Yes. Dude he was nuts. Did that w/ Kuzmenko and Mikheyev on a team pre-Hughes breakout, or just at the beginning of QH’s breakout.
Ive posted the list of Cs to hit 100 points in the last 15 or so years.. like far and away the worst player on that list is Nuge. The rest is 87, 97, 29, matthews, malkin, draisaitl, giroux, stamkos, jt, ep, and nuge. (off the top of my head prob im forgetting someone)
And he did that in his age 23 season and, IMO AT THE TIME, it was totally valid to write off the previous inconsistencies due to the weirdness of Benning eras and COVID. Obviously now I look back at that differently and think.. well I guess those were signs but that seems hindsight bias informed.
Suggesting that it was obvious to deal him at that time was just nuts man. If you polled 100 canucks fans two years ago today during that 22-23 season, guarantee you 80-90% at minimum would have put EP above Hughes and as the more likely superstar and player with the higher floor.
Most here voted EP over Hughes as MVP and captain after that season, and yea, they were horribly wrong. Hughes flipped the god mode switch mid season and was clear cut the teams best player. Should have got a Norris nomination, but there was just no media hype behind him for it.
For EP, It really should have been obvious for anyone looking closely. The red flags from the previous 2 seasons didn't disappear.
His numbers really didn't match the eye test, he would fade against top teams, had his worst season on the PP, looked just like he does now all year. Too many believed his big ES and SH numbers made him a better player than those with PP points, but it's really the opposite.
The powerplay is where star players set their floor, without it, there's a long way to fall, and free fall he has. It was a ton of puck luck and unique chemistry with a winger that is no longer here. Yes, he played much better, but not the difference of a 50p and 100+p guy.
At the time, there wasn't too much to cheer about, and it's pretty clear that many were just listening to games, taking commentary as gospel, and reading stats. EP's 22-23 season has since been romanticized, remembered as better than it really was. He's not going to bounce back to that player, because that player really only existed on paper.
Team had ample time to recognize this early that season, and early last season. They've dragged it out, and wasted good shots at a deep playoff run.