Pettersson or Hughes; who would you pick?

[mriswith]

You would seriously trade Hughes for another Pettersson?

Hughes is arguably our greatest D-man ever already...so they clearly don't grow on trees.

Pettersson's don't grow on trees either. He will probably be our best centre ever when his career is done. I love Hughes, I'm thrilled to have him. I just think that 1C is the most important position in hockey and there's no such thing as overkill for that position.

In fact, Pettersson has been riding Miller's coattails for much of this year, it's Miller who drives possession on that line, he wins battles in his zone, he carries the puck through the neutral zone with speed, he creates turnovers on the forecheck, he protects the puck and makes plays under pressure. Pettersson can make plays and he can finish, but he struggles to drive possession.

I strongly disagree. Pettersson draws all of the attention and focus and creates enormous amounts of time and space for his wingers, which Miller is taking full advantage of. I'm glad we have Miller so that at least someone is using what Pettersson is creating but to me Pettersson is clearly driving his line. Pettersson's underlying numbers are phenomenal.

 

[Ace of Hades]

Pettersson. Love me some Hughes and he has been the better player as of now, but I gotta take the #1 C over the #1 D every single time.

With that said, most impressive thing about Hughes isn't his offensive game, but how solid he has looked defensively, playing top minutes.

 

[SillyRabbit]

Let’s not forget that Pettersson is having his “sophomore slump” yet he’s still improved his numbers and PPG.

He could be due for a big breakout season next year.

And by no means do I hope this happens, but look no further than Dahlin to see that rookie defencemen can have sophomore slumps after great rookie seasons.

 

[Hoghandler]

55/45% so far. Not surprised it's this close.

Crazy to think Pettersson overshadowed Boeser's rookie season, only to have Hughes overshadow Pettersson's rookie season the following year.

 

[BoHorvat 53]

Pettersson.

1) Much more difficult to find a 1C. They’re not laying around anywhere.
2) Hughes, while talented, isn’t a true #1 D in the sense that he’ll never have that physical dimension in his game.
3) The quickness in Hughes game will eventually slow over time. Once this aspect of his game isn’t as dominate he’ll lose his appeal in some regard. While I know this won’t happen tomorrow I’m just talking about the life spans of their careers. Pettersson’s smarts, hands, and shot aren’t going anywhere for the length of his career and that is what separates him from his peers.

Hughes isn’t a true #1 D due to physicality? Okay then, according to that logic, neither is Erik Karlsson. We aren’t living in the 20th century anymore. Hughes is damn right a #1 defenceman; an elite one at that already

Edit: to answer the question, Pettersson. Look at what teams do to get #1 centres. Look at just how desperate teams like the Wild and Canadiens are for getting one. Number one defencemen get moved with much more frequency compared to number one centremen. To be totally honest, I can’t remember the last time a #1 centre was moved

 

[Ace of Hades]

Let’s not forget that Pettersson is having his “sophomore slump” yet he’s still improved his numbers and PPG.

He could be due for a big breakout season next year.

And by no means do I hope this happens, but look no further than Dahlin to see that rookie defencemen can have sophomore slumps after great rookie seasons.

Let's also not forget the fact that EP is now being checked far more tightly and given far less room to operate than the first half of last year's rookie season.

 

[Hoghandler]

Let's also not forget the fact that EP is now being checked far more tightly and given far less room to operate than the first half of last year's rookie season.

The thing with Hughes is, there's really not much you can do to prevent him from doing his thing. He spins off contact too easily, and is just too tough to contain once he has the puck on his stick. Much like when we played against Duncan Keith, there is no answer for this type of player. They're essentially unstoppable.

Pettersson doesn't have that same elusiveness, which makes him more susceptible to heavy checking. For now anyway. Have a feeling a 25 year old Pettersson will be a nightmare to contain, as he gets bigger and better at shielding the puck.

 

[NuxFan09]

Damn man, I would never want to have to actually decide between the two. That's a loaded question. I want to say Pettersson but my gut says Hughes. I'll probably change my mind hundreds of times over over the next several years though.

 

[RebuildinVan]

Right now Hughes, may change next beer tho. We've had high end forwards before, Bure, peak Naslund, Sedins...and they were awesome to watch but weve never had a D that can do what Hughes does already

 

[Chairman Maouth]

What a wonderful dilemma to ponder.

 

[Grub]

Quinn Hughes.

Definitely a good dilemma to have. Usually these polls are for other teams... comparing a franchise 21 year old young center and a franchise 20 year old 1 D.

But they are ours..

They are freaking ours.

 

[Grub]

Pettersson.

Anyone voting Hughes will look as dumb as declaring Boeser a franchise elite perennial 40 goal scorer in his rookie season

I voted Hughes. Does that make me dumb?

Both players are amazing though. Good time to be a Canucks fan.

 

[Grub]

After seeing Hughes play and Dahlin...

For me the Canucks got the top players of the 2017 and 2018 drafts. Of all the crap Benning takes, it's undeniable that he did extremely well in these two drafts.

Imagine if he had drafted Dobson or one of the other D-men in 2018. Where would we be now...

 

[LuckyBoeser]

He's also generating a negative goal differential at ES from soft minutes with our top skill players.

He's been great offensively but is still a work in progress defensively. And yes, his 22 points on the PP are easier to replace at a cheaper price than a #1 center.

This is not criticizing Hughes. At all. Again, to me your #1 center is the most important building block on your team. And as we've seen from Boeser and Pettersson ... sometimes the gleam does come off a bit in years 2-3.

Quinn Hughes isn't a negative goal differential at even strength. He currently sits at 53.92 GF%.

Regarding Hughes playing soft minutes, I don't think that true anymore. Regal makes a good argument against this claim:

This was true at the beginning of the season, but not so much lately. He's tied for 8th in the league in ES points among defensemen and he's been playing big minutes in the games where the score is close. You don't do that if you're being sheltered.

I certainly agree with you that Pettersson is the more valuable building block when taking into consideration his position and the caliber of player he is.

 

[Hammer79]

You can take physicality out of the equation for both players. EP plays the premium position at 1C, although 1D's don't grow on trees either. Hughes isn't going to be playing shutdown minutes, but neither is EP. EP did alright statistically without QH last year, but I don't know if QH puts up the points he does this year if we don't have EP at 1C. I think QH has more potential to be an exceptional, unique player, while I think EP has more competition at his position.

I think most teams would take EP over QH just because QH doesn't have the size to be a 'complete' defenseman, while EP doesn't necessarily need to out-size guys at 1C. That said, I think QH has more value to the team because it has been so long since the Canucks have had a puck mover on D.

 

[ManoWarrior]

You're tearing us apart OP!!!

 

[NorCalhockey]

55/45% so far. Not surprised it's this close.

Crazy to think Pettersson overshadowed Boeser's rookie season, only to have Hughes overshadow Pettersson's rookie season the following year.

Man oh man I wish the teams I root for had the luck and great drafting Canucks have had the last few years. (I do cheer for Vancouver but cheer for other teams more). That said, since those other teams either are outta the playoffs or on the bubble, I hope Canucks make the playoffs and do some damage.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

cup winning teams or perennial contenders with no number one centre:

mid-to-late 80s flyers

mid-to-late 80s bruins

93 habs

95, 2000, 2003 devils

2007 ducks

2011 bruins


ditto but with no number one dman

1988 and 90 oilers

2004 lightning

2006 hurricanes

2017 penguins


not sure what this tells us tbh

 

[Addison Rae]

Pettersson’s ability to suppress shots and churn out incredibly defensive results is underrated.

 

[Vector]

This was true at the beginning of the season, but not so much lately. He's tied for 8th in the league in ES points among defensemen and he's been playing big minutes in the games where the score is close. You don't do that if you're being sheltered.

He doesn't PP. He basically has the exact same TOI stats as Torey Krug. Loads of PP time and absolutely no PK time. He's also not being purposefully matched up against top-lines. They aren't Yannick Webering the kid but he's a #1 either. You are definitely right in that they've increased his responsibility as the season's gone on. It's very encouraging.

 

[Knight53]

Elias Pettersson.

Just look at the Calgary Flames right now, the Wild for what seems to be forever, the Leafs before Matthews arrived.

Franchise #1 Center is the most crucial piece.

Very fortunate to have both for the next 15 years though.

 

[NuxFan09]

After seeing Hughes play and Dahlin...

For me the Canucks got the top players of the 2017 and 2018 drafts. Of all the crap Benning takes, it's undeniable that he did extremely well in these two drafts.

Imagine if he had drafted Dobson or one of the other D-men in 2018. Where would we be now...

That's the thing. We all talk about how rebuilding teams and future contending teams need a couple top 3 lottery picks to get franchise players. Well, the Canucks technically didn't get any of those, but they may as well have given the quality of the players they selected. It doesn't matter if there's a shiny #1, 2 or 3 beside their names on the draft list, they were our lottery picks.

The team still has a ways to go but the main thing is it's uphill from here. Many here would have you believe things are still going downhill, or at least plateauing at the bottom of the valley.

 

[Melvin]

That's the thing. We all talk about how rebuilding teams and future contending teams need a couple top 3 lottery picks to get franchise players. Well, the Canucks technically didn't get any of those, but they may as well have given the quality of the players they selected. It doesn't matter if there's a shiny #1, 2 or 3 beside their names on the draft list, they were our lottery picks.

The team still has a ways to go but the main thing is it's uphill from here. Many here would have you believe things are still going downhill, or at least plateauing at the bottom of the valley.

I'd be willing to bet that next year's team is worse than this year's team, and that's the main point that people have been making for some time now.

BTW you mean downhill. An uphill climb is the bad one.

 

[Grape]

For Hughes to be effective you have to insulate him with good defenders that can take the pressure off him in the D zone, you need defenceman like Tanev, Edler & Myers to allow Hughes to do his thing. With Pettersson he was lighting it up with Eriksson & Goldobin as his wingers. EP40 leads the team with a +16 rating while Hughes is -1. The Canucks desperately needed an offensive defenceman and Hughes value to the team has been substantial but Pettersson is definitely the better player.

Hughes isn't just an offensive defenseman though. His defensive numbers have been outstanding. Sure, by virtue of his playstyle, it's better to pair him with defenders like Tanev, but that's just the nature of defensemen who play like him, doesn't make him any less replaceable than Pettersson.

 

[Fraser28]

Wow, remarkably close vote. Hughes currently in the lead by two votes

Simply incredible after Pettersson's emergence last year that we have a new player this year so damn good. Unreal.