possibly in Europe.
Neither Juolevi nor general manager Jim Benning will ever escape the indictment of the Finn being chosen one spot before the Calgary Flames grabbed winger Matthew Tkachuk in the 2016 draft, but the blue-liner still possesses a solid all-around game that should translate to the NHL if he stays healthy.
A serious knee injury ended his season last year after only 18 games when it appeared Juolevi was on track for an NHL call-up after Christmas. He still wasn’t fully fit when he reported to training camp this fall, was kept out of pre-season games late in September and sent back to the American League. He was briefly shut down again in late November, this time with a mysterious hip injury that caused deep concern within the organization before specialists in Vancouver cleared the 21-year-old to resume playing in the minors.
If Juolevi stays healthy, he should continue to progress the way he did at the start of last year and get at least a call-up with the Canucks before this season ends. But if his lower-body medical problems persist or he plateaus with the Utica Comets, it’s difficult to see him spending a third season in the American League while the Canucks move on with other players.
2020 is a huge year for Juolevi.
MARKSTROM THE MAN
We’re not sure how bold this prediction is since Benning told Sportsnet in December that re-signing starting goalie Jacob Markstrom is a priority even though it would complicate the Seattle expansion draft for the Canucks in 2021, but the Swede will not only be back next season, he won’t be surrendering the No. 1 spot to elite prospect Thatcher Demko for the foreseeable future.
With Demko only in his rookie season – after two-and-a-half years in the AHL – and just back from his second concussion from friendly fire in as many years, there is just too much uncertainty over the talented Californian to anoint him Markstrom’s replacement. And since Markstrom has proven himself a solid NHL starter and is eligible for unrestricted free agency on July 1, it’s unreasonable to think the Canucks will have things all their way in negotiations on an extension.
For Christmas, Canucks got Thatcher Demko back from concussion. Actually a gift for starter Jacob Markstrom.
Demko: “I want to make sure I’m available not only for myself and the team but for him. He’s been going through a lot this year.” https://t.co/Z7GkQg1g0k
Markstrom turns 30 on Jan. 31 and since becoming an NHL regular with the Canucks has posted save percentages the last four seasons of: .915, .910, .912 and .912. He may not be the at the top of anyone’s list of free agents, but someone is going to pay the goalie.
Chances are the Canucks will have to give Markstrom a contract that binds him to Vancouver well beyond the Seattle expansion lottery. It doesn’t mean they can’t have both Markstrom and Demko two years from now, but it’s complicated. And until then, the order is clear: Markstrom No. 1, Demko No. 2.
NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.
Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.
The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.
Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.
The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.
O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.
After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
NEW YORK – Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart was named NHL first star of the week on Monday after leading all players with nine points over four games last week.
Reinhart had four goals, five assists and a plus-seven rating to help the Stanley Cup champions post a 3-0-1 record on the week and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.
New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin took the second star and Minnesota Wild goaltenderFilip Gustavsson was the third star.
Panarin had eight points (4-4) over three games.
Gustavsson became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and had a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage over a pair of victories.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.
He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.
Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.
The team feared Watson’s year was over and tests done Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year after just six starts.
The 29-year-old went down Sunday without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson crumpled to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
He immediately put his hands on his helmet, clearly aware of the severity of an injury similar to the one Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained last year.
As he was being assisted by the team’s medical staff and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson grabbed a ball to begin warming up, there was some derisive cheers and boos from the stands in Huntington Bank Field.
Cleveland fans have been split over Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.
The reaction didn’t sit well with several Watson’s teammates, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was appalled by the fans’ behavior.
“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. To be season-altering, career-altering injury,” Garrett said. “Man’s not perfect. He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones for my glass house.
“Ultimately everyone’s human and they’re disappointed just like we are, but we have to be better than that as people. There’s levels to this. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and you don’t boo anybody being injured and you don’t celebrate anyone’s downfall.”
Backup quarterback Jameis Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration.
“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day,” he said. “The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he’s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.
“I know you love this game. When I first got here, I knew these were some amazing fans, but Deshaun was treated badly and now he has to overcome another obstacle. So I’m going to support him, I’m going to lift him up and I’m going to be there for him.”
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns.
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to Houston in 2022 to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract.
With a solid roster, the Browns were desperate to find a QB who could help them compete against the top AFC teams.
The Browns had moved on from Baker Mayfield despite drafting him No. 1 overall in 2018 and making the playoffs two seasons later.
But Watson has not played up to expectations — fans have been pushing for him to be benched this season — and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labeled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46 million in each of the next two seasons.
Watson’s arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions while he played for the Texans. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns. The long layoff — he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute — led to struggles once he got on the field, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs.
Before Watson got hurt this year, he didn’t play much better. He was one of the league’s lowest-rated passers for a Cleveland team that hasn’t scored 20 points in a game and is back in search of a franchise QB.
