Some perspective to put it all in context

[VanGnome]

Last nights overtime loss was far from the fault of goaltending; Luongo stood on his head on MULTIPLE occasions. The loss in fact has a direct correlation to poor coaching decisions made by Alain Vigneault. The Sedins don't defend on PK's, so why would he deem it appropriate to have them on the ice for a 6 on 5 in the last minute of the game?

I am a lot less optimistic going into the Shark tank down 2-0 in the series, given that SJ has made sure we receive a proper thrashing this season every time we've played there, the outlook does not appear favorable.

For the time that Gillis & Co have been here, along with Vigneault, all we've managed to do is go on one epic cup run, and cultivate/rejuvenate a very good regular season team, completely incapable of succeeding in the playoffs.

There's an identity crisis happening, though it seems to be evolving into what the Canucks should be: a gritty hard nosed in your face blue collar team, but it will never fully get there until the Sedins are no longer the face of this franchise.

Before you jump down my throat, I'm not saying that this indictment should read as "Trade the Sedins", what I'm saying is until the Sedins retire the torch shall never be fully passed along.

The only saving grace in my opinion, is the Sedins' desire to retire from the NHL and finish their playing careers while they still have elite level talent left in the tank, with them being 32 and their contract expiring upon the conclusion of next season, it is my hope that they re-sign for 1-2 years.

Time enough to bridge the gap during a retool on the fly and with a change in management and coaching to win the Cup with this current core. The focus however has to shift from the Sedins as our primary threat, Kesler I believe has returned to the elite road after a two year sojourn through purgatory and should be the next captain of the Canucks; indeed the NEW identity moving forward.

I am so thankful that we've been graced with the Sedins for their entire careers to date, in fact I'm thankful as a fan having grown up to see Stan Smyl, Richard Brodeur, Harold Snepts, Petri Skriko and their brothers in arms in the twilight's of their careers; only to move on to see Trevor Linden, Pavel Bure, Kirk McLean and Alexander Mogilny pick up the torch.

I have suffered through the darkest days of the franchise to be rewarded with the WCE, like a phoenix rising from the ashes to provide without a doubt the most dominant stretch of play in Canucks history; the graceful transition from WCE into the Sedin era the past decade and change has been, how shall I say, medicating.

It's lulled me into a state of acceptance where it's great to see the team succeeding in general but leaves me feeling empty when it matters most. I see this team slowly evolving if you will back into the spirit of the 80's club, albeit with much more skill.

The Sedins will not fetch a return for this club, they will indeed retire as Canucks as they should, my only hope is that they do so as the first players to win the Stanley cup as so many before them, themselves included have failed to do so despite coming so very close.

Let's be fortunate with what we have and where the team is at right now, let's battle through this adversity in the here and now, knowing that the future is not insecure.

Go Canucks Go.

[Guest]

Wow. Well put.

[CB007]

We were 2 inches from scoring the empty netter and winning game 2.....

Yes the Sedins need to play better, yes our D needs to get bigger in the off season, yes we need to get away from this advanced stats mentality, but all is not lost.

[literaphile]

Hansen missed an empty net and the Canucks gave up a bad 2-on-1. And yet you blame the loss on the coach?

[VanGnome]

We were 2 inches from scoring the empty netter and winning game 2.....

Yes the Sedins need to play better, yes our D needs to get bigger in the off season, yes we need to get away from this advanced stats mentality, but all is not lost.

[-DLC-]

We were 2 inches from scoring the empty netter and winning game 2.....

Yes the Sedins need to play better, yes our D needs to get bigger in the off season, yes we need to get away from this advanced stats mentality, but all is not lost.

Ah, sigh, thank you for being here....

The "identity crisis" spoken about here is actually the team having to transition away from where the game was supposed to be headed. Personally, I like the old school hit 'em hard hockey but, after the Bertuzzi and other incidents, the league freaked out and went "we have to change things (to cover our asses)" but didn't really mean it or follow through with any consistency. They gave lip service and have, to some degree, made some adjustments but that wasn't evenly applied. Some teams got away with physical play, others had to watch their step. I, for one, love the whistles in the pockets way of doing playoffs, but they pick and choose. Not saying it's been why we've lost, just why the team has had to change how they've played. The past dictated that they were tentative and unsure, and it's carried over to some degree. Kes abandoned it all last night and said "screw it, we're taking this...if I go down, it's swinging".

This isn't a whine about the refs response, more that the Sedins have HAD to play differently. Teams did figure them out and started to really target them....now, in the ideal league that did protect their players, it would have been addressed. But it wasn't and they've been mugged, mauled and jumped in the past and have learned to fight back (yes, they have - did you see Hank's hit near the end of the game last night?). So I just see them having to play a different game...obviously, a gameplan that's worked against the Canucks. They've had to watch their backs and give some back. People used to whine they're soft....now they're whining that they don't play well enough. It's all about balance.

They've had to sacrifice one for the other to some degree. Not their fault, just the way the game has gone. They're still A+ in my books.

[VanGnome]

Hansen missed an empty net and the Canucks gave up a bad 2-on-1. And yet you blame the loss on the coach?

[erkayloomeh]

Good post OP.

I wonder if we can trade luongo, Edler, Ballard and unload booth and raymond we can come up with a firstline winger who is deadly, Maybe with that winger and kesler the sedins would be better suited for second line duty. At least competiton would be created for first line minutes.

[aqua59]

Last nights overtime loss was far from the fault of goaltending; Luongo stood on his head on MULTIPLE occasions. The loss in fact has a direct correlation to poor coaching decisions made by Alain Vigneault. The Sedins don't defend on PK's, so why would he deem it appropriate to have them on the ice for a 6 on 5 in the last minute of the game?

I am a lot less optimistic going into the Shark tank down 2-0 in the series, given that SJ has made sure we receive a proper thrashing this season every time we've played there, the outlook does not appear favorable.

For the time that Gillis & Co have been here, along with Vigneault, all we've managed to do is go on one epic cup run, and cultivate/rejuvenate a very good regular season team, completely incapable of succeeding in the playoffs.

There's an identity crisis happening, though it seems to be evolving into what the Canucks should be: a gritty hard nosed in your face blue collar team, but it will never fully get there until the Sedins are no longer the face of this franchise.

Before you jump down my throat, I'm not saying that this indictment should read as "Trade the Sedins", what I'm saying is until the Sedins retire the torch shall never be fully passed along.

The only saving grace in my opinion, is the Sedins' desire to retire from the NHL and finish their playing careers while they still have elite level talent left in the tank, with them being 32 and their contract expiring upon the conclusion of next season, it is my hope that they re-sign for 1-2 years.

Time enough to bridge the gap during a retool on the fly and with a change in management and coaching to win the Cup with this current core. The focus however has to shift from the Sedins as our primary threat, Kesler I believe has returned to the elite road after a two year sojourn through purgatory and should be the next captain of the Canucks; indeed the NEW identity moving forward.

I am so thankful that we've been graced with the Sedins for their entire careers to date, in fact I'm thankful as a fan having grown up to see Stan Smyl, Richard Brodeur, Harold Snepts, Petri Skriko and their brothers in arms in the twilight's of their careers; only to move on to see Trevor Linden, Pavel Bure, Kirk McLean and Alexander Mogilny pick up the torch.

I have suffered through the darkest days of the franchise to be rewarded with the WCE, like a phoenix rising from the ashes to provide without a doubt the most dominant stretch of play in Canucks history; the graceful transition from WCE into the Sedin era the past decade and change has been, how shall I say, medicating.

It's lulled me into a state of acceptance where it's great to see the team succeeding in general but leaves me feeling empty when it matters most. I see this team slowly evolving if you will back into the spirit of the 80's club, albeit with much more skill.

The Sedins will not fetch a return for this club, they will indeed retire as Canucks as they should, my only hope is that they do so as the first players to win the Stanley cup as so many before them, themselves included have failed to do so despite coming so very close.

Let's be fortunate with what we have and where the team is at right now, let's battle through this adversity in the here and now, knowing that the future is not insecure.

Go Canucks Go.

[aqua59]

Ah, sigh, thank you for being here....

The "identity crisis" spoken about here is actually the team having to transition away from where the game was supposed to be headed. Personally, I like the old school hit 'em hard hockey but, after the Bertuzzi and other incidents, the league freaked out and went "we have change things (to cover our asses)" but didn't really mean it or follow through with any consistency. They gave lip service and have, to some degree, made some adjustments but that wasn't evenly applied. Some teams got away with physical play, others had to watch their step. I, for one, love the whistles in the pockets way of doing playoffs, but they pick and choose. Not saying it's been why we've lost, just why the team has had to change how they've played. The past dictated that they were tentative and unsure, and it's carried over to some degree. Kes abandoned it all last night and said "screw it, we're taking this...if I go down, it's swinging".

This isn't a whine about the refs response, more that the Sedins have HAD to play differently. Teams did figure them out and started to really target them....now, in the ideal league that did protect their players, it would have been addressed. But it wasn't and they've been mugged, mauled and jumped in the past and have learned to fight back (yes, they have - did you see Hank's hit near the end of the game last night?). So I just see them having to play a different game...obviously, a gameplan that's worked against the Canucks. They've had to watch their backs and give some back. People used to whine they're soft....now they're whining that they don't play well enough. It's all about balance.

They've had to sacrifice one for the other to some degree. Not their fault, just the way the game has gone. They're still A+ in my books.