Booth, brains and business.

[Bananas]

Snipes is either an entitled little silver spoon fed kid or an overage, overweight 'couch coach'... Either way, the world revolves around their desires. Trade Booth for Crosby...

How he got a couch, a tv, and an internet connection under his troll bridge, I will never know.

[peaches5]

So, the years-old concussion is to blame for him losing NHL goal-scoring ability? Doubt that.

He looked fine for us in 11-12 when he was on a streak alongside Kesler mid-season. Then he suffured a sprained knee and missed 18 games. He hasn't been the same for us since that 'meh' injury. And that's part of the frustration with him. Nothing but injuries, and they're not head-related at all.

Meanwhile, the Crosby recovery seems to be alright. And how about Willie Mitchell? He was better than ever duing LA's cup run. So no, concussions don't all have to be career-changers.

That being said, of course we knew the guy was going to be a project. Look how awful he was for the Panthers when we acquired him. The time for excuses is over though. It's time for results, or time to let the project die.

he hasn't been able to train properly because of his injuries which is likely why he is having so many injuries now

[Watermelons]

So, the years-old concussion is to blame for him losing NHL goal-scoring ability? Doubt that.

He looked fine for us in 11-12 when he was on a streak alongside Kesler mid-season. Then he suffured a sprained knee and missed 18 games. He hasn't been the same for us since that 'meh' injury. And that's part of the frustration with him. Nothing but injuries, and they're not head-related at all.

Meanwhile, the Crosby recovery seems to be alright. And how about Willie Mitchell? He was better than ever duing LA's cup run. So no, concussions don't all have to be career-changers.

That being said, of course we knew the guy was going to be a project. Look how awful he was for the Panthers when we acquired him. The time for excuses is over though. It's time for results, or time to let the project die.

Every concussion is different. You want to point to Crosby and Mitchell? I'll point at Marc Savard and Chris Pronger. How many years has it been since Savard was rocked by Cooke? Why isn't he back yet if concussions aren't a serious issue? What about Pronger? Arguably one of the toughest and most talented defencemen the league has ever seen is having trouble living out his daily life, let alone play hockey.

I agree that not all concussions are career-changers but I don't think we will ever know the extent of the injury on Booth. It definitely has a psychological effect and the fact that Booth hasn't been 100% for a extended period of time doesn't help. I believe that he can become a consistent 20 goal scorer if he has better luck with injuries. It's hard to get into shape if you are injured every couple months.

[TimberWolf]

The Nasland compare hits even closer to home. I have been thinking about it ever since I have seen Daniel taking perimiter slapshots instead of in close deadly wristers after the Duncan Keith attempt to end his career.

Yes, a headshot like that can alter your game for good.

[Fred65]

The Booth injury is real enough and you raise a good point about what it takes out of a player...I suspect you're right.......However..... just like any other business MG has a one to run here and he will be judged by the bottom line. Other players are not judged only by their own skill set but by the success of the team. Sure I feel bad for Booth, but we're not paying him sympathy we're paying him in dollars for a job he needs to do and if he fails just like everyone else if you don't do your job most people get canned. Not only is he not playing to his previous level but he hinders the teams ability to succeed. Booth is devouring a large chunk of the Cap and frankly is not returning a proportional skill level. I feel bad for his injury but at the end of the day it's what have you done for me lately that has to be taken into account. Frankly if he understand his games gone south he's taking money under false pretenses.

[nuck nit]

How he got a couch, a tv, and an internet connection under his troll bridge, I will never know.

Give your hate a rest for a while,Bananas.

Liked what the article brings.What readers may not know is that concussion or head injury damage is cumulative.

I have never understood why Gillis and Gilman .org spent $4.2m on a player with a serious concussion history.

I want Booth to do well and succeed for himself and his mates but his signing shows a deep lack or respect for the medical evidence ,at the best.

The same goes with Daniel.I would have given him the deal and the years but with the provision that he has to sign a series of one year deals.One more serious concussion can end his career.

[Bananas]

Give your hate a rest for a while,Bananas.

Liked what the article brings.What readers may not know is that concussion or head injury damage is cumulative.

I have never understood why Gillis and Gilman .org spent $4.2m on a player with a serious concussion history.

I want Booth to do well and succeed for himself and his mates but his signing shows a deep lack or respect for the medical evidence ,at the best.

The same goes with Daniel.I would have given him the deal and the years but with the provision that he has to sign a series of one year deals.One more serious concussion can end his career.

people have every right to feel that Booth should go as a result of his production vs. his cost. But that's not the point I was making with my comments.

The point I was making with my comments was for people to stop being complete pricks about it.

The bottom line with has been stated a hundred times a day on these forums. Everybody gets it. There's not much more to discuss.

For people to keep beating on Booth relentlessly is uncalled for.

[TOMapleLaughs]

Schroeder, Hansen et al have never put up the numbers booth has, give up on them as well? They are injured... Schroeder is prone. I am glad you are not in charge. Hockey is a game of injuries and reoccurring injuries...

It's also a game of projects and failed projects. Booth is a project. Hansen is not a project. He is not a worry. Schroeder isn't a project either. He is a prospect. He is more of a worry than Hansen, but he's still got time to recover than Booth, who should be in the prime of his career.

Anyway, injuries happen and they are recovered from. Not sure where the valid excuse lies in this case, if he's recovered. If he's not recovered, then the blame is on him and the team.

[nuck nit]

For people to keep beating on Booth relentlessly is uncalled for.

I totally agree.

It is management that has refused to inform themselves adequately on players suffering from and living with brain injuries.

$4.2m is a lot of dough to throw around when you don't even understand or accept brain injured players risk/reward profiles.

[Silfverberg Snipes]

Hmm... when did Booth finally start skating this summer? September? He missed an entire summer of training, as well as training camp and pre-season, and you're constantly pissing and moaning - in every David Booth discussion on the forum - that he hasn't met your - a fan of the sport - golden standard of fitness?

And who the hell are you, exactly?

I'm an anonymous Canucks fan, just like you. If he missed a whole summer of training why was he declared to be in game shape so soon. I happen to have a strong dislike for Booth, and if it hasn't occurred to you by now that the numerous injuries Booth has suffered through till date are not just freak incidents then there's no point talking to you. But I'm also interested in how you've seen me constantly whining about his fitness level. If you'd care to look up a couple of posts I'd love to see this obsession with his fitness I apparently have.

Snipes is either an entitled little silver spoon fed kid or an overage, overweight 'couch coach'... Either way, the world revolves around their desires. Trade Booth for Crosby...

If wanting more out of a player who is either

a) Being payed 4 mill to play on the fourth line

or

b ) Injured

then you might as well quit CDC, because it gets a hell of a lot worse than me buddy. Booth is a scrub at this point, the only value he had as a player was lost after the Richards incident. I don't feel entitled to anything, I'm just frustrated that it took till this point for people to see what a hindrance the guy is. What a hindrance our management and GM is. Our team is full of players like Booth who leave it all on the ice night in and night out but ultimately don't have the game breaking abilities depth players on cup contenders possess.

[Canorcas]

Thanks for the compliments, everyone. Glad I could spark some positive discussion here.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion-- this piece was never meant to stir a dramatic argument over who is right and who is wrong.

I just thought David deserves some defending. The guy never asked for that head injury and I'm sure if anybody feels frustrated about his lack of production, it's David himself. Every hockey player and athlete for that matter has pride and there's absolutely no doubt that Booth realizes how badly his career has gone in recent years.

There's such a thing called justified criticism. Yes, Booth carries an expensive contract. Yes, he hasn't been performing up to average $4.2 million standards. But one thing I find as totally unfair is when people compare one player to another. People are completely different. Hockey players are completely different. No two players are the same (save maybe the Sedins.. for obvious reasons) and it's perplexing that people can say "Well, both Booth and Ladd have the same contract but Ladd is playing better..." It's an unjustified sort of argument. What do some players have in common? The amount of dollars they make? That might be it.

How many of people out there are working at minimum wage? Probably quite a lot. But I certainly don't expect Worker #1 to have the same qualifications as Worker #2. These kind of comparisons would never fly in most businesses.. But in sports, for some strange reason.. It seems all too common.

Quick Edit: Also, Booth's injury took him out of contention for Team USA for the 2010 Olympics. I'm not sure many people realize that, but as a previous 30-goal scorer who has wheels, the size and skill level at the time, he would have been an easy addition to their roster.

But that's the way she goes..

[Canuck or Die]

I like him, he is a bit flaky and injury prone. His skill set is so good. He is deadly fast and I think once healthy would be a nice fit with Santo and Burrows.

CDC trolls will shell out buckets of love for a guy like Schroeder, but the moment Booth admits to hunting or going to Church, people flip out.

Hockey is a game of injuries and Booths are real. He has never pulled a Hodgson. Let him recover and see what he brings. Aquilinis pay his salary, so who cares how much he makes.

Umm, no, the CDC trolls do nothing but disrespect and hate Schroeder. He's already the new whipping boy. It seems only a few of us are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

[Bananas]

I totally agree.

It is management that has refused to inform themselves adequately on players suffering from and living with brain injuries.

$4.2m is a lot of dough to throw around when you don't even understand or accept brain injured players risk/reward profiles.

agreed.

[Gollumpus]

I think the one thing on which we can all agree is that we should hope Booth plays well when he is back in the line up.

For those wanting him to stay with the team, it will be a vindication of their belief that he is still a very good hockey player.

For those wanting Booth gone, him playing well will make it easier for Gillis to move him elsewhere...

regards,

G.

[Trebreh]

Gillis should be shopping him in secret while he's still healthy...

[Plaguez]

I like him, he is a bit flaky and injury prone. His skill set is so good. He is deadly fast and I think once healthy would be a nice fit with Santo and Burrows.

CDC trolls will shell out buckets of love for a guy like Kassian, but the moment Booth admits to hunting or going to Church, people flip out.

Hockey is a game of injuries and Booths are real. He has never pulled a Hodgson. Let him recover and see what he brings. Aquilinis pay his salary, so who cares how much he makes.

Fixed. And wtf is pulling a Hodgson? Injuring your back and having the Canucks team doctors misdiagnose it three times? If that's pulling a Hodgson then yes, you are correct.

Can't stand the Hodgson hate which is based entirely on CDC rumor and conjecture.

[Bananas]

I'm an anonymous Canucks fan, just like you. If he missed a whole summer of training why was he declared to be in game shape so soon. I happen to have a strong dislike for Booth, and if it hasn't occurred to you by now that the numerous injuries Booth has suffered through till date are not just freak incidents then there's no point talking to you. But I'm also interested in how you've seen me constantly whining about his fitness level. If you'd care to look up a couple of posts I'd love to see this obsession with his fitness I apparently have.

It's not like it's Booth's fault he was put on the ice too early. IMO, our training staff is CONSTANTLY at fault for this. With multiple players. So you can't really fault him for that.

And when Booth first got here, he was playing good. Since then, he has never been healthy, otherwise he'd be fulfilling his contract all well and good. So that's been covered over the last two points.

You know, I get that's he's often injured, but I like his game on the ice.

\what reason do you have to troll every Booth thread with your Booth hatred? (If it's his beliefs or hobbies, don't even bother replying)

[Bananas]

Fixed. And wtf is pulling a Hodgson? Injuring your back and having the Canucks team doctors misdiagnose it three times? If that's pulling a Hodgson then yes, you are correct.

Can't stand the Hodgson hate which is based entirely on CDC rumor and conjecture.

So you're pulling your Kassian hate into a thread it has no business being in?

Get stuffed, troll.

EDIT: jeez, I can't believe I missed the rest of your post... I guess I stopped readin at "fixed" when I saw your conjecture-based Kassian hate.

g

E

t

o

v

e

r

i

t

[Gollumpus]

Fixed. And wtf is pulling a Hodgson? Injuring your back and having the Canucks team doctors misdiagnose it three times? If that's pulling a Hodgson then yes, you are correct.

Can't stand the Hodgson hate which is based entirely on CDC rumor and conjecture.

I thought the situation was that the Canuck team doctors were the ones who finally got the diagnosis correct, after Hodgson's own doctor got it wrong.

regards,

G.

[Dogbyte]

Well written and thought out but I don't know know if I agree with concussion being the reason he is under-performing. Are there reports that he's having concussion syndrome yet? Naslund?