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Raymond? Do We Really Want Him?


CanucksJay

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Of course Canucks fans were frustrated with him when he was on the 2nd line last year, but now we have Booth who is doing a damn good job on the 2nd line. Raymond is a pretty reliable 3rd liner. Sure, he may not drive to the middle as much as he did in those first few games back, but his speed still causes fits for other teams. Seriously, things could be worse. Can you imagine if we had Scott Gomez?

I don't know how much the Canucks can upgrade this team without running into cap problems. Last year's team got to game 7 of the SCF and I think we are better this year.

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Of course Canucks fans were frustrated with him when he was on the 2nd line last year, but now we have Booth who is doing a damn good job on the 2nd line. Raymond is a pretty reliable 3rd liner. Sure, he may not drive to the middle as much as he did in those first few games back, but his speed still causes fits for other teams. Seriously, things could be worse. Can you imagine if we had Scott Gomez?

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As a third liner player he is excellent defensively in the playoffs. We have no one right now in our system even close to being as capable and ready to play. Not every single player lights it up in the playoffs either.

I mean you could be critical of Higgins too and say he's way slower than Raymond, doesn't have great puck handling and is not overly strong on the backcheck. Should we get rid of him too?

You forgot to mention that he also has chemistry with Kesler. They look great together when they are both on their game. Flying all over the ice. So, he can step to that line and play too which is a bonus, he already knows the players and the system.

Lastly this is all kind of regurgitated crap, like Luongo always bellflops. You can't always cookie cutter everything. Raymond doesn't do your little play scenario every time either like others have tried to insinuate over the last couple years.

Oh yeah, he was probably our best forechecker in the playoffs last year as well.

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I like how he plays. I like guys who back check, particularly when they are wingers. In the new NHL where two line passes are permitted and the "stretch pass" is so common, his speed and defensive responsibility are under-rated - and those things are constants - scoring is not - not even for the best of players.

Also I keep hearing this thing - his style of play doesn't suit the playoffs... By that logic Zetterburg, Datsyiuk, and Lidstrom don't "suit the playoffs" - they are skill and finesse guys... who have SC rings. As a matter of fact - if you look at Lidstrom, he never hits anyone (a few years back he had 1 body check in the entire playoffs), he doesn't block shots, he has never had a single fight, and he doesn't cheap shot anyone. Nevertheless, he is on a short list of the all time best defensemen...and not bad in the playoffs either.

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Guest Lelongooo

Don't know why everyone's going so crazy. Everyone's got a different opinion on Raymond, it's not the first time that he's been critisized. I personally think that Raymond's a good player however I agree that he's not exactly the most physically tough individual. Oh and welcome to CDC OP lol.

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He doesn't draw penalties because he doesn't go hard to the net. Why would anyone hook him if he's just going around the outside and behind the net? That's not a threat so generally, d-man just follow him and guide him to the end boards without much worry about giving up a scoring chance

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can't agree more with the OP... it drives me nuts when he rips into the zone, skates around the net, and throws a terrible pass in front to nobody.

it really is amusing how many people are so attached to him - and i get it... guys been on the team for his whole nhl career, he came back from a broken back, and hes always had a lot of promise.

time to face facts - he isnt a prospect anymore, and he hasnt lived up to the potential. i'm not the only one who sees this either... how long did it take for raymond to get knocked back down to the third line when booth came back healthy? immediatly?

raymond doesnt bring enough to the table for a third liner... and with hodgson and hansen playing the best hockey of their careers, i dont see why we need to keep this fast skating puck hog any longer. theres plenty of 3rd line players that could really gel with hodgson, hes already got a better shot and better hockey sense than raymond.. might as well put him with someone who can pass.

oh and 'in before the talk about how great he is defensively'.. his two (admittedly very nice) breakups on the backcheck were the first time ive noticed him defensively in weeks

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Do you think CanucksJay made the font so small to see how many people would actually struggle through to read the whole redundant post and then complain about how they read it and found it redundant even though all the signs were pointing to this post being redundant. Well I fell for it and man was this post REDUNDANT! lol

oh and as for my opinion well raymond lacks finish and isnt the best passer but has great speed which creates open ice for his teammates, is a great penalty killer and backchecks hard. If we can swap him for a phyiscal presence that can contribute ala the flavor of the month travis moen then pull the trigger, if not then oh well, hope you have a great playoffs mase.

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"Tough to improve as a player when you have a f'd up back."- Cody Hodgson

Perhaps MayRay has yet to reach his full potential. But perhaps we've seen it already. Who knows. But deadline deals by contenders are usually ones that add depth, not shake it up.

If we wanted to trade MayRay or CS, we would've done it already. Cheers.

TOML

"The things you don't have are sometimes the things you don't want or need."

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