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Garrison and Bieska


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As Joe pointed out, Ballard can.

AV should use him in that puck moving role. Although I disagree that none of defenseman can skate fast enough, and that they aren't puck movers, I agree none quite what Ehrhoff brought, although I think Ballard has the skating ability that Ehrhoff has. And enough to be an asset to the PP.

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Stay at home defense have become extinct since 2007 since the game has changed to a faster pace. One dimensional defensive minded defense man are hard to find these days. Stop crying about everything, you're acting like a baby. It's just a game. Who cares. "This stupid, that's stupid" please. Give it a rest.

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Disagree, this year and in the past he has shown he has it.

He did even at times in the prior few years.

¸Just look at tonight, he made a great play to setup the JS chance that injured Lehtonen, and stepped up on another chance and rung it off the crossbar.

He totally has the ability to be a puck mover.

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Exactly....and that was the only year I thought Bieksa played within himself enough to be truly effective overall. He has always been so high risk/high reward. The year they went to the finals the combination of a steady defensive partner, a specific role (shutdown D), and no expectation to drive the offense as anything other than a secondary guy made him the most effective he has ever been in his career. Wasn't that a contract year too?

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I agree. It comes down to having the green light to play his game which he never seems to have in VAN and to have confidence in his own ability to do so which again has been beaten down by a complete lack of offensive opportunity here. Did any of you watch him in Florida and Phoenix? The bigger and more important minutes he plays, the better he plays offensively, defensively, and physically. He has done it everywhere he has been until he got to Vancouver and parked in AV's doghouse. And he is probably the best stretch passer on our D by a long shot. He can at least hit forwards at speed in the neutral zone unlike most of the other guys. If the Canucks do not want to use that to their advantage that is their own failing from a coaching perspective. But our D has never recovered losing that ability from Ehrhoff. It completely changed the Canucks transition game to slow and predictable.

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We'll have to agree to disagree. Every time AV has given Ballard the opportunity to play an offensive role, Ballard gets destroyed defensively. Most notably, his first or was it his 2nd year in the playoffs when he got destroyed.

Regardless, you have to add the politics in the game. He's the odd man out at the end of the year, while the other 4 are all locked up. Why would you move Ballard or Tanev up? There's 2 actual puck movers that can be rentals on the Islanders in Vishnovsky and Streit, but then it wouldn't make sense for them to replace anyone in the top. Teams kind of set.

It makes no sense to breakup Ballard and Tanev or move them up.

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I agree. Ballard and Tanev have been some of our better D's all season. Instead, AV will just let Garrison continue to struggle. I know it takes time to adjust to a new team, but he needs to adjust soon since our D makes too many mistakes. That goes for the whole team too though. We have one of the best defence groups in the league, but it doesn't look like it most nights.

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Ballard definitely deserves a shot at a bigger role. So does Tanev, honestly.

I think these guys should be bumped to second pairing.

Then, reunite Hamhuis - Bieksa as the second pairing, and they can play SHUT DOWN defense.

Edler - Garrison can twiddle their thumbs on the third pairing and play forward to their heart's content while 3rd and 4th liners struggle to score on our forwards who consistently out-perform them defensively while they make crappy drop-passes and botched pinches.

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I agree completely.

He wont put up 40-50 points. But at his best he can play a solid all-round game, that brings the best of everything.

We gotta use him in a bigger role, I would start giving he and Tanev more minutes than Bieksa and Garrison, and also looking at Ballard for a role on the PP.

I just wish AV would wake up and start rewarding them more for there great play.

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He has played with them and still been inconsistent and streaky.

We are seeing what Bieksa is doing without them, and it isn't pretty.

As for Ballard (In the post above)

If he continues to play like this, I wouldnt move him.

He also has never been used in an offensive role aside from the early few games when he wasnt ready and prepared to bring what he could completely, and especially not in the playoffs. Although last year he was our best D-man in the playoffs.

Just give him a shot, he has shown he has the hockey sense and skating ability to show the rush and contribute in the offense.

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I would much rather see Ballard on the PP than Hamhuis or even Bieksa. At the very least he can't be worse than those guys. But I am talking a real audition there....not just half a game. Give him 5 or 6 games with big PP time and see what he can do with it. Want to see Garrison hit the net more? Get him someone who can create space with his speed and feed him the puck. The trouble with Edler and Bieksa playing with Garrison is that they both are terrible passers on the PP. Ballard would be a good option to get Edler the puck on the PP too.

The main issue with the D on the PP is that they are too slow getting their shots off and they end up rushing and missing the net or having them blocked. Someone needs to set up the one timers all day long on the PP.....I say why not try Ballard there for awhile?

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You're contradicting yourself every time you post. You kill all of your credibility. The fact that you can't see this is simply telling of your ignorance.

You need a severe reality check. Furthermore, you need to say things of actual value and stand by at least one point you're trying to make to be taken seriously. As it stands, everything you say has been a joke, and your double and triple posts have shown nothing but an inconsistency that is comparable to the defensemen and defensive system you seek to defend.

I don't drink, and I'm leaps and bounds smarter than you. And to be perfectly frank, it doesn't make sense for me to respond to you until you grow the hell up, move out of the small town, figure out how that the world isn't flat, and give your head a god damned shake.

You do nothing but make yourself look stupid.

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You can't base everything on a small sample of a player. Raymond plays 3 good games, and sign him to a 4 million long term contract. It just doesn't make sense to have a bottom pair, making 4 Million.

Ballard has been an offensive defense man throughout his career, but he said, himself, that he was noticing that he was making too many mistakes and need to focus on playing the game the right way. (Sound familiar?)

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