Bananas Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 I have a few reasons why I ask this question. First off, Kassian has played pretty good this year. While I know some people like to rag on him for their own reasons, I'm overall very happy with the progress he has made this year. I think he's earned some time on the first line, and I think Tortorella recognizing it will help boost his confidence. There are a few little things I notice him do on the ice, and through them I can see that he has learned to protect the puck better and maintain possession. We've also seen with the goals that he has scored that he is playing in the areas where we need him to - and where the Sedins need someone to. Right in front of the net, and along the boards. On to the second note - Kesler is playing good, but he's starting to play like a Sedin. Unfortunately, that means less shooting and more passing, less time in the slot and more time on the wall. I think, with the way the Sedins - Kesler line is cooling off, I think the smart thing to do would be to divide the talent a little bit. Thirdly, I don't think Burrows is ready for the (buffed) second line minutes. He isn't up to game speed, and he's fighting the puck. He has not had a good start to the season. I know everybody is going to hate to hear this, but I think he needs to get pushed down to the bottom 6 for a little while and get back to basics. He just needs to grind for a while. Fourth, and last for now: we all know why Kassian would be helpful for the Sedins. We also know he can produce with them. So here is the line-up change I'm going to propose: Sedin - Sedin - Kassian Higgins - Santorelli - Kesler Archibald - Richardson - Burrows Sestito - Welsh - Dalpe Note that I still want Kesler at wing. I think that's the right move. Additionally, Santorelli has been doing a fantastic job with that, and I see no reason to move him to wing. Furthermore, Higgins and Kesler with Henrik in between worked great earlier in the season, so I see no reason not to stick Kesler as the second line winger. I think the combination of Richardson-Burrows will be a great shutdown pair. As an added bonus, Archibald plays a high energy game, which will help get Burrows going. I think this could be a good, gritty, and obnoxious line to play against. Once Burrows' scoring touch starts to return, this line will have a scoring threat, too. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanucksSayEh Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Twins are mini-slumping, I don't think downgrading their winger will help. Kass needs to learn to create his own chances as well, not just stand around waiting for a twin pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ice orca Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Not yet make him work for it, but 1st unit PP time might be an option Burr just not getting it done in front of the net. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.DirtyDangles Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Love what Kass brings to the team, he has improved but not nearly enough to warrant any lengthy 1st line minutes. He needs to seriously pick up his skating and get faster to get into open areas so he can unload his shot. More solid crushing hits wouldnt hurt either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plaguez Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 What kind of crack are you smoking? Burrows on the third line while coasting Kassian is on the first line? Let me put it this way, here is a list of players who have earned a spot on the first line ahead of Kassian: Kesler, Higgins, Hansen, burrows, Santorelli, Richardson, Sestito, Archibald, welsh. Once they all get a shot and if they fail THEN Kassian could possibly get a turn. Then again Kesler looks good with the Sedins and Burr has always been good with them, so there is no need to force feed the twins a winger who works every fourth or fifth game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snucks Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Shut down pair ? Thats the same old idea the last coach had. We don't need a "shut- down pair". We need attackers, always on the offense. All players need to be able to play on the power play and PK as well as regular lines and be able to play on any line. The special team concept is over rated in hockey. Its a simple game and should be kept that way. Don't worry Torts is the best coach Canucks have had in years. Too many times we have seen this team sit on leads and get burned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snucks Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Burrows although not 100% yet is still one of their best players but the Canucks need to get bigger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodos Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 I wouldn't hate trying Santorelli with the Twins again. I'm loathe to have Kesler back at 2C though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Heffy Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Sedins tend to get going when they get a new linemate and have to adjust their game to suit him. Burr's looked good; he's just getting unlucky. Santorelli has had success playing with Richardson; maybe somehting like this might work: Sedin-Sedin-Kassian Higgins-Kesler-Burrows Archibald-Santorelli-Richardson Tostitos-Dalpe-Welsh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 The Burrows-Santo-Higgins line has been our best line lately, why would you break it up? Burrows has been looking fine, he'll get better as it goes on but that doesn't mean he is a 3rd line player. Kassian hasn't earned anything he is still a 3rd-4th line guy on my term, I don't know what he has showed maybe a little passing but he needs to hit hard. Anybody can produce with the twins, Bitz did, Carter did. They're going to feed points to Kassian and then CDC will talk about how great he is when he is just sliding the puck passed the goalie while the Sedins give him sick feeds. Anybody can produce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananas Posted November 11, 2013 Author Share Posted November 11, 2013 What kind of crack are you smoking? Burrows on the third line while coasting Kassian is on the first line? Let me put it this way, here is a list of players who have earned a spot on the first line ahead of Kassian: Kesler, Higgins, Hansen, burrows, Santorelli, Richardson, Sestito, Archibald, welsh. Once they all get a shot and if they fail THEN Kassian could possibly get a turn. Then again Kesler looks good with the Sedins and Burr has always been good with them, so there is no need to force feed the twins a winger who works every fourth or fifth game. LOL Hansen and Burrows? Welcome to 2013, bud. Hansen is injured, btw. Sestito? Archibald and Welsh play hard, but they aren't exactly showing offensive prowess that garners time on the 1st line. Higgins is no good on the right wing. Santorelli was there, but if you cared to read the post, you'd see that I don't want to move him from center. Richardson is a checking center. Can't move him off center. I haven't taken the time to reply to the other posts yet, but this one stood out to me as incredibly stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabatoge95 Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 I was just thinking that. I think the time is right. I would do something like this: Sedin - Sedin - Kassian Higgins - Santorelli - Kesler Burrows - Richardson - Archibald Sestito - Welsh - Dalpe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananas Posted November 11, 2013 Author Share Posted November 11, 2013 Shut down pair ? Thats the same old idea the last coach had. We don't need a "shut- down pair". We need attackers, always on the offense. All players need to be able to play on the power play and PK as well as regular lines and be able to play on any line. The special team concept is over rated in hockey. Its a simple game and should be kept that way. Don't worry Torts is the best coach Canucks have had in years. Too many times we have seen this team sit on leads and get burned. You kind of got the wrong idea from my post, there... Rich - Burrows would be a great pair in their own end. On top of that, Rich has been providing a surprising amount of offense, and I think Burrows would gel really well with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananas Posted November 11, 2013 Author Share Posted November 11, 2013 The Burrows-Santo-Higgins line has been our best line lately, why would you break it up? Burrows has been looking fine, he'll get better as it goes on but that doesn't mean he is a 3rd line player. Kassian hasn't earned anything he is still a 3rd-4th line guy on my term, I don't know what he has showed maybe a little passing but he needs to hit hard. Anybody can produce with the twins, Bitz did, Carter did. They're going to feed points to Kassian and then CDC will talk about how great he is when he is just sliding the puck passed the goalie while the Sedins give him sick feeds. Anybody can produce. Higgins - Santorelli has been our best pair for a large chunk of the season. They were doing it fine - I'd even go as far as saying better - without Burrows. I really don't feel like Burrows is handling the minutes quite yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcrguy Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Twins are mini-slumping, I don't think downgrading their winger will help. Kass needs to learn to create his own chances as well, not just stand around waiting for a twin pass. Yes, this, plus not closing your eyes and just shooting everytime you get the puck. Kessler is not a good fit for the Sedins. They like to play the puck posesssion game whereas Kesler just like shoot everytime he gets the puck on his stick.He's really a hard guy to play with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananas Posted November 11, 2013 Author Share Posted November 11, 2013 Yes, this, plus not closing your eyes and just shooting everytime you get the puck. Kessler is not a good fit for the Sedins. They like to play the puck posesssion game whereas Kesler just like shoot everytime he gets the puck on his stick.He's really a hard guy to play with. Kesler is fine with the Sedins as a shake-up, but I don't really think he's a permanent solution. And I don't want him playing 2C, either. I like him better at wing. We need do divide this talent a little bit. I think Kesler's skill-set and play-style compliments Higgins and Santorelli. I think he should play on that right wing. Then you're left with "who to put with the Sedins?" There's Burr, but that is not a permanent solution. This has proven not to work in the play-offs the way we need it to. Higgins-Santorelli should keep playing together. Archibald hasn't proven he's ready to play on top 6. He's doing great in a bottom 6 role right now. Richardson needs to stay at center for us. Kassian is the one who is left, who has been playing well and improving, and could use a quick confidence boost. You never know until you try. He played well last year with the Sedins in that short stint (and it wasn't all Sedins... Kassian played great). Torts might be able to get something more consistent out of him with more minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Ferguson Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Anson Carter has really improved his skating abilities and might be open for a new contract, have you seen him on Battle of the Blades?. In all seriousness, I like how Torts has essentially stacked the first line with players who should actually be playing on the first line, but I did enjoy Kassian's ability to cycle the puck with the Sedins and know when to hit the front of the net. I would give him another shot for a few games again, after all he was toted to play on the first line before the season even started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonedanielsedin Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Give your head a shake he hasn't earned a spot with the twins. Besides Torts isn't about to start line juggling like AV so get used to the line unless we start choking early this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apollo Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Yes. Him or weise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plaguez Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 LOL Hansen and Burrows? Welcome to 2013, bud. Hansen is injured, btw. Sestito? Archibald and Welsh play hard, but they aren't exactly showing offensive prowess that garners time on the 1st line. Higgins is no good on the right wing. Santorelli was there, but if you cared to read the post, you'd see that I don't want to move him from center. Richardson is a checking center. Can't move him off center. I haven't taken the time to reply to the other posts yet, but this one stood out to me as incredibly stupid. I'm well aware Hansen is injured. Even not playing he is better than Kassian. What offensive prowess is Kassian showing that welsh and Archibald aren't? The amazing ability to stand and get hit by pucks? And no, I don't care what you "feel" about Richardson and Santorelli. Your entire post is filled with bs and conjecture to basically point to Kassian being the only viable option, which he is not. The fact that you want yet again to put that half assed lazy kid on the first line is the only incredibly stupid thing I see in here. That and starting a post with LOL. Bloody juvenile World of Warcraft type post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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