coastal1

Worst captain playing with one shoulder, to be specific.

I think you are exagerating here. Calm down.

Bottom line is there are two ways to do this. The Edmonton way which seems very popular here: let a player who is 75% ready play and then sit back and watch the train wreck. Or there is the Detroit way, that no one seems to like: let him finish his hunior carreer, then a couple of years in the AHL and then ease him slowly onto the lineup over the next year after that. Sure it sounds more exciting to have Virtanen in the line up than Higgins, but that excitement is based on dreams, not reality.

I think he almost scored in the AHL so he certainly can score in NHL pre-season.

Higgins is here and he will play. At this point in time, he is considered by Canucks management to be superior to Virtanen, that is the reality, end of dreaming.

What the Canucks really need is a strong two-way center, with size and experience, and making a reasonable salary, say like maybe $5mil a year. But where do you find such a player???

I'm sure they were annoyed by a lot more than that about Gillis. Don't only take Mitchell's word, ask Luongo, ask Schneider, ask Kesler, ask Hodgson- some decent players in there by the way!

I agree that Edler will do well when he is not asked to play against good players. As for the Sedins, they are on the decline and yes they may do better but only if the new coach manages to keep them away from the other teams' best players.I fwe 'shelter' them like you say, yes they will do better. As for playing constantly injured, well that comes with age, not much can be done about that, the same applies to Kesler.

Because if he didn't endorse the core than they would have a lower market value. And market value is determined by what a GM says about his players. So if he says, we want to go in a different direction then the previous regime and some of the core players may have to be moved, then kaput, low value! What is the value of a 33 year old winger (i.e. on the downside of his career) who scored 5 goals last year and is signed to a $4.5 mil contract for 3 more years? Is it possible to get it even lower than it is??

Not many players have found a way not to age. Surprising how the Sedins of 2 years ago were better than last year's Sedins. I remember the Sundin signing, people were hoping he would regain his old form!

The next few weeks will be critical: draft, buy-out window, free agency.

Obviously, you should be the one doing the mock draft on TV, because I am sure you have more experience as an NHL GM then he does. Oh I forgot, being an NHL GM means nothing, they hire just any clown out there, like Benning.

Edler and the Sedins, now that is terror on the counter attack. A defenceman who can't make a good first pass and cycle specialists. one has to wonder what Benning and Linden mean by high tempo. Will they cycle really fast?

The Sedins can't play a high tempo, fast counter attack game. They are great puck possession players and great at the cycle. Also, however fast players they are, I can tell you something, they will be less fast next year then they were this year and even less the year after that. Valk on the other hand, to me that looks like a fast skater.

Listen, if your point is, through these clips, that the Sedins are fast, I think it's going nowhere. It takes a blind fan to think of the Sedins as fast players in the NHL. But obviously, I won't change your mind. I just hope that Benning is more analytical than that.

I get a little adamant sometimes and it leads to a little impatience. But to be called a troll because I state that LA is a very fast team, that is just plain being a blind fan.

Totally agree. And Burrows with the Sedins is Slow and Slower. And exactly right about Mike Richards, still has determination and skill but his lack of speed is now exposed.

I was the one that was treated like an idiot for stating that LA is a fast team, a team that is a lot faster than the Canucks. So I replied. If some Canucks fans believe that this is a fast team that can play high tempo hockey, then fine. It takes watching them through rabid fans' eyes to see this team as a fast team, but if that is how you see them, then yes they are damm fast. Those stretch passes from Edler to Higgins just make Doughty's head spin, I am sure.

So in your world, the Sedins are quick counter attack players? The Kings counter attack with speed. Chicago simply could not handle the speed of the first two lines of LA and Chicago is not slow. The Carter line is very fast and so is Kopitar plus Gaborik. Richards is slow and he hardly plays anymore (10 or so minutes a game). I don't know how anybody can compare the speed of the Canucks with that of LA. The bottom line is the NHL has become a very fast league and LA has been to the SCF in two of the last 3 years. How many playoff series have the speedy Canucks won in the last three years? How many playoff games have they won would be a fairer question (answer: one win).

All of them are as fast as Kesler and Kesler is the only fast player on the Canucks. One player makes the Canucks a fast team? Are you having any fun in your dream world? I suppose you will say next that the last 3 seasons have been a bad stretch for the Sedins and they will rebound to their true form next year.

Wel I hope your right. I haven't been very impressed to date so I hope this is not Gillis #2. We will know a lot more in the next month or so with the draft and free agency. I just hope he doesn't fall in love with the core and try to give them one more chance.

Yes the puck can move fastest with passing but there has to be someone there to receive the pass! The Sedins pass to each other mostly on the cycle (not only on the cycle but mostly on the cycle). Kesler, the second line center, doesn't pass the puck. Bieksa makes a decent first pass (I agree, this is totally necessary for an uptempo game) but Garrison and Edler are just not puck movers. The Canucks just don't have the players necessary for an uptempo game. They are a puck possession team, cycling specialists. Tortorella tried to make them into a high pressure team and that was an absolute disaster.

Doughty, Kopitar, Gaborik, Stoll, Williams, Pearson, Toffoli, Carter, Muzzin, Martinez all faster than any of the Canucks core. LA slower than the Canucks! Wow, the blinders are on big time. And if Benning thinks the Canucks are a fast team, it's going to be a tough few years before he gets fired.

I sure hope he is just posturing for the media and that in reality he has an idea of what he wants to do. Right now we hear, we may move up or down, we may trade Kelser or not, what will happen, I don't know.

Listen my points were that up to now the two key statements from Benning, I mean other than "I will have to get used to the rain again" are that he really likes the core of the team and that he wants to play an up tempo game. The Sedins may have 'elite' conditioning but they are slow, you can spin it the way you want, they can't counterattack with speed, which is at the heart of the uptempo game. If you think the uptempo game is to cycle until you wear out your opponents, I think you misunderstand the concept. Plus, it's not just the Sedins who are not fast, it's Burrows, it's Higgins, it's Bieksa, it's Hamhuis... The Canucks as a team are one of the slowest in the league, you can argue that if you want but it's easy to see when you watch the games. So, my point is that I am not impressed with a new GM that really likes a core that is spent and over the hill and given that, wants to employ a style of play not suited to that group.