A look at all of the Canucks nominated for awards in the 2023-2024 season and what they did to get there.
A look at all of the Canucks nominated for awards in the 2023-2024 season and what they did to get there.
The last time a Vancouver Canuck won a regular season award was back in the 2018-2019 season when Elias Pettersson won the Calder Memorial Trophy. This year, Vancouver has four award nominees in four different categories. Here’s which Canucks are up for awards as well as who they are up against.
Elias Pettersson, Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
2024 nominees: Elias Pettersson (Vancouver Canucks), Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs), Jaccob Slavin (Carolina Hurricanes)
Past three winners: Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings (2023); Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets (2022); Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes (2021)
The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy is awarded to the player who most exemplifies “the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.” There is no actual set of rules to determine who wins the Lady Byng, though, as with all the other awards, there are some general aspects about a player and their season that are often emphasized. Players in consideration for this award need to do more than just perform at a high level — they are also required to have very minimal (if any) records of penalties or roughness. They must play the game as “smoothly” as possible with no bumps or bruises.
With 69 goals on the season, Auston Matthews is likely the most notable player on the list of nominees. His 107 points put him at 6th in the league in scoring, just four points ahead of the Canucks’ J.T. Miller. Jaccob Slavin, a defensively sound defender on the Carolina Hurricanes, is also up for the award. His nomination is noteworthy due to his previous win in this category back in 2021. It’s challenging work for a defenceman to win an award that revolves around taking as few penalties as possible, given the nature of the different positions’ responsibilities. In terms of point totals, this award should go to Matthews, but other elements need to be considered.
The Canucks’ horse in this race, Elias Pettersson, finished the 2023-2024 regular season with a total of 12 penalty minutes while notching 89 points in 82 games. He’s the first Canuck ever to be nominated for the award. For a forward whose game relies more so on the smooth, silky skill, remaining even-keel and not allowing the constant hits he’s barraged with to impact his temper says wonders. This is even more impressive when you consider the fact that he also helps kill penalties. Not only is he able to keep calm and carry on, but he also does so while putting up notable numbers in a variety of categories.
Some may claim that, at his price tag for the upcoming seasons, Pettersson should be pushing for Hart Memorial Trophy nominations rather than the Lady Byng. Just because he was nominated for the Lady Byng this season, this doesn’t mean that he’ll never win the Hart. This trophy is intended to demonstrate the nominated players’ patience and resilience. Fans should be celebrating this rather than tearing it down.
Rick Tocchet, Jack Adams Award
2024 nominees: Rick Tocchet (Vancouver Canucks), Rick Bowness (Winnipeg Jets), Andrew Brunette (Nashville Predators)
Past three winners: Jim Montgomery, Boston Bruins (2023); Darryl Sutter, Calgary Flames (2022); Rod Brind’Amour, Carolina Hurricanes (2021)
The Canucks finished the 2022-2023 season with low hopes. Various skids throughout the season resulted in a less-than-stellar winning record and yet another missed postseason. The season was bleak, to be frank, and this was only amplified by the coaching controversy that occurred in December. Because of this, fans waded cautiously into the 2023-2024 season. A 10–0 loss to the Calgary Flames in preseason didn’t help, either.
When the final game of the season rolled around, the Canucks were at the top of the Pacific Division with a 50–23–9 record.
This sudden surge of success can be attributed to a variety of factors, but what’s most evident from this is how head coach Rick Tocchet’s effective coaching style helped turn this team around. Tocchet preaches positioning as a crucial part of defensive play. Since coming into the role as the Canucks’ head coach, he’s worked intensively on improving the team’s defence — something previously considered a “weak” point in the team’s systems.
Defence isn’t the only thing that makes Tocchet’s coaching stand out. On any particular occasion, the head coach can be seen taking to the ice early for practice in order to help out players who are looking for guidance. He’s often seen pulling players aside to offer words of encouragement or to explain something. Players note his emphasis on getting to know them as a person as well, rather than just as the bench boss.
Rick Bowness, having recently revealed that the 2023-2024 season will be his last as a head coach, is up for his first Jack Adams award after 38 seasons in the NHL. His Jack Adams nomination comes off the heels of the Jets’ disappointing playoff loss in the 2023 postseason, in which Winnipeg lost their first-round series to Vegas in five games. The other coach up for this award, Andrew Brunette, is coming off of his first season as the Nashville Predators’ Head Coach (and the first season under new general manager Barry Trotz). Nashville’s head coach found what he was looking for when management cancelled the team’s “Beautiful Day” watching U2 at the Sphere in Las Vegas. The skipped performance saw the Predators stringing together eight wins in a row, along with enough wins to place themselves in the playoffs as the first wild-card team in the Western Conference.
While both coaches’ seasons have been impressive, the most significant overall improvements belong to Tocchet’s team.
Quinn Hughes, James Norris Memorial Trophy
2024 nominees: Quinn Hughes (Vancouver Canucks), Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche), Roman Josi (Nashville Predators)
Past three winners: Erik Karlsson, San Jose Sharks (2023); Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche (2022); Adam Fox, New York Rangers (2021)
Since the beginning of the season, fans and media alike have been praising Quinn Hughes for his play and heralding him as the next Norris Trophy winner. The 24-year-old defender, who was named captain of the Canucks during the 2023 offseason, took his game to another level this season. Playing on a pairing with Filip Hronek, Hughes notched 92 points in 82 games with 17 goals and 75 assists. This total put him at the top of all defencemen in terms of points for the 2023-2024 regular season.
Both Makar and Josi, the other two finalists for this award, have previously won their own respective Norris Trophies. Makar, a player who many have claimed will go down as one of the best defenders in the history of the game, tallied 90 points on the season. He typically plays with Devon Toews.
Josi won his first Norris Trophy in 2020 — since then, his point averages per season have significantly increased, with the 2021-2022 season being his highest (96 points in 80 games). This season, he racked up 85 points in 82 games, putting him in third for point totals by defencemen this season.
Point totals aren’t the only things that determine who wins the Norris Trophy, but historically, it has been a pretty big indicator. While Hughes does lead in that particular category, his defensive play has taken massive steps since other seasons. There’s a dramatic increase in responsibility as captain of a team (at the age of 24, no less), and the fact that he has been able to balance this, improve his play, and average over a point per game as a defenceman is remarkable.
Thatcher Demko, Vezina Trophy
2024 nominees: Thatcher Demko (Vancouver Canucks), Sergei Bobrovsky (Florida Panthers), Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets)
Past three winners: Linus Ullmark, Boston Bruins (2023); Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers (2022); Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights (2021)
Thatcher Demko is the first Canucks goaltender to be nominated for the Vezina Trophy since Roberto Luongo in 2011. This nomination, however, doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as much of Canucks Nation has been clamouring for a Demko Vezina nomination for a while. Despite an injury that kept him out for the last month of the regular season, as well as one that has kept him out of all but one postseason game, Demko set a plethora of personal records. His .918 SV% on the season beat his previous best by .003%. Moreover, his five shutouts and 2.45 GAA both contributed fruitfully to his 35 wins this season.
Much like Hughes' run for the Norris Trophy, Demko is also competing against two goalies who have won this award before. The suspected frontrunner of the Vezina race, Connor Hellebuyck, won this award in the 2019-2020 season. This season, he posted a 2.39 GAA and a .921 SV% in 60 games. His 37-win season sits second behind Alexander Georgiev of the Colorado Avalanche. Sergei Bobrovsky previously won this award back in 2013 and 2017 with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Now, having rejuvenated his career after a few shaky seasons in Florida, he hopes to win his third Vezina off the back of a season that saw him tally six shutouts and a .915 SV%.
The numbers tell various stories, but anyone who watches Canucks games regularly can tell you how important Demko is to his team. Games this regular season, as well as in previous seasons, have been littered with broadcast calls praising Demko for yet another great save. Regardless of this award’s vote, it’s clear that this won’t be the Canucks netminder’s last shot at winning the Vezina.
Maybe: Patrik Allvin, Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award
Past three winners: Jim Nill, Dallas Stars (2023); Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche (2022); Lou Lamoriello, New York Islanders (2021)
While this award’s nominees haven’t been announced yet, it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see Patrik Allvin in the running. The Canucks’ GM made a handful of moves this season, with one of the most shocking coming before the Trade Deadline. Every single piece that he has acquired, as well as some important offseason signings, has positively impacted the team. From the somewhat puzzling move at the time to get Filip Hronek to the pre-deadline deal that nabbed Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames, Allvin and the rest of the Canucks management team have helped set this team up for the success they are currently enjoying.
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