ELMONT, N.Y. – Quinn Hughes was not only the biggest trade the Vancouver Canucks have made, but the most universally successful exchange in the history of the National Hockey League.
In the week since the Earth-shaking four-for-one trade of Vancouver’s best player, the Canucks and Minnesota Wild are both unstoppable. But only one of those two things is a surprise.
As bleak as last Friday felt in Vancouver with the finality of surrendering Hughes, no one in hockey would have predicted that within the week, the last-place-overall Canucks would be riding a three-game winning streak after rampaging through the NHL’s New York area teams by an aggregate score of 9-2.
Friday’s 4-1 wire-to-wire win against the New York Islanders was one of the Canucks’ best road games this season, and the team looks to have been not defeated by the blockbuster trade, but refocused and re-energized by it.
Certainly, the influx of Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, three young, optimistic, eager players the Wild exchanged along with their first-round draft pick for Hughes, has helped the mood around the Canucks. And goalie Thatcher Demko has been spectacular, of course.
But there is more to it. There is conviction and belief among the Canucks’ other incumbents, and a determination not to be defined either in the standings or otherwise by the troubled two months that culminated with the trade of their captain.
“It’s tough to say what we thought a week ago,” senior Canuck Tyler Myers said. “I mean, it’s not like the trade happened and we were like, ‘Oh no, we’re in trouble.’ We saw what we were getting back. And we were pretty excited about it, and those guys have stepped in and really helped the depth of our team. Looking at the last three games, we’re gaining a little momentum here, doing a lot of good things, and we just have to keep that positive mindset and do it consistently.
“I say it all the time, this league is so close, things can change very quickly. I know there’s been a lot of noise, and there usually is surrounding Vancouver. But within this room, all the guys… we weren’t hanging our heads. Yeah, we’ve gone through a lot of adversity and had some tough stretches here the first half of the year, but guys are working and staying positive. We just have to keep that mindset, and you never know.”
Demko said: “I don’t think we were ever at a point thinking that we weren’t a good hockey team. The feeling in the room and the feeling in the media and whatever else, you know, it’s always what-have-you-done-for-me lately kind of thing. We’re winning right now, and we like winning. So try to keep that up.”
The three-game streak matches the Canucks longest run of success this season, equalling the brief heater they were on before two of their three NHL centres at the time, Filip Chytil and Teddy Blueger, were injured the same game in Washington on Oct. 19.
They’re still out, and so for the last six games has been top centre Elias Pettersson, who continues to be regarded as “day-to-day” as the Canucks’ road trip moves to Boston for Saturday’s game against the Bruins.
Despite this, Vancouver has built its best stretch of play defensively this season.
The Islanders had won five straight home games, but on Friday managed just eight shots in the first half of the game. Final shots were 30-23 for Vancouver, but only because of a late New York flurry that included Anders Lee scoring six-against-five with 5:05 remaining.
“Yeah, it’s crazy kind of the ups and downs of the season,” Canuck winger Kiefer Sherwood said after completing his second hat-trick of the season into an empty net. “But we’re sticking together, and we’re really trying to play for each other and trying to play the game the right way. We’re continuing to build towards our identity and allow our work ethic to kind of take care of itself.
“The new guys have done well and kind of injected some new life into our group. It’s kind of time to move forward.”
Although trading Hughes brought clarity about management’s vision and where the Canucks are going, Sherwood remains a nightly reminder about how little this season has gone as planned.
Team president Jim Rutherford publicly confirmed a month ago that the Canucks were shopping Sherwood and others eligible for unrestricted free agency around the NHL.
But Sherwood has continued to lead with his heart, sacrificing himself for the team by maintaining his fiercely physical game while continuing to top Vancouver in goals.
His trio on Friday, including a pair in the first period when the Canucks bolted to a 3-0 lead, gave him 16 goals in 34 games.
More evidence of the unforeseen on Friday was that David Kampf, the Toronto Maple Leaf castoff who for a week was the Canucks’ first-line centre despite possessing zero points this season, scored his first goal in a Vancouver uniform.
However unpredictable the Kampf and Sherwood storylines, they’re part of the great adventure the Canucks now find themselves on post-Hughes as the team attempts to climb from the bottom of the standings.
Buium, who just turned 20, honestly can’t understand how this team that is 3-0 since he arrived found itself 32nd in the NHL.
“The record doesn’t make any sense for how good this team is and how good we could be,” he said.
With the Canucks six points out of a playoff spot, Buium said there’s no reason for him not to think his new team can’t still qualify for the Stanley Cup tournament.
“You have to strive toward that goal,” the rookie said. “What’s the saying, ‘Aim for the stars and you might hit the moon?’ Guys have a belief in here. Demmer is obviously incredible, so that helps a lot. But, I mean, there’s a good vibe in here, and we’re just going to keep going.”
“As far as the week ago, the noise part, it was inevitable, for sure,” Foote said when asked about the difference between the two Fridays. “For me to see the guys gel as a group, as a team, so quickly, is where I feel good about that. I’ve got to give a lot of credit to, you know, our veterans that when we were banged up and when all the noise was going on about that trade, we hung in there as a group. And I’m happy for those guys that they hung in there for each other, and now we’re getting some results.”
After four straight starts for Demko, backup Kevin Lankinen is expected to play Saturday in Boston.
