Tag Archives: Vancouver Canucks

May 11, 2013

Canucks Postmortem 2013

By nalstradamus

I wanted to take a few days to collect my thoughts before writing this post. If I wrote this the day of or the day after the Canucks were swept out of the playoffs I would have probably went on a highly expletive filled rant calling for the entire organization to light itself on fire. I still may do this by the time I’m done this post…but anyhoo. The Canucks have disappointed it’s impatient fan base yet again. This time in premium fashion, getting their sh%$ handed to them in an embarrassing 4 game sweep. The days that have followed have been filled with many ideas from the fan base, most of these ideas being of the lets publicly execute the entire team variety. In this post I am going to give my evaluation of  the Canucks and what I would do if some voodoo magic occurred and I woke up as Mike Gillis tomorrow.

If I woke up as Mike Gillis I obviously can’t fire myself, but I would do something stupid to convince the owners to fire me (yeah I could resign, but might as well go out like a bauss). Gillis has been awful in the draft as the Canucks have zero help in terms of NHL ready prospects to help fill some holes in the line up. His trades have also blown thick chunks. His trades with Florida have been awful with both Booth and Ballard likely headed for a buyout this summer. Another area where he has failed miserably is in the re-signing department. I’m not complaining about the players he kept, it’s the contracts that have ruined this teams finances for the next decade. He also has given out no trade clauses like candy making it next to impossible to move any pieces that have any sort of value. Gillis has been awful and unfortunately he’ll likely be kept as the owners seem to for some reason still have confidence in the guy.

"Hey, fire me already."

“Hey! Fire me already.”

With Gillis likely staying the next thing that needs to be addressed is the coaching staff. If I was the GM I would have fired AV at last Thursday’s press conference. This wouldn’t be out of anger, it would be out of respect. Why drag the guy along for weeks if you know in your heart you’re going to fire him anyway. 2 first round exits all but seal his fate even though he has delivered winning season after wining season.  We all know in sports, the coach is always the fall guy when a team repeatedly falls below expectations. AV’s been a great coach for the Canucks and deserves to be let go as soon as possible so he can find employment quickly.

Now onto the players. The first thing that needs to be looked at is the goalie situation. Gillis made a mess of this situation, first by signing Lu to an outrageous contract and second, by not trading Lu before or during the season. The never ending soap opera between the pipes had to wear on the locker room in some way. Trading Lu now for any type of real value will be next to impossible. He’s still a good goalie and many teams would love to have him as their guy; however, everyone knows Gillis is desperate and thus, will offer garbage for the franchise’s best ever goalie. This next scenario won’t happen, but if I was GM I would be bold and move Schneider. Why? Not because I think Lu is a vastly superior goalie, but because Cory would bring back much more in a trade than Lu. Would you trade Schneider to Colorado for the #1 pick in this year’s draft and maybe also get some other useful parts back? I would in a heartbeat.

"Nice knowing you man."

“Nice knowing you man.”

How about the rest of the “core” players? I’m talking the Sedins, Kesler, Bieksa, Edler, Hamhuis, Burrows. Are any of these guys untouchable? I don’t think any of them are untouchable per se, but I would lean on keeping the twins, Kesler and Bieksa. I know the twins have been awful in the playoffs and seem to be slowing down a bit, but they are still premier offensive players that are hard to find/replace. Kesler and Bieksa are the heart and soul of this team. We’ve seen what happens when either of these 2 guys are out of the lineup. Hamhuis and Burrows are good players, but I think they are expendable. The twins can work their magic with almost anyone being the 3rd wheel. Hansen and Kassian looked just fine in their limited moments with the twins. If Burrows could bring back some draft picks or some younger blood I’d send him packing. Hamhuis still is thought of as a premier defender and for good reason. He’s also a BC boy so parting with him would be tough, but trading the hammer would definitely bring some tasty treats back. With a solid Garrison and youngsters Tanev and Corrado, the Canucks may have some room to move one or two of their premier D. If the Canucks can find a taker who thinks Alex Edler is still going to be the next Nick Lidstrom they should ship him to this fool immediately. Edler just does not look like he is going to be the #1 defenceman the Canucks thought he’d be. His mobility is questionable, his shot is hard but rarely finds the net, his zone coverage is borderline dreadful and his passing ability is definitely not Lidstrom-esque let alone Salo-esque.

#1 D-man? Doubtful

How about the 2nd tier players? Hansen, Higgins, Kassian, Raymond, Roy, Lapierre…I can tell you right now UFA’s Roy and Raymond are not coming back. If Raymond somehow comes back I’ll throw pooh at Rogers Arena. He has been awful…useless even. He has great speed and a decent shot; however, his skate into the zone and stop at the halfboards to fall or give the puck away routine is downright infuriating. Please don’t do it Gillis…please just let Raymond go. Roy is skilled and the Canucks need more guys like him, but he’s not worth $5 mil per. Hansen is solid and I’d try to lock him up with an extension. Hansen could probably play with the twins and thrive, he’s gotten better every year. Higgins has already been extended and is a valuable asset that can play anywhere in the lineup. Kassian is a beast and will only get better. I want to see the big toothless youngster up in the top 6 next year. Lappy is solid in the faceoff circle and would be a decent 4th line plugger if he still will play for around a $1mil per. Anything more and I’d pass.

As you can see I’m not liking a complete blow up of this team; however, I am saying some of the premium talent needs to be shipped out for skill, youth and picks. The team needs playmakers, snipers, feisty bangers, guys who will get ploughed in front of the net and still keep an evil smile on their face. Too many times do we see the Canucks race into the zone and keep all their play to the perimeter and hope a wrist shot from 40 feet will hit off 4 sticks and go into the net. They also desperately need a 3rd line centre. Ever since they lost Malholtra they have not had a consistent 3rd line. Higgins and Weise would be solid on a 3rd line…man would Steve Ott look good between them…sigh.

As I mentioned earlier the Canucks are devoid of NHL ready prospects. It will be tricky to both build for the future in acquiring picks, but also keeping a playoff worthy roster. I think it’s definitely possible, but if Gillis makes anymore trade gaffs we could be looking at a Calgary Flames situation here in Vancouver…you know, a team with no hope for 8-10 years.

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March 11, 2013

Frustrated Incorporated

By nalstradamus

How frustrated are you Canucks nation? With last night’s loss the Canucks have lost 4 in a row and are just 3-7 in their last 10 games. This recent skid now has them out of first place in the weak ass Northwest Division. The Canucks are also just 1 point away from being outside the playoff picture. All of the above has the city of Vancouver in rage mode looking for someone to blame.

Before we start pointing fingers lets take a hard look at this roster…

  • The Sedin’s are still magical when they are not getting crosschecked in the face by an opposing #1 d pairing
  • The rest of the forwards are all highly effective…grinders
  • There are 2 dependable d-men in Bieksa and Hamhuis. With a bright up and coming Chris Tanev not too far behind.
  • Luongo is the most expensive backup goalie currently playing in the NHL
  • Schneider was thought to be a slam dunk to be the goalie of the future, but his inconsistent play has made his #1 status questionable
  • Alex Edler is being paid like a #1 defenseman, but has often looked like the 6th best defenseman on the ice
  • Speaking of 6th defenseman, Jason Garrison is so far looking like the 2nd coming of Keith Ballard…another bust from Florida
  • Ryan Kelser is turning into a studlier Sami Salo, taking over as the Canucks new Mr. Glass. A brittle #2 centre who’s not a 40 goal scorer, but is depended on as one
  • The once loaded middle of the ice is now a team weakness
  • Max Lapierre is now depended on as the #1 faceoff man…far cry from having the ability to have Malholtra and Kesler out there for an important draw
  • There is ZERO offensive skill or creativity other than the Sedins. No danglers, no playmakers, no snipers, no one who can score on a frigging breakaway
  • Mason Raymond, Chris Higgins or Alex Burrows as your #2 centre…goooooooodnight
  • A former top five power play and penalty kill that all of a sudden blows chunks
With all the above, are you really that surprised at how the Canucks have fared so far this season?
Look at all the top teams in the league right now, the Hawks, Ducks, Kings, Bruins…heck even the Habs…they have SKILLED offensive players. Not just players who can skate up and down the ice and fall down, but players who can create, who can make that nice saucer pass, guys who can pick the top corner, guys who can score on a breakaway without relying on a twin to feed them a pass through 6 skates for a backdoor tap in.
Please just end this falling relationship

Please just end this falling relationship

The injuries to the 2 heart and soul players in Kesler and Bieksa hasn’t helped, but even with them this team is a shell of the 2010 team that went all the way to game 7 of the cup final.
Didn't think I'd miss you this much Sami

Didn’t think I’d miss you this much Sami

I’m still confident the Canucks will find a way to overtake the Wild and eek out another Northwest crown, but after that…unless Lu goes on a possessed Patrick Roy like playoff run (that’s right I said Lu) I don’t see much happening with the roster the way it currently is.
So to wrap things up who is to blame? The easy choice would be the coach, but he can only do so much with what he’s given. I think if anyone is to blame it’s the GM. His attempts at making this team better than the team that came one win from the cup just haven’t panned out. Here’s hoping when he makes his next big trade involving one of the goalies, he gets the better end of the deal for once.

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March 2, 2013

What’s up with the ‘Nucks?

By nalstradamus

Tonight is game #20 for the Canucks and they find themselves in familiar territory; first in the Northwest. However, it’s not like they’re running away with the division. The wild sit just 2 points back and the Oilers just 4 back. After winning 6 straight from January 30 to February 12 the Canucks are just 2-5 since.

So what has gone wrong in the last stretch? This is Vancouver, so naturally let’s take a look at the goalies first. During the 6 game win streak the Canucks were being spoiled with Vezina Award winning performances by the goalies. In the 6 game win streak the goalies gave up more than 1 goal in a game only once. In the 7 games since, the goalies have given up 3 or more goals in all but 1 game and that was against a horrid Nashville offensive attack.

So this looks pretty simple from the above evidence, it has to be the goalies…

However, I don’t think it is. I think the lights-out goaltending was carrying this team earlier and masking the team’s shortcomings. The Canucks are seen as one of the deepest line-ups in the league and I believe they still are. However, being deep and being loaded with talent are 2 very different things. The Canucks seem to be back to where they were in the days of Bertuzzi, Naslund, and Morrison  where they would rely too much on the top line and pray to the ice gods that they would get some secondary scoring. The Canucks have a bunch of useful forwards that many teams would love to have, but they don’t have many forwards who can consistently put the puck in the net or at least create some chances.

2nd line centre? shudder

2nd line centre? shudder

Don’t get me wrong, I love the likes of guys such as Hansen, Higgins, and Kassian but do any of those players scream out offensive dynamo to you? Ryan Kesler poses some offensive threat, but even when he has been somewhat healthy he hasn’t looked close to the 40 goal scorer he was 2 years ago. With Kesler latest injury it looks like Mason Raymond slips into the 2nd line centre role…barf in my mouth. The Canucks have great speed and for the first time in ages have fairly good size and grit; however, they are sorely lacking playmakers, snipers and danglers (NHL video game styles). It’s all good to get the puck deep and get a hit in on a d-man, but once you get the puck below the goal line you need to be able to do something with it other than passing it to the point and pray for a seeing eye single through 6 bodies and into the top corner of the net.

With the lack of secondary scoring the Canucks rely on their back end to chip in with some offense, particularly Alex Edler and Jason Garrison. Edler has been steady with 12 points so far, good enough for 3rd in team scoring. However, Garrison has been downright dreadful. Garrison was paid big bucks for his booming shot and was expected to be a force from the point on the PP. Unfortunately he hasn’t been able to get on track with his slapper and has found himself off the PP on many nights. Garrison’s struggles may be a reason the perennial top tier PP in the league sits at 12th best so far.

If only he could hit the net with that shot...

If only he could hit the net with that shot…

There are other leaks that need to be plugged up such as a PK unit that sits at 21st in the league, a once top 5 faceoff team now sitting at 22nd in the league, 2 superstar goalies trying to be the man yet neither seem to want to be, a defenseman in Alex Edler that needs to start showing he can be a #1 d-man night in and night out…yikes this is getting depressing so I’ll stop.

With all the above evidence I paint a bleak picture for the Canucks, but all hope is not lost. When you have a stud goalie you always have a chance and the Canucks have 2. The Canucks still have the best offensive duo in the league (yeah yeah that’s slightly biased) and have a strong back end that should be able to shut down any team. However, they are going to need to find some form of secondary scoring because we all know come playoff time the Sedins will be on lock down against guys like Keith, Seabrook, Doughty.

Familiar playoff pic

Familiar playoff pic

Hmm, maybe a trade might help…

 

 

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February 1, 2013

The Days of Our Pipes

By nalstradamus
Like sands through an hourglass...

Like sands through an hourglass…

The soap opera between the pipes continues in Vancouver. We have the young ginger hero who secured the absolute trust and undying love from the Canuck faithful after only playing a whopping 40% of the games last year and 30% the year before. This hero was to usurp the evil Italian French Canadian antagonist who is only the best goalie to ever put on a Canucks uniform and has been a consistent top tier goalie for years.

The fans were seemingly going to get their wish of eliminating the older and more proven goalie with a trade for a bag of pucks. However, in a shocking plot twist the villain has refused to die and instead has showed his haters he’s still got game. He’s also started to show the haters he’s not just a snobby overpaid millionaire, but a cool guy who you’d love to have a beer with. His media scrums have shown a calm, cool demeanor with a sense of humour and his Twitter feed has been a daily source of hilarity. His solid play along with his “I don’t care what you haters say, I’m just doing my job and having fun” attitude has somehow mindfucked the haters into now loving him again. This proves once again we have the most messed up fans in the league. We’ll boo the shat out of an all-star so that we can get a young unproven back-up to take his job, but then the next minute we’ll boo the shat out of the young guy for being young and cheer on the underdog veteran to take his job back. WTF? Just messed.

To make things even worse, we have RIDICULOUS sports media outlets who are trying to make the Vancouver goalie situation into the biggest controversy ever to hit professional sports. Are you serious? How can having two solid goalies be a bad thing? If one starts sucking, you put the other one in and the team doesn’t miss a beat. If one gets injured you have the other one who can step in. It would be a controversy if one or both of the guys involved started being a cancer for the team, pouting on the bench, trying to divide the locker room, etc. However, there is no evidence of either of these guys doing any of this. These two guys genuinely seem to have respect for each other.

I feel the love...can you?

I feel the love…can you?

I will admit, I really thought Lu was a goner after last season ended. He still might be, but his play so far this season has to have increased the asking price for his services. He’s come into this season with the right attitude. He seems more relaxed and seems to be relishing his underdog status.  I think this attitude has really helped out his game. He knows he has the ‘chosen one’ behind him so if he messes up oh well…he was expected to right? Because he’s just a piece of Swiss cheese to this town anyways.

So really Vancouver, stop listening to these media guys trying to stir crap up out of nothing. There are no problems with the goaltending in Vancouver. Just sit back and be happy that you have the best goalie tandem in the league (shut up St. Louis). Secondary scoring though…that’s a whole other post…

 

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June 25, 2012

Luongo Restricting Trade Destinations?

By nalstradamus

Draft weekend has come and gone and as expected Roberto Luongo is still a Canuck. Canucks fans were waiting with baited breath for the Luongo to the Leafs announcement. That announcement never came and with today’s reports it may never occur. The link takes you to a story that states Luongo has so far refused to waive his no trade clause to go to Toronto or Chicago and will only waive it if he gets shipped to Florida. Could this story really be true? If this is true it is utter douche-baggery on Luongo’s part. If the fans of Vancouver despised the goalie before, how would they feel now? Yikes…however, one has to take a report like this with a grain of salt.

For all we know this demand of a trade to Florida may have come from Lu’s agent in a bargaining ploy to get his client’s first wish. Lu may be open to being traded to multiple places, but why not try something gangster like this to see if you can get what you want…to be traded to where your home and family is. If it doesn’t work, which I don’t think it will, then we’ll see another story where Lu has had a miraculous change of heart and is now reluctantly open to going elsewhere. The Florida Panthers are too financially frugal in my opinion to take on Lu’s pricey and lengthy contract. This was the same team who was picking up the likes of Brian Campbell just so they could reach the salary cap floor.

Could this happen? Doubt it

For me it still looks like Toronto is the lead candidate to acquire Lu. There just aren’t many teams in need of a number one goalie and there are fewer still willing/able to take on Lu’s contract. As I’ve stated before, the Leafs and the Canucks are both desperate. One team desperate to make the playoffs and the other desperate to rid themselves of a venomous distraction. It’s a pissing match right now between Burke and Gillis, both of them puffing out their chests trying to not show weakness. In an ideal world, Gillis would benefit from rumours of a 2nd team desperate to land Luongo…offering a package that bests anything Toronto may have already offered. However, this 2nd team seems nowhere to be found so we’ll all just have to wait. My prediction is something will get done and I’m picking the week of July 9 for the trade to go down. If it doesn’t happen by then…it may never happen.

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June 21, 2012

Winter is Coming

By nalstradamus

Corny? Maybe…

Ahhhhh the first day of summer has come and gone and here in Vancouver the sun finally poked its head out to say hello after weeks of June-uary rain. Naturally the first obvious summer ritual here in Vancouver is to talk about the Canucks. The first order of business is the upcoming NHL draft on Friday. The Canucks historically have been awful on draft day and this year they have the 26th overall pick. With a pick this low the prospect they pick will likely not be of immediate help to the team and it will likely be 3 or so years before we hear about the kid again. However, the draft isn’t what’s on the mind of Canucks fans. As always it’s the goaltending situation that’s at the forefront.

We all know the Luongo era is nearing its end; however, before Mike Gillis can ship off the franchise’s best ever goalie (statistically anyway) he needs to sign Cory Schneider. Schneider is a restricted free agent so if another team was bold enough to put up an offer the Canucks have the right to match the offer which they will do should any GM get frisky. Gillis has been steadfast in the media saying he’s not rushing to do anything with his goalies, but we all know he wants to get this sorted out quickly so the team can rid itself of this heavy distraction. Will it happen by the draft tomorrow so we can see a gangster draft day deal? Likely not, but I’m predicting it’s going to go down before July 1.

Canucks fans are you prepared to take on this bloated contract in return for Lu?
Scary… MIKE CASSESE/REUTERS

Once Schneider’s signing is out of the way the Luongo trade watch begins. The Tampa Bay Lightning, one of the potential suitors for Lu, seem to have taken themselves out of the race with their deal to acquire Nashville back-up Anders Lindback. The lead destination seems to be Toronto, with less likely destinations of Chicago and Columbus also being rumoured. Not really a comfortable situation for Gillis in having to deal with an ornery former Canucks GM Brian Burke. With the line of suitors being apparently thin, will Gillis be able to get fair value from Burke or will he take the shaft and basically just perform a salary dump? I just can’t see Burke willingly letting go of any of his prized prospects or young players knowing Gillis’ options are few. I overhead people at slow pitch tonight saying they’re expecting Nazim Kadri and Luke Schenn for Luongo…in your dreams people. If Gillis somehow wriggles the likes of Luke Schenn or Jake Gardiner away from the Leafs I would be utterly shocked. I do think it will be Toronto though in the end for good ol’ Lu. The Leafs need to make the playoffs this year and they need a proven goalie to get them there.

The goaltending situation is just the tip of the iceberg for the Canucks. There are needs and holes at multiple positions. Starting on defence, the Canucks top 3 are under contract (Bieksa, Hamhuis and Edler), but the bottom 3 is far from settled. Aaron Rome and Sami Salo are UFA’s and Marc-Andre Gragnani is a RFA. Others still under contract include Keith Ballard, Andrew Alberts and Chris Tanev. It’s highly doubtful the solid, but injury prone Salo will be back. So it’s clear the Canucks are in need of some blue line help, especially a top 4 quality type defender. Looking at the current list of UFA defencemen the cream of the crop is clearly Ryan Suter.  It’s going to take a boat load of $$$ for a team to land the prized defenceman. He would look studly in Canucks blue, but he seems destined for a team like Detroit. The remaining notable UFA’s on the list are Greg Zanon, Joe Corvo, Jaroslav Spacek, Bryan Allen, Sheldon Souray, Hal Gill, Pavel Kubina, Matt Carle, Brett Clark, Carlo Colaiacovo, Adrian Aucoin, Dennis Wideman and Jason Garrison. There’s some solid d-men in the above list, but I’m sure most would agree no real prize possessions or game changers are on that list.

Ryan Suter…dream #1 for Canucks fans

Up the middle the Canucks will need some help with Ryan Kesler being shelved for the first few months of the season due to off-season surgery and with Sami Pahlsson heading back to Europe. Here are the more notable names on the UFA list: Olli Jokinen, Jarret Stoll, Daymond Langkow, Jason Arnott, Scott Nichol, Torrey Mitchell, Paul Gaustad and Jelf Halpern. Again there are some solid checking line type centres on this list and I am especially fond of Gaustad, Nichol and Arnott’s grittiness. However, a 2nd line centre to fill in for Kesler will be tougher to find.

Zach Parise…dream #2 for Canucks fans

On the wings there is a plethora of mean, angry players…should the Canucks decide to get their goon on:  George Parros, Tom Kostopoulos, Jordin Tootoo, Brandon Prust, Arron Asham, Cam Janssen, Brad Staubitz and Brian Mcgrattan. I personally would love to see Tootoo or Parros in a Canucks uniform. They can play a little bit, hit a ton and drop the gloves with anyone should they mess around with the twins. Parros’ moustache alone would be a hit here in Vancouver. The Canucks can also use some players who can put the puck in the net. The dream would be Zach Parise, but he is the dream of every GM in the league this off-season. Here are some others that might tickle your fancy: Brad Boyes, David Moss, Andrei Kostitsyn, P-A Parenteau, Shane Doan, Alex Semin and this would never happen…Jaromir Jagr. I would take Parenteau or Semin in a heartbeat, those guys can put the points up in a hurry. I love Shane Doan, but I can’t see him going anywhere but Phoenix or Winnipeg. This we know for sure, the Canucks will address secondary scoring this offseason, if it’s not with the guys above then via the trade route for sure.

PA Parenteau…a little bit of a more realistic possibility for Canucks fans

In my opinion the Canucks are at a crossroads. They’re a team that is trying to figure out their identity. Are they going to be an offensive juggernaut? Or how about a big bruising team? Or maybe a boring defensive trap like team? They need to figure it out sooner than later because the Sedin winning window won’t be open forever. The Canucks have pieces to build a championship team around…it will be up to Mike Gillis and his staff in their most challenging offseason yet, to find the right pieces to finally push this team to the top of the hockey world.

 

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April 28, 2012

If You Were Mike Gillis What Would You Do?

By nalstradamus

We’ve all played arm chair GM at one point or another. It’s fun to debate with friends and co-workers on trades and free agents. The majority of the time the ‘fantasy’ trades and pick ups never come close to fruition. In Vancouver the ‘expert’ opinions have been flying in since the Canucks were bounced from post-season play. The trade banter has ramped up even more in recent days with the rumours that Roberto Luongo has told Mike Gillis he would like to be traded. There’s also a rumoured list of wanted destinations Luongo has given to Gillis. Whether or not these rumours are true we all know Gillis can’t keep both of his goalies and it is Luongo that is likely the odd man out.

By Lu...Vancouver didn't deserve you.

Let’s start with the goalie situation. If this decision was controlled by the fans of Vancouver there would be no doubt which goalie would be let go. In a perfect world I would prefer to see Cory Schneider moved, not because I think he’s an inferior talent, but because the return on Schneider would be monstrous. However, given what went down in the final 3 games of the playoffs the writing appears to be on the wall and Luongo will likely be the man to go. At first I felt the Canucks were not going to get much more than a bag of pucks for the franchises’ all time best goaltender. However, with more and more teams rumoured to be in the mix I feel Luongo will bring something substantial back to the Canucks after all. When there are more teams in the mix that means more competition and higher prices. Tampa Bay has been rumoured to be one of these teams interested in Luongo. The Lightning do have some useful parts that the Canucks could use. If you were Gillis and were offered Ryan Malone and a non first round draft pick would you take it? Or how about a constant underachieving Lecavalier? Or an ageing Martin St. Louis? The latter two possibilities I don’t really see happening, but you never know. Gillis will be patient and likely will not bite unless he gets a top 6 forward or a top 4 d-man.

Would you trade Luongo for Ryan Malone? Could happen

How about the rest of the Vancouver core: Sedins, Kesler, Burrows, Booth, Edler, Hamhuis, Bieksa, Hansen, Kassian? Who is untouchable in your opinion? Can anyone honestly be untouchable? I mean, if Wayne Gretzky can be traded anyone can be traded. Just look at Philadelphia, would you ever have fathomed they would of traded away their captain Mike Richards and an all-star centre Jeff Carter? Which Canucks would I say are untouchable? I would go with the Sedins, Edler, Hamhuis, Hansen and Kassian. I don’t need to defend why I’d keep the Sedins…I think it’s obvious. Hamhuis is the most dependable Canucks defender in my opinion (yeah yeah forget the last play of the playoffs). He can skate, is an excellent passer and exceptional positionally. Edler struggled this season, but he has all the skills to be a #1 defender. He has size, skating ability, a booming shot and excellent passing ability. Hansen is a terror in the bottom 6 group of forwards. He has a non-stop motor, tremendous speed, tenacious checker and strong on the PK. Kassian is only 21 years old and has loads of potential: a huge man that can skate and with good hands. I left off some crowd favourites, but that doesn’t mean I don’t respect these players. They are all great players, but in my opinion a core piece or two should be moved to shake up the line up and change the personality of this team.

Would you trade any of these 3? (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)

What do I mean by changing the personality/mentality of the team? In my opinion the Canucks have too many yappers and not enough punchers. By punchers I’m not saying the Canucks need to pick up 5 Gino Odjick’s. I’m saying the Canucks need some serious grit…guys who will stick up for others and if pushed will shove back not dive 8 feet backwards clutching their face like they’ve been shot. The yappers do have a place on rosters, but you don’t need 4 or 5 Lapierre’s do be effective. How many times this season did you see one of the Canucks’ stars get owned and all the response we saw was some creepy stare downs, finger pointing, empty taunts and slashes to the back of the legs? If I was an opposing team those above antics would not deter me from taking liberties on the stars of the team…it actually would likely encourage me to do more damage. The constant yapping, diving and complaining has to also have some effects on the referees as well. It always seems that the Canucks have the short end of the stick when it comes to power plays. If you were a ref could you honestly say that the constant yapping and complaining wouldn’t get to you? It must to some degree.

As we near the NHL draft and the July 1 free agent window we will see the fireworks ignite. Until then keep up the arguments…err…I mean friendly debates. I mean what else are we Canucks fans going to do this Summer?

 

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April 23, 2012

Canucks Post Mortem

By nalstradamus

It feels like a bad dream for Canucks fans today. A day after their beloved team was kicked to the curb in 5 short games by the 8th seeded LA Kings. There was so much hope and energy in the city before the playoffs began. It was going to be a story of redemption… of vindication. The Canucks were supposed to be hungrier than ever to get back to the finals and claim the cup they were 60 minutes away from hoisting last year. Bars and restaurants were stocking up their liquor supplies getting ready for a long playoff run. Well all those hopes and dreams were quickly dashed. The Kings deserved to win the series. They were the better team in all facets of the game. The series was really over after game 2 when the Canucks dropped the opening 2 games on home ice. Winning 4 out of the last 5 games was going to be a struggle for any team let alone a team that struggled to score.

The warning signs of possible future failure were all around in the last 20 or so games of the season. The signs were just masked by a 2nd straight President’s Trophy. I admit I overlooked the struggles down the stretch because the team was still winning games 1-0, 2-1, etc. The thought was, the offence will come around in the playoffs. Well it never came. Many of the secondary scorers on the team including the likes of Kesler, Booth, Higgins and Raymond all struggled to score down the stretch and this continued into the playoffs. The injury to Daniel Sedin hurt the team badly, but good…great teams can overcome big injuries and still succeed. The much talked about goalie hullaballoo was not a factor for the Canucks in this series. Luongo and Schneider both stood on their head.

Naturally the question is what next? 2 straight President Trophy winning teams has equaled no Stanley Cup. Obviously something isn’t working. The one thing we all know is one of Luongo or Schneider will be traded. Luongo is the leading candidate to be traded as it appears the team, coaches and fans are fully behind Schneider. The benching of Luongo in games 3, 4 and 5 all but seal the exodus of the franchise leader in almost every goalie category. It won’t be easy to trade Luongo, he holds all the power with his no trade clause. His contract is also difficult to move and other teams know this and will provide a much smaller return than what the all-star goalie is worth. Trading Schneider would net a much larger return, but I don’t see Luongo coming back after what he went through in the playoffs and what he went through from the fans and media this year. Another team is going to get a steal of a deal in acquiring Luongo and I expect to see him flourish wherever he goes. I’ve been a big Luongo supporter throughout his stay here and I appreciate all that he gave for this city. It’s not often you get a yearly Vezina calibre, gold medal winning, all-star goalie suiting up for your team night in and night out. The city was spoiled and instead of cheering for the guy they shat on his face.

How about the coaches? The radio waves were jammed today with callers demanding for the firing of the coaching staff. For me personally, I feel AV and his staff should be given another chance to get this team back into contention next year. All AV has done during his time here in Vancouver is win. However, I won’t argue with those who feel the opposite way because there are valid points on why the staff should be fired. If AV does get fired, can you imagine what the next coach would think…2 straight President’s Trophies, a Stanley Cup final appearance, countless division titles…damn I better be amazing. Whatever the choice is, it should be made and announced immediately. If there is to be a new coach, the new coach should be given as much time as possible to prepare for the upcoming season. There is a Mike Gillis press conference scheduled for 10 am tomorrow so I’m sure the answer will be known soon.

How about the back end? Alex Edler’s struggles were spotlighted nightly by broadcasters. Earlier in the season there was talk about him being in the Norris Trophy discussion, but down the stretch his game started to falter and he was not able to fully recover his game in the playoffs. I still feel he will be a solid defender, but he’s not ready to be the #1 guy yet. Other than Edler the only sure things are Bieksa and Hamhuis. The bottom 3 defenders may look a lot different next year. Sami Salo continued his solid play this season, but he has likely played his last game with the Canucks due to his age. That leaves the likes of Ballard, Tanev, Alberts, Rome and Gragnani…yeah…obviously some defensive help will be needed, especially a defender who can be the PP QB.

Up front I already mentioned the lack of secondary scoring. The Canucks went from a high octane offensive juggernaut into an offensively challenged team that lacked any scoring creativity. Ryan Kesler was the most disappointing of all the Canucks forwards. His magical season of a year ago was nowhere to be found this year. Granted he was coming off major surgery and the longer offseason can only help him get stronger and faster. However, expecting him to reach 41 goals again is a stretch. 25-30 goals is more realistic and in the current NHL 25-30 goals is still an upper echelon type season. Kesler needs some help on the 2nd line. Specifically someone who can pass the puck. He and David Booth are not passers, but rather guys who like to have the puck and drive to the net. The chemistry of putting the two Michigan boys together never materialized. The bottom 6 forwards has some nice parts in Hansen, Malholtra and Higgins. Zack Kassian will be given ample opportunity to solidify his spot on one of the checking lines. He’s still young at 21 years of age and it’s much too early to call him a flop.  Max Lapierre played well for the Canucks this year, but the Canucks have enough yappers and not enough punchers…he may be the odd man out along with Sammy Pahlsson. As for young upcoming prospects, Jensen and Schroeder will likely push for roster spots next year and I feel of the two Jensen has the better shot.

In the end, I feel there will be a much different looking roster heading into next season. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a shocking deal involving some of the core a la what Philly did with the jettison of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. It all starts tomorrow with Mike Gillis’ press conference. This summer should be full of action not only for the Canucks, but for other veteran laden superpowers that were ousted early: Detroit, San Jose, Pittsburgh and Chicago. October 2012 can’t come soon enough.

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April 14, 2012

Never Surrender

By nalstradamus

How many of you Canucks fans have taken down your car flags, sold your jerseys on EBay or maybe bought a Mike Richards jersey? I bet quite a few. Just walking around downtown this afternoon I heard constant whines and moans and “expert” opinions. One hockey genius outside the Blue Water Cafe opined…”If Schneider was in net for the 1st two games we probably would have won.” Are you F#$%king serious? So Schneider would have scored on the power play, created traffic in front of Quick and made a friggin’ breakout pass out of the defensive zone? Seriously, if you are in the same line of thinking as this douche bag…suck it…hard. For the real Canucks fans out there this blog post is for you. I hope you feel pumped and inspired after reading this as I am writing this. Let’s do this.

Don't give up yet

Like most of Canucks nation I was pissed, disappointed, frustrated, you name the negative emotion and I felt it. In a pit of rage I posted on Facebook threads standing up for Lu and trying to inspire those who have jumped the wagon to stay on a little longer. I realize it was just too soon to try and convince people, the wound was too fresh. After a good sleep and some sunshine I am refreshed and ready to inspire. I said before the series this was going to be a tough series for the Canucks and I felt it was a series that was destined to go the distance. My feelings have not changed one bit. I still believe the Canucks will take this series the distance and win. I will keep believing this outcome until I see the handshakes take place. So you may be saying to yourself is this just blind faith? Just a delusional fan spewing verbal diarrhea? Hell no, just listen to me.

What’s Not Broke

1) The Goaltending: The Canucks have the best goalie tandem in the NHL. Luongo has stood on his head the 1st two games, making big save after big save to keep his team in it. Those two first games could have easily been blow outs if it wasn’t for Lu. If Vigneault decides to play the Schneider card early… as in the next game, I’ll be disappointed as a Lu supporter, but I won’t be scared. Schneider is #1a and will provide solid goaltending just like Lu did. Whoever is in net will keep us in the game at all times.

2) The Physicality: I like what I saw from Ryan Kesler, Alex Burrows, Max LaPierre and David Booth. Those 4 were throwing huge hits all over the ice. The Canucks outhit the Kings last game by a large margin (45-32). If the boys keep up this physical play it will wear down an underwhelming LA d-corps and lead to more turnovers.

3) Henrik Sedin, Jannik Hansen, the entire 3rd line: Yes, Henrik is without his brother, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been trying or looking dangerous on the ice. He has shown leadership on the ice as well as the cameras have captured him on numerous occasions speaking to his teammates and urging them to play better. Jannik Hansen has been the Canucks best player thus far. He has been hitting, skating and creating chances every time he’s on the ice. The rest of his 3rd line teammates have also been doing there jobs, keeping the game simple and taking care of their defensive responsibilities.

What Needs Some Work

1) The power play: the failures of the Canucks power play have been the difference in this series so far. One of the biggest problems has been the entry into the Kings zone. The Kings have taken away the Canucks’ favourite neutral zone drop pass play and without it the Canucks look indecisive. The dump and chase method does not look like a good option as Quick has been very good at stopping and handling the dump in chances. The other big problem with the power play is the lack of net presence. The Canucks thus far have made Quick’s life easy with the majority of the shots coming from a distance with no traffic in front. When the Canucks power play was near the top of the league it was because they had a net presence and had the big shots in Salo and Edler bombing from the point through the traffic in front.

2) The breakout pass: the Canucks D is one of the better passing defence corps in the league. In the first 2 games there have been uncharacteristic give aways and poor passes through the neutral zone. The poor passing has caused the forwards to not enter the Kings zone with speed to stretch out the old legs of the likes of Willie Mitchell and Rob Scuderi.

3) Mason Raymond: I’ve said it several times…he needs to sit…PERIOD. The constant falling down is not helping at all.

Basically what I’m trying to say is that the Canucks are not that far off from putting it all together. The fixes are not huge. A better first pass out of the defensive zone, traffic in front of the net. Really when you sit and think about it with just those 2 fixes alone we should see the Canucks start to tilt the ice in their favour again. I tend to agree with Puck Daddy – Greg Wyshynski where he prefers the Canucks chances of a series comeback over the Penguins 0-2 situation (click here for article).

Being down 2-0 and going on the road is awful. However, it’s not the end of the world by any means. One only needs to go back one season and look at the Stanley Cup winning Bruins. They came back from an 0-2 deficit twice last playoffs including against the Canucks in the finals.

I hope that helped put things into perspective for you all. The Canucks are the better team and starting tomorrow they will show it.

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March 11, 2012

Time to Panic?

By nalstradamus

Don't panic Canucks fans, your team is just fine.

Canucks nation is edging closer and closer to panic mode with the Canucks losing 5 of their last 7 games. The Facebook hate, twitter bombs and radio tongue lashes are starting to pop up again. The cries for Cory Schneider have returned, the 2nd guessing of Mike Gillis’ Hodgson deal are everywhere (even though Hodgson has done nothing in 6 games), the Sedin’s are too soft and blah blah blah. This love hate relationship the city of Vancouver has with the Canucks isn’t new. It’s just flat out annoying as hell. I’m not saying the Canucks haven’t been playing awful lately. What I am saying is the ‘fans’ just need to chill out and more importantly…shut the f$%k up. I think for these ‘fans’ a 4 week hiatus from watching the Canucks is best because I hate to say it, but you’re probably going to see several uninspired performances from now until the end of the season.

Think of it from the players perspective. They know they have a cup winning roster and they know they have many gruelling battles ahead of them in the playoffs. They know the worst they can finish is 2nd in the conference unless they absolutely shat the bed. It must be hard for them to bust their nuts for these regular season games because in the grand scheme of things it really doesn’t mean much. Of course the players will never admit they are half assing it (playing it safe probably sounds better) because that would enrage the hecklers who drop $200+ for tickets to watch every home game. The Canucks will be just fine. They will start playing better soon, especially during the last couple weeks of the season where they’ll want to enter the playoffs with some winning momentum.

I agree the Sedin’s have stunk, the power play has been non-existent, the physical game is lacking and the goaltending has been semi-swiss cheese like. However, what would you rather see…the Sedins et al blowing their Swedish loads now in the regular season or save up some of their offensive orgasms for the playoffs? Or how about Bieksa, Hamhuis, Edler and Salo, would you like to see them in full playoff mode now trying to kill people every night against teams like Columbus and Montreal or maybe would you rather see them healthy enough to destroy the likes of Kane and Toews in the playoffs? You can’t have it all folks. Yes, 1st overall in the league would be a sexy accomplishment, but as we all saw last year it doesn’t guarantee anything in the playoffs.

Like I always say…JUST LET IT HAPPEN!

Just believe. (AP Photo/ National Hockey League/Doug MacLellan)

 

1 comment   |  tags: , | posted in Hockey

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