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The Manny Curse? The Canucks have tanked since Malhotra was placed on IR


gradin123

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Well, if you're going to play in unsubstantiated rumors why not go with the one that no one liked Hodgson and he was a cancer in the locker room?

As for Manny, people have to stop acting like Gillis shafted him. Even Manny, rather convincingly, said he believed Gillis was acting in his own best interest AND that he had been told last year that Gillis had major concerns about his safety. Manny convinced Gillis to let him train over the summer and try to prove he was safe. He didn't alter his game sufficiently to protect himself, so Gillis did what he told Manny at the end of last season he was going to do.

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Kesler looked pretty mediocre when he was back. And let's not forget, he was pretty mediocre all of last season as well, so it's not really just the injury. He doesn't put the effort or heart into his shifts that he use to. He puts more of it into embellishment and trying to one man it up the ice and taking poro shots.

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manny gone and kes in. removed a specialist and inserted a retuning player to all key positions without any hesitaion.

it's no suprise that the chemistry changed that day.

the speed line that played well as a second line was dismantled to make room for kes. that didnt work out so well.

our powerplay suddenly had nothing.

now higgins is taking a spot on the speed line and looks invisible. most time is not even within the camera frame of the play. if he is passed the puck he throws the puck at the net like kes would have. raymond regularly skates past him up and down the ice.

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Can you elaborate as to why the Aquillinis are part of the problem? Maybe an explanation would help me understand, since they have done a lot to provide the Canucks fans with a pretty entertaining product on the ice since they took over the ownership...they've spent to the cap...supported building a strong culture from within...strong community presence...have made their product accessible to all of their fans...

Or is it that every aspect of the team is to be blamed when the team goes into a slump? I'm mad as hell at the vendor who sold me my hot dog at the Canucks v. Kings game because it wasn't piping hot...he's part of the problem!!!

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Here's the thing ! The system installed with great success depends more than any other team in the league on zone face off's...unless some haven't noticed that is the system...maintain control of the game. AV instituted it and it has served the club very very well. Well MG has failed to square the circle after getting rid of Malhotra... he hasn't replaced that face off prowess this team lives on and the reason for this failure by MG is simple he's capped himself and the club out of any plan "B". Now fans look around and wonder why Malhotra meant so much and why the team suffers so badly without him.....ask MG he knows why

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It's Bieksa, not Malhotra.

11-3-4 with Bieksa in the lineup. 0-4-2 without Bieksa in the lineup.

I think he's one of those leaders that's not afraid to say what he's thinking. The Sedins sometimes sugar coat it too much, but juice isn't afraid to say when they're playing like crap. I'm sure he's not afraid to call out certain players either.

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It's Bieksa, not Malhotra.

11-3-4 with Bieksa in the lineup. 0-4-2 without Bieksa in the lineup.

I think he's one of those leaders that's not afraid to say what he's thinking. The Sedins sometimes sugar coat it too much, but juice isn't afraid to say when they're playing like crap. I'm sure he's not afraid to call out certain players either.

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You're right I think it was obvious to a blind man ( no pun intended ) that Malhotra was in tough to make a full recovery and as you said MG new it last summer !! SO WHY THE HECK didn't he bring in a face off substitute wehn he understood the tenuous situation the team was in ??? The entire system and team success has DEPENDED on puck control and zone face off's And despite that we get no coverage for the obvious need. I know one thing I'd rather gamble with Tanev in the top 4 that waste money on Garrison or heck give Salo a 2 year ( for a season and a half )contract than go without a much needed centre. It's a delegation of duty to have allowed this to happen IMO and now the team capped out basically unable to trade Luongo for relief ( after MG painted himself into a corner with grandiose statement about what he wants in return ) fans have the kahoolies to suggest that it's the coaches fault, or Malhotra. Well we know where the blame lies

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Socrates, you are indeed a wise man who makes a compelling case for the plight of the Canucks. I don't think there is a right or wrong answer/position, so I won't try to prove you to be the latter. I'll do my best to keep the healthy dialogue going (if I say something that comes across as being smart ass-like, my apologies...it will be just my misguided attempt at humor).

I agree with most of your points about the challenges that are in front of us...I don't entirely agree that we can assign any of the blame on ownership, other than to say that they must have approved all the moves that MG and his staff have made. The ownership has given the keys to the hockey operations to MG and his staff, so, I suppose the "family" has a lot of faith in MG and his staff.

Is that being complacent, or is that hiring the people you THINK are the best and empowering them to do their jobs? Seems to me that the Aquilinis like to delegate hockey ops, which is probably a good thing since they aren't "hockey people". But, does their "hands-off" approach make them culpable for the plight of the team? Some would argue yes, perhaps saying they should have been more involved. I would say no.

We've seen numerous different ownership styles, ranging from the whacky Harold Ballard, Molson's with Ronald Corey, MLS&E, Peter Puck, Nelson Skalbania, Shenkarow family, oilmen in Calgary, ownership by committee in Edmonton, Griffiths family, Orca Bay to Aquilinis. For my money, as a fan, I like the way the Aquilini's run the franchise...they are low profile (at least publicly), leaving MG in his role as President and GM to be the face of the organization, and they provide the hockey operations team the resources to build a winner. Obviously how those resources are deployed has rightfully come under a lot of question of late from the Canucks faithful.

As you have outlined, we are in a tough situation because of decisions made by our hockey ops people, and tough decisions will have to be made soon. I find it hard to believe that MG and his staff would not operating with a big picture plan. Not to defend MG and his staff, on the questionable decisions that have been made, I would suggest that, as with many things in life and business, decisions have to be made based on timing and circumstances which we've seen MG execute (two examples being Luongo signing; Ballard trade). Sometimes in business, one needs to hedge and forecast how a market will move and make plans based on that, and the best laid out plan gets derailed from time to time. The way I see it, the hockey ops team miscalculated a few things (e.g., salary cap, player assesments). How MG and his staff deals with this seemingly daunting issue could very well define him and his staff's tenure with the Canucks (and ultimately determine his fate).

If winning the Stanley Cup is the only measure of success (which is the only metric that matters to fans), then to date, we have failed with MG at the helm. I'm sure Aquilini and MG will tell us that they made significant advancements in other areas of the team (both hockey and non-hockey stuff), which, along with the financial bottom line, are the metrics they probably hold themselves accountable for which is what I would do if I were them. Let's face it...though there is a strong symbiotic relationship between the team, team ownership/management and its fans, there's a lot of lip service that flows from the powers to be (i.e., Aqulini, MG) and the fans. That doesn't mean ownership and management does not care about winning as much as the fans...it just means that they have other competing priorities that are as important to them as winning the Cup.

We're probably saying the same things, Socrates, other than saying that we disagree on whether ownership is to be blamed.

Good one (hot dog) :)

But ... I happen to agree with gradin123. IMO, the owners have become too complacent. The Canucks provide good entertainment, no doubt, but I do not see that "bite" that can take us to the finish line as winners.

I do not see a clear strategy moving forward. We have our hands tied behind our backs this year and next (third smallest cap space in the league) while we have to deal with bad contracts. The latter issue is amplified by the reduction in salary cap next year (e.g. Luongo and Edler combined would be making 1/6 of that cap - scary!). You will also notice that we have already committed almost the entire salary cap next year (have only about $4M left) to just 14 (of 25) players ... scary again!

If you were the owner, would you not have called MG on it? ANA, as an example, is playing like a true contender and has $14M room this year alone, to get even stronger by the trade deadline. Good luck competing with them (and others) for real talent. Owners who truly care would have seen this coming, as we did not get in this position in the last 3 days.

Yes, we could be diehards and support the team, but we have to admit that our management (MG) is lacking foresight as of late. How else would you explain signing Edler?

Someone prove me wrong! Critical thinking and logical arguments please, not childish-diehard-blindfolded BS.

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No, its that he should do what he gets paid to do and fill an obvious need. The options are trading to get a guy who fits the need, signing a free agent, calling up a player from the farm, or picking up a guy off of waivers. Take your pick as to what it is he does. Some are more viable than others of course but that is really about the only way to fill that hole.......not really rocket science.

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It's Bieksa, not Malhotra.

11-3-4 with Bieksa in the lineup. 0-4-2 without Bieksa in the lineup.

I think he's one of those leaders that's not afraid to say what he's thinking. The Sedins sometimes sugar coat it too much, but juice isn't afraid to say when they're playing like crap. I'm sure he's not afraid to call out certain players either.

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