Sugar baby watermelon Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Keep Ballard playing with Tanev. Tanev acts as the stay at home defenceman, while Ballard can roam a little, like he already does. They already have good chemistry. Like someone already said, if he can be packaged in a trade to free up cap space in the future then maybe that. I love his feistiness on the ice, he does not take crap and he can back up his talk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gopher canuck Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Play him. He will make mistakes as all of our defensemen do save Hamhuis. Bieksa can make 4 boneheaded mistakes in a game and Ballard 1 and it will be Ballard that sees his ice time reduced. He is used to playing and being utilized. Show some confidence in him and he will produce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primal Optimist Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 any team that considers Keith Ballard its 'sixth' dman on the depth chart is a fantastically well stocked team. That is all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeywoot Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 I don't think he'll ever "fit" in a 3rd pairing role. He simply won't be able to put out his best, if he's going to get so few minutes. I've been surprised he hasn't really gotten a look on PP2. I believe the Ballard-Tanev should get more minutes/game. There's no real need to overplay the top-2 pairings. If Ballard-Tanev got more minutes rushing the puck up with the top-line, instead of the bottom-6, I'm sure they'd put up better numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollumpus Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 I'm good with Ballard as a 5th d-man. Paired with Tanev he has been good. The only on ice negative I see with them is a bit of a lack of size/weight. Assuming there is a trade and the Canucks pick up a big, stay at home d-man to play the right side, then we could see a whole lot more from Ballard. regards, G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L'Orange Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 The reason Ballard "struggles" here is the same reason Hodgson, Grabner, Shirokov, Wellwood, etc. "struggled"... they are being used incorrectly by a stubborn coach. He likes pluggers or two-way players... may god help you if you aren't a grinder or a Sedin. I hope Ballard gets a fair chance this year, at least on the PP. I am perfectly happy with a Ballard - Tanev 3rd pairing. Not like he has much trade value anyways, and we don't have anybody who can eat ~15-17 minutes in his place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L'Orange Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 I'm going to go WAY out on a limb here and make a suggestion that probably sounds completely whacked and will get me flamed for the rest of the summer.... Ok.....everybody ready......here goes...... We wait and see what he does in Training camp and how he fits with the new revamped group! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L'Orange Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 That depends on what you consider equitable and fair. As far as I'm concerned Ballard got the ice time he earned in his first season here and played his way to the pressbox in the playoffs. He was a disaster for most of the season. He'll never outproduce Edler, nor will he ever be better defensively than Hamhuis. That means he'll be third pair with third pair ice time. Now onto Raymond. People seem to have really short memories around here. When Raymond first came up he was moved down the lines and often benched. Sound familiar all you Hodgson, Grabner and Shirokov fanboys? I can tell you what gets AV's "favoritism" among forwards. Defensive responsibility. Raymonds defensive game was not very good when he came up and he frequently lost ice time as a result. Just as AV has done with Kesler, Burrows and Hansen as they've developed. Just as he did with Hodgson, Grabner and Shirokov. So where's the favoritism? Raymond has gotten to the point that he will get some slack for not producing because he has in the past and doesn't hurt the team defensively. AV has shown time and time again he'll give players "some time" to get out of a slump as long as they are defensively responsible. When Raymond didn't come out of it what happened? Has was moved to the 3rd line. Then the fourth line. Then spent a few in the pressbox. So where's the "favoritism"? How about Rome over Ballard? Lets see, Ballard was a disaster while Rome played a safe simple game. Well now, I can't understand why Rome would get the ice time. It took Ballard almost half the season just to get up to speed from his hip surgery. When Edler injured his back opportunity came knocking and Ballard was awful on the PP and was a disaster with Ehrhoff. In comes Mr safe, simple Rome. Opportunity came knocking again when Hamhuis got his concussion. Again Ballard was awful with Bieksa in a shutdown role. In comes Mr safe/simple Rome again. Then came Ballards knee injury and he was just not very good in any role the rest of the season. So where's the favoritism? Rome may not be a star and he'll likely never be a regular above the bottom pair. But he plays a safe simple physical game. Which is what you need from a bottom pair guy. The only favoritism is in your head. The favoritism towards your own chosen ones that haven't earned their ice time yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadiangunner Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Trade Ballard and Raymond to the Islanders for Matt martin and a 2nd rounder! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastal1 Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 any team that considers Keith Ballard its 'sixth' dman on the depth chart is a fantastically well stocked team. That is all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jester13 Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 What are Keith Ballard’s greatest attributes and flaws? CDC used to say that Keith Ballard was poorly used by AV and was more upset at AV and his love affair for Rome than Keith Ballard. Somewhere along the way, this idea changed and people are leaning towards trading Ballard and throwing him in all types of trade proposals from Luongo to Raymond, etc. Has this change come from the realization that AV will never play him so we might as well get something for him? OR, is his play actually poor where we don’t want him on the team anymore? I feel that his upside is so much more than his current value that trading him might not be in the best interest of the team. If used correctly, I see Ballard as a good skating , puck moving d-man who is probably the best Canuck d-man to skate the puck up the ice. (Much like Ehrhoff) He has a great ability to throw timely hip checks. Defense wise, he is a poor man’s Salo. His positioning is usually solid but he is not the best at handling a big man along the boards. Gets caught on random dekes (Like Edler). His contract might not be a bargain but it’s not bad either. Am I missing something? I think the only reason why we should trade him is if we can get a significant upgrade on defence via trade. He shouldn't be a throw in on a deal or a cap dump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonshinefe Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 We should be playing him with Edler and the Sedins is what we should be doing. He can back check with his speed and stick up for the Sedins at the same time. I bet he'd be better defensively playing with them too because he would be forced to be more aware of his surroundings and ready at all times. He's a good defenseman, he's just been under utilized by our coach IMO. If played in a proper role ie. power play he could have a break out year at any time. In the end we will all just have to wait for hindsight to enlighten us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButterBean Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Ballard and Edler are both left sided D. They tried using Ballard if I recall correctly on the right side and it was a disaster. And AV is certainly not going to put Edler on his off-side and hurt his production just to appease Ballard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Trade Ballard to the Oilers for Colten Teubert. 6'4", 195 lbs, Right Handed Shot, From White Rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonshinefe Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Ballard played nothing but well when paired with Edler. Ballard's mobility worked well with him and there were sustaining good pressure in the offensive zone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baggins Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Rome was a turnover machine. Oh and let's not forget his timely check to Horton's head. You favoritism is blatant and dated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuck nit Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Making the first pass out of the defensive zone is one of the most crucial plays a d man makes. If the wingers can not adeptly pick up a pass or are afraid to get pasted ,as many wingers are,then the d man has to carry it out or risk being hemmed in for another minute by the opposition. Which d man is capable of carrying the puck out of his own zone more effectively -the fastest skater on the Canucks (Ballard) or one of the slowest (Rome).? If the d man has a partner that cannot pass or carry the puck out of his end effectively,the remaining d man must do it for him. On many teams one d man barely ever carries or passes the puck out,allowing the more capable d man to do this important task, Finally,giveaway. stats are highly flawed and cannot be counted on for any major deductions regarding d man competence with the puck. Obviously, this kind of discrepancy in how frequently a scorer records a giveaway causes problems, but if we look just at road giveaways, we get around this issue to some extent. (We can do this various other scorer biases too -- all scorers charge the home team with a lot more giveaways than the road team, some scorers ding defensemen more while others ding forwards more, etc.) Yet even after we make that correction, I'm still not crazy about giveaway totals. The best players will be on the ice the most and will have the puck the most, and so they will also have the most chances for giveaways. The leading forwards in giveaways are Ilya Kovalchuk, Ryan Getzlaf, Joe Thornton, Phil Kessel, and Jason Spezza -- not exactly a group of chumps. Erik Karlsson, PK Subban, Keith Yandle, Dion Phaneuf, Brent Burns, and Zdeno Chara are among the top 10 defensemen in giveaways. Until someone also tracks how many times each player touched the puck without turning it over, I'm going to be hesitant to read much into the giveaways. http://www.sbnation....ers-goaltenders Giveaway stats are misleading at best and highly inconclusive in defining a d man's capabilities to both defend and then effectively transition the play forward into the opposition's end of the rink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baggins Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Making the first pass out of the defensive zone is one of the most crucial plays a d man makes. If the wingers can not adeptly pick up a pass or are afraid to get pasted ,as many wingers are,then the d man has to carry it out or risk being hemmed in for another minute by the opposition. Which d man is capable of carrying the puck out of his own zone more effectively -the fastest skater on the Canucks (Ballard) or one of the slowest (Rome).? If the d man has a partner that cannot pass or carry the puck out of his end effectively,the remaining d man must do it for him. On many teams one d man barely ever carries or passes the puck out,allowing the more capable d man to do this important task, Finally,giveaway. stats are highly flawed and cannot be counted on for any major deductions regarding d man competence with the puck. Obviously, this kind of discrepancy in how frequently a scorer records a giveaway causes problems, but if we look just at road giveaways, we get around this issue to some extent. (We can do this various other scorer biases too -- all scorers charge the home team with a lot more giveaways than the road team, some scorers ding defensemen more while others ding forwards more, etc.) Yet even after we make that correction, I'm still not crazy about giveaway totals. The best players will be on the ice the most and will have the puck the most, and so they will also have the most chances for giveaways. The leading forwards in giveaways are Ilya Kovalchuk, Ryan Getzlaf, Joe Thornton, Phil Kessel, and Jason Spezza -- not exactly a group of chumps. Erik Karlsson, PK Subban, Keith Yandle, Dion Phaneuf, Brent Burns, and Zdeno Chara are among the top 10 defensemen in giveaways. Until someone also tracks how many times each player touched the puck without turning it over, I'm going to be hesitant to read much into the giveaways. http://www.sbnation....ers-goaltenders Giveaway stats are misleading at best and highly inconclusive in defining a d man's capabilities to both defend and then effectively transition the play forward into the opposition's end of the rink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonshinefe Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 As Rome is subjected to the very same "system flaws" as Ballard one could still draw a conclusion there from the numbers. Anybody that believes Ballard played well throughout his first season here had to be completely blinded by his occasional hip check. He wasn't very good. I wrote that season off to his injuries. This past season he was better. But was he $4.2m worth better? No. I just don't think he's suited to that bottom pairing role which isn't going to change anytime in the near future on this team with Edler and Hamhuis ahead of him. Which is why he should be replaced by a physical defensive hulk that's good at clearing the crease. Which is one of Ballards weakest areas and we'd gain some cap space in the bargain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuck nit Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Rome is twenty pounds heavier than Tanev and is much more of a physical force around the net than Tanev may ever become. Rome has ten times the pro level experience over Tanev. Tanev can position himself and transition the play forward in a much more efficient manner. The Canucks organisation have decided Tanev's attributes are more important than just being able to clear the crease well,as Rome could. The Canucks had a big,physical crease clearing D man and let him go for nothing. "Aaron is a physical defensive defenseman who adds size and grit to our blue line," said Nieuwendyk. "He competes at a very high level and helps make our team harder to play against. We're very pleased to add Aaron to our team for the next three years." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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