thema Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Our D is middleweight at best. We will get thumped out in the playoffs again without some kind of heavyweight reinforcement. Side note: How is it that Kesler is still injured after 8+months??? I am really concerned about the canucks doctors. Hodgson, Willie Mitchell now Kesler. Who knows what other blunders they have made? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicNuckleHead09 Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 IMO, it isn't depth that we lack... It is the absence of that one big "f-off" defense man or defensive forward that can stop a cycle counter-attack. When the puck is in the offensive end for 3/4 of a period, and then collapses back towards our net the guy that stands in front of the net needs to be large and be able to stop that "crash the net" play we saw all too often with Lou in net. I hope this is the type of guy that an already consummated trade will bring our way Go Canucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrene Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 Your logic makes sense in that we could get by without a center if Kesler comes back for the playoffs. Even if we are kind of weak at in the 3/4 center postion. However, you've missed the fact that when healthy we need a second line right winger far more than we need a 5/6 defenceman that can fill if injuries occur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watermelons Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 I'd like to see Ballard step up to a top 4 role replacing either Garrison, Hamhuis, or Edler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter.S-Kerouac Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Our top-4 is one of the best in the league, but our center position is currently not good enough to win a Cup. Our defence needs one more big, physical veteran guy who can play 20 minutes to play on our 3rd pairing, however we need one 40-point scorer at the center position to be viable for a Cup. Looking at Cup winners down the list, they all have more than 4 NHL centers who can play on the wing. I believe Boston had something like 7 against us, and even L.A was stacked with centers. Ideally we need players who can step up in case of injury. That 40-point center would be able to replace Kesler, and a veteran defenceman can jump up in case of inevidible injury to our top-4 defence who all have injury history. We missed our chance at Hecht but Arnott as a 30 point guy wouldn't be too bad. Pavel Kubina would be perfect for our bottom pairing too. These are easy signings that give us this much more playoff-ready, physical lineup: Sedin - Sedin - Burrows Higgins - Kesler - Booth Hansen - Arnott - Raymond Kassian - Malhotra - Lapierre Edler - Garrison Bieksa - Hamhuis Kubina - Ballard Tanev Alberts This suddenly gives us a much bigger, more physical lineup. Now, no matter what combination or permutation of lines and pairings, we always have one or two physical giants on the ice to protect our skilled guys. That's how you win Cups nowadays - the perfect mix of skill and physicality on the ice at the same time. L.A did it with guys like Williams/Kopitar/Doughty/Mitchell, Boston did it with Krejci/Lucic/Chara, Chicago did it with Kane/Toews/Seabrook/Keith. These are high-end skilled players playing with high-end tough guys who ensure the stars survive the grind of the playoffs. We definately didn't have this in 2011, where there'd be the Sedins and Burrows on the ice with our offensive defencemen Ehrhoff and Edler who aren't tough enough to protect the twins. Now, with either Bieksa, Garrison or Kubina on the ice at the same time, no one would get into a scrum with the twins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ugli Fruit Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Ehrhoff was terrible in his last playoffs with us, I definitely do NOT miss him. He got bullied physically and turned the puck over a ton. Plus he left an elite team in the Canucks to go get a bigger pay day on a bubble team. That says a lot about his character and will to win it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.DirtyDangles Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 What the heck, Ballard totally has the skill set of a top 4 defencemen. Easily. He's also proven to play in the top pairing role in Florida despite his crappy team, he was still a plus 14. A.V just needs to give him more confidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonshinefe Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 I'd argue that. Not suggesting Ehrhoff is the strongest D-man we had, but he was one of the few D-men who could actively score and deal with the Hawks, even in previous years. He was a big reason we beat the Hawks. He played pretty average against the Preds, but nobody played very well except Kesler. Everyone else was okay at best. He was injured vs the Sharks. The injury carried over into the SCF. I don't think his performance really reflected how he is in the playoffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Systemaddict Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Ballard can step in as a top 4 in a pinch, even Tanev can. Jim Vandermeer would be a nice addition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownUndaCanuck Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Ballard might be able to step into our top-4 if one of our big guys go down, sure. Obviously he wouldn't be as good, but what happens after that? In the 2011 playoffs we had Hamhuis, Ehrhoff and Edler all nursing injuries. Say we sustain 2 injuries to our top-4. For example, Hamhuis re-aggravates his injury and Edler has back spasms. Here's our new defence. Bieksa - Garrison Ballard - Tanev Alberts - Joslin Any team should be able to deal with 1 injury at a time, rarely do we have a fully healthy defence. However, the real test is during the playoffs when teams sustain 2 or 3 injuries at a time. That's when this depth counts, which is why we need far more depth. I'm comfortable with Alberts playing 12-15 minutes a game, but I don't want to see Joslin carry that load. Obviously Bieksa and Garrison can play 25 minutes if they have to, Ballard-Tanev can play 20 and our bottom pairing with 15 but not for very long which is why we need an extra guy like Vandemeer or Kubina who can eat up those minutes. Hypothetically, say we sign Kubina to a 1 year deal and during the playoffs, Edler gets a bad injury, Hamhuis gets hit in the head again and Ballard gets knocked out for a bit. Those are 3 devastating injuries normally, but here's our patchwork pairings: Bieksa - Garrison Kubina - Tanev Joslin - Alberts That is still a very good defence which maintains a good amount of physicality and offence. When everyone's healthy here's how it looks: Edler - Garrison Bieksa - Hamhuis Kubina - Ballard Tanev Alberts Joslin Deep defences win championships because in times of injury they are still good enough to get the job done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wai_lai416 Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Scoring depth is more important than defensive depth you cant win if u cant score regardless how good ur defense is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smashian Kassian Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 I think we have 6 guys capable of playing in the top 4, Ballard and Tanev will probably be the best 3rd pair we have had in years, possibly the best in the league, if not the best one of them. Adding Barker as a depth option is great IMO, then we will see how the Luongo situation, and possible other situations/trades turn out, I wouldn't mind getting Franson from TO seeing as he doesn't really want to be there, but now that he signed their isn't much weight with that from a negotiation perspective, he did struggle last year so his value is lower than ever though. if we don't get Bozak or someone else the guy I would want in free agency is Daymond Langkow, I think he would be a great addition for the playoffs. Better than Arnott IMO, is solid in all areas, brings grit, skating ability, some skill, is a warrior, will do whatever it takes, also brings veteran presence and was great for Phoenix last year during their run. I think getting say. Kadri, Bozak, Franson, 2nd. Isn't a reach of a deal, it offers us depth at every area we need, aswell as some pieces for the future, for Toronto they don't give up any major pieces and add a major piece, Franson didn't play a big role for them last year anyways, they just signed Mottau, they also have Holzer and Rielly who might make the team, aswell as Komisarek who can peharps regain an important role under Carlyle's system so Franson isn't much of a loss, They have some center's that can play top 9 roles (Connolly, Lombardi, Grabovski, McClement, maybe even JVR) Then they also keep there 1st so it's not a ton from their side. If we can get these moves I think our D will be among the deepest in the league and we will also have a solid center ice position with Henrik, Kes, Bozak, Lappy, Manny, Ebbett, Kadri, Schroeder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownUndaCanuck Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Scoring depth is more important than defensive depth you cant win if u cant score regardless how good ur defense is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pears Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 switch Hansen and Raymond as ray shoots left and Hansen right. I'm also not so keen on Arnott. Kubina at the right price could be a fit but I highly doubt it that would be short term fix. I hate to say it but a trade with chi town might be the best fit if we are unable to pry prospects from TO(ideally no salary coming back in a Luo deal for prospects would be perfect). That said Bolland + would be a great fit on our third C and would allow Shredder to fill in on 2nd c in kes's absence. Because Bolland and Max lap and Moho would be more than able of handling defensive duties in Kes's absence and as we Know Shredder only performs with talent on his line. when Kes comes back boom your looking at a very frustrating team to play against 234lines will be very hard nosed. I would like to see this. (to start the season) Sedin Sedin Kass Burr Shredder Booth higg Bolland Raymond Hansen Moho Maxlap Playoffs Sedin Sedin Burr Booth Kes kass Higg Bolland Raymond Hansen Moho Max Lap I personally love our defence wouldn't change a thing Can't wait to see Garri out there great pickup to fill in Salo's shoes he has the shot and so much more not to mention much younger. No slight to Salo he will always be a palo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuck nit Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Scoring depth is more important than defensive depth you cant win if u cant score regardless how good ur defense is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamJamIam Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 OP wins the internets. Cam Barker signed. Clearly MG agrees that defensive depth is a major focus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navyblue Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Too bad Ehrhoff is gone. People knocked him but he was a big part of our offensive success and powerplay. I guess he made the choice to leave..... Compare him to Edler and even with Edler's hitting I would take Christian a hundred times over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smashian Kassian Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Too bad Ehrhoff is gone. People knocked him but he was a big part of our offensive success and powerplay. I guess he made the choice to leave..... Compare him to Edler and even with Edler's hitting I would take Christian a hundred times over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smashian Kassian Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 I think we should sign Daymond Langkow, he brings everything we would need, can play anywhere in the bottom 9, brings grit, skill, is warrior who does whatever it takes. A real heart and soul guy come playoff time. Was great for Pheonix last year. I would rather him than Arnott myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navyblue Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Really, I wouldn't. Edler is the far better player IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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