brokensticks

Myers has received a lot of bad press in the last couple of years - and rightfully so. He has earned his nickname, Chaos Giraffe, by being frequently caught out of position, making bad pinches, bad reads, bad gap control and, generally, being in the wrong place at the wrong time far too often. Combined with his $6 Million salary and low scoring points, he has become the whipping boy for a lot of fans and journalists. On the positive side, he is a big, smooth skating, right-handed defenceman - a commodity that most teams are looking for. He was the 12th overall pick in his draft year and he has had some good seasons in the past with other teams, mostly in his early years in the NHL with Buffalo but 36 in 2018 with Winnipeg. He is also pretty durable playing 78 games this year and 82 last season. He is 33 years old. I did notice that he played his position a lot better at the end of last year under Tocchet on a team with a lot more structure. We have two great assistant coaches, Gonchar and Foote, that can possibly teach him how to be a solid, stay-at-home, stay in position, defenceman. This is the last year of his contract and it looks like nobody really wants him until the $5 Million is paid to him in September. He has expressed an interest in staying and his next contract will be much more reasonable. Is he worth keeping around or do we free the Giraffe?

I believe the total number of contracts a team can have is 50 and I'm not sure how many the Canucks now have or how to find out. Doe anyone know? There are a couple of European draft picks from previous years without contracts and I'm wondering if they will get signed or set free.

Wow. This franchise has a serious problem when the fans believe the media before the people running the organization. I was a student at UBC when the Canucks came into the league so, believe me, I've been a loyal fan for a lot longer than most of you and I've seen a lot of different management groups. I'm not a fan of the present ownership (they hired Benning and endured his incompetency). The present management have tried to establish a professional group and I wish them luck with the inherited nightmare mess of contracts they can't get rid of. They deserve some patience that the majority of you don't have. Maybe the media (Friedman) guessed correctly and Tocchet will be the new coach but I believe I'm right when I say that the management group did not start this frenzy - it was the media who initiated and perpetuated the story.

I'm going to play devil's advocate and defend the guys running the team. I can't recall the management team ever saying they were replacing or about to replace Bruce. Yes, they have been critical of him but it some of that has been blown out of proportion. It has been the media speculation that has fuelled this whole drama starting with Elliotte Friedman saying Tocchet was the next coach then everyone else taking that as the truth. This management team has been very controlled about what information is given to the media but that hasn't stopped the media from making up stories. Yes, Rutherford was in Vegas at the same time as Tocchet but does anyone actually know if they met to discuss a coaching job???? You can't always believe the media. They take the Trump approach - if I say it often enough, people will believe it.

The good ones aren't unemployed for long.

It's interesting how this forum always seems to get sidetracked. Instead of a discussion about "the current construction of the Vancouver Canucks", we have a long debate about who was better - Gillis or Benning. The fact that neither one is currently working in the NHL gives an indication of how the marketplace rates their performance.

The Canucks will finish with 90+ points despite their brutal start to the season. They need some incremental changes to get them to the 100 point level. I think it was Rutherford who said that a couple of changes in the lineup can make or break a team in the modern Cap dictated NHL. The greatest needs, in my opinion, are some toughness and more speed. Trading one or more of our smaller, skilled forwards for larger, younger and tougher wingers is one of the priorities. The Calgary game showed the need for toughness on our defence - Schenn can't do it all on his own. Calgary can't afford to re-sign Gudbranson and Zadorov - either one of them would be a good addition to our back end (some of you won't like the Gudbranson suggestion but, at the right price, he would add the needed toughness and leadership). I really like the changes the Canucks made to their management team and this summer will be their first big test. October can't come soon enough.

I saw him several times today choosing to not physically engage the opposing player in puck battles. Instead he just waved his stick at them and the other guy skated away with the puck. He seems to be playing a bit scared - worrying about getting overpowered and mugged by bigger and stronger players. It's something he has to figure out - I doubt he will ever get strong enough to out-muscle anyone.

Really??? Do the names Tanev, Toffoli, Schmidt, Joulevi, Virtanen, etc. ring a bell with you? Everything Jim Rutherford has done so far gives you hope that the Canuck management actually has a plan. He has made some very classy moves including (and especially) the hiring of Emilie Castonguay. If he thinks Allvin is the right person then let's give him a chance. After 50+ years of cheering for this team, you learn to live on hope.

I'll never forgive Benning for giving up Tanev, Toffoli, Dahlen and Nate Schmidt - just to name a few. Tanev is a top 4 defenseman on any team in the league yet Benning didn't offer him a contract. "Ran out of time" on Toffoli - an excuse that no owner should have accepted. Let the unhappy Dahlen and Schmidt go for a return that was too low. I was a Benning supporter for years but the mistakes kept piling up until I couldn't accept his incompetence anymore.

Of course it doesn't but sport teams are all about the fanbase. Without fans, the players don't get paid more than surgeons, lawyers and CEO's of large corporations and the owner's do not benefit from an asset that substantially increases in value. It's the fans that collectively spend the money on tickets, merchandise and concessions. When you say Francesco cares more, what are your referring to - money?, the team?, the asset value? or, god forbid, the fans that keep this whole wheel turning????

Of course it doesn't but sport teams are all about the fanbase. Without fans, the players don't get paid more than surgeons, lawyers and CEO's of large corporations and the owner's do not benefit from an asset that substantially increases in value. It's the fans that collectively spend the money on tickets, merchandise and concessions. When you say Francesco cares more, what are your referring to - money?, the team?, the asset value? or, god forbid, the fans that keep this whole wheel turning????

Of course it doesn't but sport teams are all about the fanbase. Without fans, the players don't get paid more than surgeons, lawyers and CEO's of large corporations and the owner's do not benefit from an asset that substantially increases in value. It's the fans that collectively spend the money on tickets, merchandise and concessions. When you say Francesco cares more, what are your referring to - money?, the team?, the asset value? or, god forbid, the fans that keep this whole wheel turning????

To Francesco: I was a student at UBC when the Canucks were born. Although my funds were scarce, I went to as many games as I could afford for the first few years. In the 1980's, I had a mortgage and young family but still found the money to split season tickets (2 seats) with a friend. I had to let them go when we moved out of the Vancouver area. I currently own 3 Canuck jerseys, 8 t-shirts, 4 hats, socks, underwear, cups, mugs, books, flags and even pencils that I paid a fortune for. This doesn't include all the stuff I bought as presents for family members. In April 2011, my wife and I made a hurried (and expensive) trip from Australia to Vancouver, imposed on friends for 6 weeks and paid a fortune for tickets to see the Canucks run for the Cup because I was convinced this was the year they would finally win and I wanted to be a part of it. Francesco, you will not see another dime from me until you fix this broken team. Based on what I see in the media, there are a lot of other people who feel the same way and this can't be good for the value of your asset. Good senior managers know they need to surround themselves with the right people - proven, experienced experts who are allowed to do the job they were hired for - without interference. Hiring inexperienced people with the hope that it might work because it's the cheaper option is a recipe for disaster and that's what you currently have; a team that is disgraceful and difficult to want to be a part of. You need to give us some hope and the current management and coach have lost the ability to give us that. Regards, A Loyal Fan

I am in Brisbane and did the same as bpow - bought the Fetch box (mini is $149, mighty is $449) and signed up for Vibe ($6 per month). It allows me to watch the games through NHL.com but it seems I have to watch them live. Under the old system, I could watch them from the beginning, hours after the game had started and drag the timeline through the commercials and period breaks. That doesn't seem to be available in the new system and I can't record the games. I renewed my NHL.com subscription and downloaded a VPN which seemed to work during pre-season games but not when the regular season started. Foxtel blocked it in their determination to get my money. If you buy the mini and Vibe, it's actually slightly cheaper than the NHL.tv subscription. I bought the mighty because of all the other features it offers.

In one of the exhibition games, there was a play where an opposing forward came at Juolevi, went left and Olli turned right. I watched him for the rest of the game and realized he can only turn one way. In the NHL you have to be able to turn both ways or guys are going to blow by you often and this was certainly the case with Juolevi. Some guys just can't master the art of turning both ways (I'm one). Edler had the same problem but managed to hide it well.

I'm in Brisbane and I'm having the same problems so I really welcome the information. I'm not very tech oriented so all the acronyms are somewhat daunting. I'll let my IT son-in-law work it all out. Interesting that Aus and NZ are excluded from the list of countries that NHLtv is not available. Foxtel trying to keep dominance in the market? As a retired Canadian living permanently in Aus, hockey is too important to miss so let's hope ESPN gets it sorted.

I didn't take the time to read back through the 199 pages so this has probably been said before - several times. This is Benning's problem - he owns it. Only allowing $14 million to sign your 2 star players is bad management. The same man who, a few years ago, was handing out large contracts to players like Ericsson, Sutter, Beagle, Myers, etc. now decides he is going to be tough on the two players who are the future of our team. Benning has completely misread the situation and, likely, creating disharmony on the team. This will be construed as more Benning bashing. I was previously a Benning supporter but he just continues to show poor judgement. I admire his attempt to create a better defence but, in doing so, he lost sight of his biggest priority - getting Pettersson and Hughes signed. Putting Motte, Sutter and Ferland on LTIR may create enough cap space to get the kids signed but only creates another problem when Motte and Sutter are healthy. Why does there always seem to be a crisis with the Canuck management?

I'm in my 70's and I was living in Vancouver when they first joined the league. I was a strong Chicago fan but switched to the Canucks. Being a Canuck fan hasn't been easy. In more years than I care to remember, they seem to find a new way to disappoint and anger their fanbase, This year is no exception. I now live in Australia so I watch the games during the middle of the day (between 11:00 and 1:00) and I'm getting tired of spending the rest of the day feeling angry and frustrated after watching a hapless, hopeless hockey team getting whipped again. Benning seems to be the problem. Poor cap management in previous years forced him to make poor decisions last summer that are coming back to haunt him. I'm speculating, but it seems Aquilini wants a GM he can control rather than one who is competent and in full control of the team. It's time to make a change and hire someone else or bring in an experienced, knowledgable hockey person (Brian Burke??). My 50 years of patience is getting near the end.

This is not a playoff team. As much as the league denies it, the rules are different in the lead up the playoffs and, especially, when the playoffs start. Unless the Canucks show teams that they cannot hack and whack our star players without some retribution, then it will continue to happen. Recent games have shown that Petey is a target and the current Canuck players (except for Miller) are not willing or able to do anything to stop it. It is a culture problem. A player like Schaller was much meaner and tougher playing for the Bruins than the Canucks because he knows he has a team to back him up. I doubt he has the same feeling in a Canuck sweater. How safe do you think Petey feels when he's consistently fouled and neither the refs or the team are there to help? Ferland will help but he is damaged goods. The whole team needs to change their attitude. Sit Schaller and Eriksson and insert McEwen and Bailey.

The discussions about 2 rule books, inconsistent refereeing and imagined conspiracy theories really all stems from one main issue. We as Canadians know and understand the game of hockey because most of us have played the game at some level. But this is big business owned by billionaires. When the NHL expanded in the late 60's and 70's, their mission was to sell the game to an uninformed audience in the USA. They originally sold the violence (e.g. Broad Street Bully era) but that was not sustainable. Keep in mind that there will soon be 32 teams in the league and only 7 of them are in Canada. Bettman is still trying to sell a game to an American audience in an arena full of people that, very likely, have never played the game or learned how to skate. How often do you hear the arena announcer say in an excited voice "IT'S A CAROLINA HURRICANE POWER PLAY" (substitute any other US team). We don't do that in Canada because we know when it's a power play - you don't have to tell us.. During the regular season, they want lots of power plays because it adds to the excitement of the game hence the abundance of phantom calls (I saw one recently where a player stepped on an opposing players stick and there was a penalty called because, apparently, you're not allowed to have your stick on the ice). During the playoffs, we are back to selling violence. Pipe-Dream Solution: Start our own league.