CanucksFanMike Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 hey guys, I was watching Keith Ballard closely in the playoffs. Although they were eliminated in five, I thought that quietly Keith Ballard was very solid. He moved the puck well, and was never caught out of position. For the first time, I thought he looked like a legit top 4 defenceman in a Canucks uniform. So, I think that next year, unless they sign/ trade for an upgrade in the top 4, Ballard should be given a third chance (i know, getting old) to prove he can play top 4 minutes and stay there for the whole season. He looked good in the playoffs and I think he deserves a shot at proving he can continue is solid play into next season. A lot of people might trade him to get rid of his contract (4.2 M for the next two seasons) but if he plays a top 4 role next year I think it would be worth the money. So long as he stays in position and avoids turnovers defensively, uses his great ice vision and puck-moving ability, and jumps into the rush at appropriate times, he doesn't need to make a lot of noise. He just needs to stay out of the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, which he has failed to do for the past two years in Vancouver. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUPERTKBD Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 I think I've never seen this sort of thing posted before... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GradinToSmyl Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 I think I've never seen this sort of thing posted before... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanucksFanMike Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 I think I've never seen this sort of thing posted before... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grape Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Ballard's speed is tremendously underrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grape Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 What do you mean? I always see CDC trashing Ballard, Raymond, and others... I'm just saying we should keep him next year because he could work out as a top 4 dman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUPERTKBD Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Tell us what you really think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GradinToSmyl Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Ok. I really think I haven't seen this before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smashian Kassian Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 I agree 100%, and I didn't think he was bad at all the Regular season, he was average. Then in the playoffs he was our best D-man, I watched him closely like you and I agree with all your points. I still think he should play with Edler, move Edler to the right side and Ballard to the left, they did it in the pre-season and I didn't think they were terrible. AV should give them time together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaku Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Ballard's speed is tremendously underrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithers joe Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 we could move hammy or edler to the third pairing, to make room for ballard in the top 4....too bad he can't play on the right side....edler can't play the right side either..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeanBeef Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 I 100% agree. I actually posted about this in the Luongo breakdown thread a couple of hours ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GradinToSmyl Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 we could move hammy or edler to the third pairing, to make room for ballard in the top 4....too bad he can't play on the right side....edler can't play the right side either..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortorella's Rant Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Keith Ballard is NOT a bad player. Coming to Vancouver killed his career for whatever reason. He was pretty much a top pairing on most teams to being scratched. He kind of fell off the face of the planet like Redden and Gomez, for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GradinToSmyl Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Keith Ballard is NOT a bad player. Coming to Vancouver killed his career for whatever reason. He was pretty much a top pairing on most teams to being scratched. He kind of fell off the face of the planet like Redden and Gomez, for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortorella's Rant Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 His 1st year here was coming off of hip surgery then a concussion. I'd say this year is his chance to prove something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GradinToSmyl Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 I hope so. I kinda feel for the guy. Went from a very good defender to an overpaid plugger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Brahma Bull Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 I'd rather have Ballard in our top 6 than Raymond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underachieving Hero of CDC Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 I think he's still got it in him to be a top 4 guy on the Nucks. He's definately got to show a hell of a lot more than he did last year though. Hopefully, a full summer of training agrees with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surtur Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Ballard's speed is tremendously underrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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