Window for winning the Stanley Cup is officially closed

[VanCityScout]

when one window closes another one opens

hang in there bud!!

[Jester13]

Agreed, 1st game of the season and we're effed. Trade Luongo and Schneider.

[nickels]

Unfortunately, this poster is fairly dead on. The Canucks have assembled a nice core moving forward, but will not be able to compete for a cup again with this group. Schneider will be great, and at a very fair price. Our 20-25 million dollar big 4/5 on defence are way too small to compete with the Blues, Kings and others in the west. Bieksa,Hamhuis, even Garrison. Edler is big, but doesn't play big. Ballard 4 Mil ???.

Outside of the two aging Sedins, our offence is a complete joke. After last years 2nd half and playoffs, Gillis's # 1 priority should have been to get a couple forwards who could put the puck in the net. Outside the twins(and Kesler if healthy), we probably don't have a top 60 forward in the league. How is that possible for a supposed contender ?? I like Burrows, but dozens and dozens of players would have his, or better #'s playing with the twins. We are stuck with a bunch of players nobody else wants...Lapierre,Higgins,Booth,Malhotra(hate putting him in this group, but he is useless now),Raymond,Volpatti, Ebbett......COME ON !!!! Where's the talent/skill ??? All hard working good guys.

Name a guy on our roster that could score those 2 goals 42 yr old Selanne scored last nite...NOBODY

Gillis's other huge mistake for this year was not taking ANYTHING at all for Luongo. Sorry guys, but he is done. The more he plays, the more evident it will become. We will be stuck buying him out after this year, and lose the Cap room this Spring. There will be a ton of great offensive players available at the deadline....with teams out of it prepping for the new cap next year. Guys like Kessel,Getzlaf,Perry etc. if their teams fall out of contention,and don't think they'll resign.

We should have taken Bozak as a 3rd line C, and anything, just to free up the space if nothing else. I like MG as a person, and believe he can sell Vancouver, and the team to get people to sign here for less (who wouldn't want to play here?). But he has absolutely no ability to judge (and more importantly) predict talent.

All this said, with a healthy Kesler (if healthy our MValuable player IMO), we will be a middle of the road playoff team for the next half decade at least. The rink will sell out, the team will continue to make gobs of money, but as this poster stated, the window for a Cup has unfortunately been shut, due to Gillis's inability to continue making this team better.

[Beeekz]

My daddy can beat up your daddy.

[Noheart]

Guess this means it's time to pick a new team

[**Pavel4Life**]

You're right Anima!

So, why don't you stop coming to this website and posting, because clearly cheering for the Canucks is not going to be the "thing" to do pretty soon.

You have 29 other teams to cheer/troll on. Let me be the first to say... Please cheer for someone else.

Thank you!

[MarchandSucks]

Unfortunately, this poster is fairly dead on. The Canucks have assembled a nice core moving forward, but will not be able to compete for a cup again with this group. Schneider will be great, and at a very fair price. Our 20-25 million dollar big 4/5 on defence are way too small to compete with the Blues, Kings and others in the west. Bieksa,Hamhuis, even Garrison. Edler is big, but doesn't play big. Ballard 4 Mil ???.

Outside of the two aging Sedins, our offence is a complete joke. After last years 2nd half and playoffs, Gillis's # 1 priority should have been to get a couple forwards who could put the puck in the net. Outside the twins(and Kesler if healthy), we probably don't have a top 60 forward in the league. How is that possible for a supposed contender ?? I like Burrows, but dozens and dozens of players would have his, or better #'s playing with the twins. We are stuck with a bunch of players nobody else wants...Lapierre,Higgins,Booth,Malhotra(hate putting him in this group, but he is useless now),Raymond,Volpatti, Ebbett......COME ON !!!!

Gillis's other huge mistake for this year was not taking ANYTHING at all for Luongo. Sorry guys, but he is done. The more he plays, the more evident it will become. We will be stuck buying him out after this year, and lose the Cap room this Spring. There will be a ton of great offensive players available at the deadline....with teams out of it prepping for the new cap next year. Guys like Kessel,Getzlaf,Perry etc. if their teams fall out of contention,and don't think they'll resign.

We should have taken Bozak as a 3rd line C, and anything, just to free up the space if nothing else. I like MG as a person, and believe he can sell Vancouver, and the team to get people to sign here for less (who wouldn't want to play here?). But he has absolutely no ability to judge (and more importantly) predict talent.

All this said, with a healthy Kessler (if healthy our MValuable player IMO), we will be a middle of the road playoff team for the next half decade at least. The rink will sell out, the team will continue to make gobs of money, but as this poster stated, the window for a Cup has unfortunately been shut, due to Gillis's inability to continue making this team better.

[stanley2012]

I love this sport. Jump off the Bandwagon please -- it was one game. Every time I see a topic like this I just think "Mr. Reputable"

[canucksnihilist]

Just relax everyone...

Since when do the Canucks under AV start the season ready to go?

There is a 2nd line, it just isn't playing (Kesler and Booth) right now.

2 ways to think about it:

1: Luongo is a distraction. Luongo is a TOTAL distraction right now, cause everyone knows he is gone. 2nd guess the GM? If I want out, will I get traded? Or just put on the bench? What about Schneider having him hover over your shoulder...

2. AV needs to go if they don't get their stuff together. The players aren't focused. They don't show the intensity required. This is kind of a pattern last year and this one on the ice... maybe they don't want to play for AV. Any time you hear "I'm playing for my team-mates" and stuff like that, there is a coaching problem. I heard it from the players last year, but not before...

But how big are those 2 issues? Are they really kind of small or will they fester? Funny how winning a few games glosses over a lot of problems.

[BenDrinkin]

I suggest negative Nelly's watch another sport, or at least wait until there are playoff implications before ranting about the sky falling.

[puckdrop81]

Problem 1:

45 million committed to 10 of 23 players:

Schneider

Garrison, Edler, Hamhuis, Bieksa

Sedins, Burrows, Kesler, Booth

Next year's salary cap is just a touch over 60 million. 15 mill left for the rest (13 players) meaning there will be no more upgrading via UFA or trades unless someone from the above list is traded

Problem 2:

The core above didn't get the job done in 2011 (peak of our window) and are now older, more expensive and for some, got health issues (Kesler, Edler, Booth)

Problem 3:

We got absolutely nothing from the farm that can give us a boost. Where are our own versions of hubedeau, tarasenko or kadri?? In fact we are probably at the bottom of the league in terms of quality prospects. Edbett and Schroeder is the best we got? Kassian is a total failure.

Conclusion: likely mediocrity for the next 5 years until we start rebuilding again. How many more years before the Canucks can win the Cup?

[TheCammer]

Problem 1:

45 million committed to 10 of 23 players:

Schneider

Garrison, Edler, Hamhuis, Bieksa

Sedins, Burrows, Kesler, Booth

Next year's salary cap is just a touch over 60 million. 15 mill left for the rest (13 players) meaning there will be no more upgrading via UFA or trades unless someone from the above list is traded

Problem 2:

The core above didn't get the job done in 2011 (peak of our window) and are now older, more expensive and for some, got health issues (Kesler, Edler, Booth)

Problem 3:

We got absolutely nothing from the farm that can give us a boost. Where are our own versions of hubedeau, tarasenko or kadri?? In fact we are probably at the bottom of the league in terms of quality prospects. Edbett and Schroeder is the best we got? Kassian is a total failure.

Conclusion: likely mediocrity for the next 5 years until we start rebuilding again. How many more years before the Canucks can win the Cup?

[casofilia.canuck.nz]

Give everyone a break. "One loss does not a season make". Would everyone please wait till we have a losing run of 6 before you put in the boots. As is said we have lost the first game of a season a few times and the "world didn't end" nor did the "sky fall on our heads".

Go Canucks Go

[elvis15]

• Jensen, Corrado, Gaunce, etc.

• Low drafting due to extended years of on ice success

• Possible upgrades coming back in goalie trade

• Core being locked in is a good thing

• #signsthelockoutisover

[Burr's bandwagon]

while we are thin-ish on prospects we do have:

Tanev- solid D man

Kassian- looks ok but needs more than 10 min a game to develop- also would look better playing with better players.

Jensen- playing very well against men in SEL

Corrado- will likely make the team next year.

Cannauton- has shown some PP promise in AHL cannot give up on him yet

Lack- 2 straight years of stellar AHL play- unfortunate injury this year

Schroeder-would be on the roster if Kes and Booth were healthy, as AV said he would want Schroeder to be surrounded by better players when they bring him up

That's 7 prospects ready to play NHL hockey this year/next year

Anima- glad you brought up huberdeau and Kadri- FLA and TO sucked for a mega long time and got top 5 picks to show for it. That's what happens- you tank- you get top 5 picks- you get better- you get bottom 5 picks. So figure it out Anima!!!

[UFCanuck]

Your window for posting good topics never opened.

[Rick 2.0]

Someone better tell the players they're not going to win the Cup. It might save them some effort, energy, and disappointment. *sigh* And here I thought we could just be happy to see hockey again, but this OP has really set me straight with his official statements.

So... um... Go Habs?

[Burr's bandwagon]

i hear Toronto is still accepting new fans... You should look into it...

[missdoh]

Are you serious Amina? Just based on this, you're going to nail the coffin shut on the Canucks? Then you're not true fan! I think it's a curse that no one could break.. the Saturday Season Opening curse. Notice how the home teams that opened on Saturday failed to give their fans something to cheer about? Now do you see them getting ready to jump off the bandwagon because they "fear" that their team is losing it? NO.

The answer is NO.

For all those, this might be my first reply to forum posts but I have been following more threads and seriously, it's time to grab a scrubber and some cleaning products and scrub out all the negativity!

The last thing our boys need is negativity coming from their fans!

I know people are all annoyed about the lockout, annoyed about having a shortened season but seriously, we GOT HOCKEY BACK. Isn't that better than nothing?

From what I see: our boys did their best last night, and if there was ANYONE to blame, it would be us. The fans. Why? Because we're putting so much stress on them, expecting our boys to wow us, to bring hockey back to life in our arena again that we fail to remember one important point. It's just one game and we're making it sound like the last game they'll ever play?

Schneider did his very best and I'm proud of him, and I'm even more proud of Luongo!

I love the boys more than anything, this team is my team, is our team, is everyone's (that lives in/from Vancouver) team.

So let's stop with all the negativity, Amina, you especially, and divert all that into some positive thoughts and cheer our boys on tonight! Same the those bandwagon fans.. don't be ready to jump just yet, if you do jump and regret later on, you're not welcome back. You're no true fan, you're just a wannabe.

[-Vintage Canuck-]

So according to CDC we were supposed to go 48-0-0 this season.