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While some publications insist on doing weekly power rankings of NHL teams, we thought it would be even more abstract and pointless to do a weekly power ranking of the players on the Canucks. And yes, we understand that Sunday is technically the start of the week, but no one thinks that way.

23. Michael Chaput (last week: 23) ↔

Chaput was silent in both games he played. He’s probably the odd man out when Horvat comes back, which could be as soon as this coming weekend.

22. Brendan Gaunce (24) ↔

Gaunce scored! Yes it was kind of fluky but it was enough to notch him ahead of Michael Chaput. The two continue to duel for the honour of being the team’s least relevant forward.

21. Nikolay Goldobin (20) ↡

‘Goldy’ played just over six minutes against Columbus and was promptly sent down to Utica. He’s still killing it in the AHL, but Travis Green wants a certain style of play from his bottom six and that doesn’t jibe with what the Russian youngster has to offer.

20. Anders Nilsson (21) ↔

No games for Nilsson this week and Markstrom shined in the crease. The backup’s stock probably hasn’t been lower all season.

19. Derrick Pouliot (14) ↡

Pouliot was the latest defenceman to get sent to the dreaded press box and it was fully deserved, as his play has slipped of late. He figures to come back into the lineup soon, but it’s unclear as to who will come out.

18. Michael Del Zotto (15) ↡

We noted last week that “the cavalry was starting to come for DZ.” At this point, they’re at the castle gates ready to revolt. Del Zotto has been hard to watch of late, especially paired with Erik Gudbranson, as the pair was completely overmatched against Minnesota. Speaking of which…

17. Erik Gudbranson (13) ↡

Gudbranson was starting to come around last week (no, seriously), but he looked bad with Del Zotto. It’s very possible that he’s just not in the right environment that he needs to be in to succeed. He’s definitely going to get a change of scenery soon, as the only reason Canucks fans are cheering for him is so that he’ll inflate his trade value before the deadline.

16. Loui Eriksson (19) ↔

Is the $6 million man’s story going to be that he just couldn’t find consistency? Looked great in the Minnesota game, but it was the first time in awhile.

15. Nic Dowd (18) ↔

Dowd was not good against the Capitals or Blue Jackets, as he was in the bottom two in Relative Corsi both nights. He had a positive night against the Wild in vastly reduced minutes due to Sutter’s return, and that might be the right role for him on this team. God knows he’s not an NHL team’s number two centre.

14. Jake Virtanen (11) ↔

The goal against Columbus was nice, but Virtanen needs to shoot the puck more or he’ll never earn more minutes from Travis Green, even though the team badly needs his speed right now.

Markus Granlund had another solid week for the Canucks Vancouver Canucks on Twitter

13. Markus Granlund (17) ↟

More of the same from Granlund of late: very solid underlying numbers. He was a team low minus-3 against the Capitals, but had a mostly strong week otherwise.

12. Ben Hutton (22) ↟

Responding to a few benchings last week, Hutton answered the bell both literally and figuratively against Washington, playing a solid game and dropping the gloves with Devante Smith-Pelley after smashing Brooks Orpik.

Hutton knows that’s what his coach wants to see. He was also quite solid against the Minnesota Wild, turning in the second-highest Relative Corsi of the night for the Canucks. (Playing the majority of shifts with Chris Tanev can do wonders for a young defenceman.)

11. Brandon Sutter (16) ↟

Travis Green’s favourite shutdown centre came back from a 21-game absence, played over 17 minutes and scored the game-winning goal in OT. It was a nice one too.

10. Troy Stecher (10) ↔

Stecher and Edler have looked great together as of late, and the Steveston native is starting to thrill fans with his speed and puck movement. He leaned on those assets for a second straight week and it worked.

9. Sven Baertschi (6) ↡

Maybe it’s the Horvat factor (or the injury), but Baertschi hasn’t looked like the same player he was at the beginning of the year. He did score this week, which is always nice, but keep in mind he was on the NHL’s list of All-Star nominations earlier this season.

8. Sam Gagner (12) ↟

Two points for Gagner this week, as he’s looked pretty comfortable with Vanek and Boeser of late.

7. Daniel Sedin (9) ↔

6. Henrik Sedin (8) ↔

Another solid week for the twins. Daniel didn’t play against the Wild, but the two still combined for six points in the three games. One gets the feeling that much of the fanbase still doesn’t understand how much of the team flows through them.

5. Thomas Vanek (4) ↔

Is it a bit sad that the Canucks’ fifth best player at this point in the season is likely to be dealt at the trade deadline for a third-round pick (or less)?

4. Alex Edler (7) ↟

Yeah, this is happening. Vancouver’s favourite whipping boy had a truly great week. Four points, positive underlying numbers and a ton of minutes from Edler this week, as he and Troy Stecher were the team’s best defensive pairing.

3. Jacob Markstrom (5) ↟

We got some shade for putting him at five last week, but after two brilliant performances in which he was arguably the team’s best player in back-to-back games, Marky slips into the top three.

2. Chris Tanev (3) ↔

His return has steadied the ship a little bit, as it’s no coincidence the Canucks took two in a row right as the defenceman returned from getting half a dozen teeth knocked out.

1. Brock Boeser (1) ↔

Yes, even in a slump (which he’s still been able to generate offence during), Boeser retains the crown. The battle for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie between him, Mathew Barzal and Charlie McAvoy is really heating up and is one of the best reasons to watch the Canucks this year.

Didn’t Play This Week: Alex Biega, Bo Horvat