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What can AV even do with this team?


Sixteen W's

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lol......ok there sparky.

If this is the best these guys can play then Gillis needs to blow the damn thing up now because they are going nowhere.

One finals appearance (with a VERY talented and deep team) and nothing beyond the 2nd round other than that. Even worse, pretty much every one of those playoffs he got destroyed on the coaching front and the team got destroyed on the motivation front. Yes, clearly he is a juggernaut.

Oh, and before you say it, no one cares about President's Trophies other than AV fans.

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Who here is scratching their heads asking, "What the hell is AV talking about?" with his comment that -- "the team is playing better than many may be thinking right now."

I've been an AV supporter for a long time and still think that getting rid of him during the season is not the best thing, but geezzzz, I'm starting to wonder what he's referring to when he makes such comments...case in point:

(1) Ineffective PP (and yes, this falls on Brown's shoulders, but AV needs to step in if things aren't working)

(2) Inability to alleviate pressure on the left wing lock forechecking that the right side d-men are dealing with

(3) Ill-time pinches by our d-men along the offensive blue line

(4) Inability of the forwards to generate any kind of offence

(5) Inability of the d-men to play physical and shut down gaps in spite of their size

(6) Constant bungling of the puck by Edler

(7) "Average" goaltending (these were Schneider's words, not mine)

(8) "I have to play better" -- Luongo

Sorry if my list sound uber-negative, and I hope that we are going to pull out of slump sooner than later (last night vs. Blue Jackets could have gone either way, so I don't think we're out of the woods yet), but the reality is we are playing like a .500 club, and for AV to come out and say that he thinks we're playing "better" than what we may think is almost unbelievable.

I like to think I'm a student of the game and understand the nuances fairly well, but am I missing something here? Did something get lost in the translation? Am I alone with being stunned by AV's comments?

AV made a comment the other day which was something like -- "We are where we thought we would be at this time" which made me stop...and after thinking about it, I thought, yeah, that's a fair comment to make given the circumstances the team has been dealing with since Day 1...but to say that we're playing better than what meets the eye, I don't get it...

This comment is about as flabbergasting to me as when he admitted that he didn't have a Plan B for Daniel's absence last spring.

SOMEONE PLEASE...explain this to me like I'm a six year old so I can understand!!!

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Who here is scratching their heads asking, "What the hell is AV talking about?" with his comment that -- "the team is playing better than many may be thinking right now."

I've been an AV supporter for a long time and still think that getting rid of him during the season is not the best thing, but geezzzz, I'm starting to wonder what he's referring to when he makes such comments...case in point:

(1) Ineffective PP (and yes, this falls on Brown's shoulders, but AV needs to step in if things aren't working)

(2) Inability to alleviate pressure on the left wing lock forechecking that the right side d-men are dealing with

(3) Ill-time pinches by our d-men along the offensive blue line

(4) Inability of the forwards to generate any kind of offence

(5) Inability of the d-men to play physical and shut down gaps in spite of their size

(6) Constant bungling of the puck by Edler

(7) "Average" goaltending (these were Schneider's words, not mine)

(8) "I have to play better" -- Luongo

Sorry if my list sound uber-negative, and I hope that we are going to pull out of slump sooner than later (last night vs. Blue Jackets could have gone either way, so I don't think we're out of the woods yet), but the reality is we are playing like a .500 club, and for AV to come out and say that he thinks we're playing "better" than what we may think is almost unbelievable.

I like to think I'm a student of the game and understand the nuances fairly well, but am I missing something here? Did something get lost in the translation? Am I alone with being stunned by AV's comments?

AV made a comment the other day which was something like -- "We are where we thought we would be at this time" which made me stop...and after thinking about it, I thought, yeah, that's a fair comment to make given the circumstances the team has been dealing with since Day 1...but to say that we're playing better than what meets the eye, I don't get it...

This comment is about as flabbergasting to me as when he admitted that he didn't have a Plan B for Daniel's absence last spring.

SOMEONE PLEASE...explain this to me like I'm a six year old so I can understand!!!

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I think this is kinda AV's MO. He is never shy to say something like this in the media, whether it is about a player, or how the team is playing in general.

My guess is that he is trying to use the media to fire up his players. I would assume reporters would jump all over this and go to players and ask how they feel about the situation and what the coach thinks of it. Similar to what AV has been doing with Kesler, I think he is using this as a motivation tactic. However, I don't agree with him in doing this, as he is essentially throwing the team under the bus. He should talk to the team behind closed doors and try to iron things out, rather than trying to motivate through the media (unless he's tried already, which means this was probably plan B?)

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For most of the guys on the team the effort is there.

What the Canucks are lacking though is execution, and as Booth said during his interview last game, every team goes through cold streaks.

I think AV recognizes the effort put in by most guys (even Edler folks).

I think once Kesler and Bieksa come back, the team will have two crucial components back in their line up. And if they can finally solidify a third line center that works with Booth/Kassian the team will be MUCH better.

The Canucks are a good team- just look at the line up. Just let them play their way out of it.

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lol......ok there sparky.

If this is the best these guys can play then Gillis needs to blow the damn thing up now because they are going nowhere.

One finals appearance (with a VERY talented and deep team) and nothing beyond the 2nd round other than that. Even worse, pretty much every one of those playoffs he got destroyed on the coaching front and the team got destroyed on the motivation front. Yes, clearly he is a juggernaut.

Oh, and before you say it, no one cares about President's Trophies other than AV fans.

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Funny how back in 06-07 when AV became the Canucks coach he was given the Jack Adams award for being the so called best coach, even though it was the first year Luongo was here, and played one of his best years ever. The Canucks back then were not as solid as they are today, so there wasn't big expectations so everyone figured AV was this great coach and deserved the Jack Adams.

Funny how he is kinda in the same situation this year, the team isn't as solid as it was last year, with injuries, and he's not getting the goaltending to bail him out like he did in 06-07. Without the goaltending like Luongo was in 06-07 AV is useless, and it's defintially showing now. If the goaltending was as sharp as Luongo was back in 06-07 everyone would be bowing down to AV and still saying how good of a coach he is, but goaltending isn't bailing him out and he can't do anything else because he sucks.

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First of all, keep Ebbett away from the roster. Get a new 13th forward.

Next he really needs to do his homework when it comes to setting his lines; he'll have to work with what he's got in terms of roster guys, so he should really put together guys whose skills would work together (e.g. play-making Schroeder - shooter Booth --> if Jordan's ready that is, if not I wouldn't mind Goc/ Bozak) and when he's set on his lines, KEEP them that way. I mean, he kept shuffling Raymond, Higgins and Hansen in different combos and spots, and so any chemistry that may have been developing would've been broken as quickly as that line was assembled.

I'd also keep Hansen, Garrison, Kassian and occasionally Ballard on the power play. It's a good sign that Jannik's offensive numbers are up to around Top 6 numbers, so I'd say let him keep getting time with the extra man. Two reasons: he passes the puck and he can get back quickly in case of mistakes, on top of joining the scrum for pucks in front or in the corners. He also set up Garry's bomb in last night's game; in turn, Garry needs more opportunities to use that shot, esp. when the point-men are close to each other. Kass needs PP time, he can do well in front of the net, and so he should be planted there in front of the goalie for screens and tips. Ballard should get puck-moving time on the PP to prove his worth (or if that doesn't work try Barker).

I'd also try to acquire a play-making 3rd line center (Goc/ Bozak/ call Schroeder?); would rather see Lapierre back on the 4th. Nothing against his offensive abilities, just think that he's much better than softies Schroeder and Ebbett in that position.

With Kes out I'd like to see a power play like this (with Booth rotating in occasionally on the 2nd unit):

Dan – Hank – Kassian

Hamhuis – Edler

Hansen – Higgins – Raymond

Garrison – Bieksa

Just put the best team formations forward and stick with them.

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Peppered? He faced an average of 28 shots per game. The only reason he faced so many shots was because he played 76 games. If you average out his other seasons over the same amount of games as his first they are all the 28 shots per game range. In 2006-2007 his average was 28.5 shots against per game, which would have put him at 15th in the league in shots faced per game. The Canucks also had the leagues best power play.

If you dont think Luongo first year success had anything to do with the fact that this team had a very good defence, you are simply blind.

Its you AV haters that I find so easy to laugh at. When the team dominates it all the players, when they struggle its all on the coach. Was it AVs fault that Luongo melted down in net how many times against the Hawks? Or that Hamhuis, Edler, Ehrhoff, Kesler, and Samuelsson were all either out or playing injured in the finals?

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