stanleycanucks Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 So, the Canucks are 11-5 and sit third overall in the league. It's a great start to the season for the Vancouver squad, as evidenced by the record, depth, special teams play, Sedins return to about 1pt/gm, goaltending and chemistry. Willie Desjardins deserves a lot of credit and has likely put himself in the Jack Adams conversation at this point. That being said... Does this team have enough grit to last? Is it necessary in today's game? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mon visage quand Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Was grit necessary for the 2010/2011 team? No Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonshinefe Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 We have enough grit. Dorsett has grit, Bieksa has grit, Kassian has grit. Save a few off games the entire team had, I haven't felt like the Canucks have been pushed around barely at all this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonshinefe Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Was grit necessary for the 2010/2011 team? No funny how they lost to the gritty Bruins then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebreh Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 I dont think we have enough grit to last a 7 game series against the Cali teams, we were dominated physically in all 3 games with little push back and when we did we got injured (Sbisa, Dorsett). We need to have bigger heavier guys on the bottom 6 forwards imo. Thats why i made a proposal to get Stewart on here, he would be useful as a bottom 6 forward against the big western conf teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRAZY_4_NAZZY Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Of course you need grit. Players that will take a hit to make a play, being hard on the puck pursuit, player willing to drive the net, hound down players, winning puck battles, going into dirty areas to score goals or find loose pucks. Willing to clear pucks out front of the net, blocking shots, taking the body, being hard to play against whether meaning abrasive style or just plane hardworking. We have lots of players that do that, and most of them do it on a consistent basis that helps us be successful. You need everyone to play "gritty" I honestly think Sedins play gritty, they win puck battle, position their bodies well to protect the puck, relentless in puck pursuit in offensive zone and play well against the boards. And despite all that they still have possession of the puck, to me that is what grit means. They may not be physical, but sometime we confuse physical with gritty. Being gritty isn't about being physical like making big hits, but being hard to play against. We have potential to be a very gritty, hardworking team. This team has plenty of grit up and down the roster and in Anaheim we showed that we were able to mentally lock down and pursue the puck hard on each shift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tragoedia Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 I think we have the grit needed at key positions. We are not a team of "tough goons" but we have skilled players who can hit and be frustrating. Sbisa, Dorsett, Bieksa, Kassian, Burrows, and Stanton have grit and can match up. Edler and Hamhuis can also lay some good hits when they are on their game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimp C Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Bieksa, Kassian, Dorsett, Sestito, Burrows, Richardson, Sbisa, Stanton. We're not completely void of grit. I would like to acquire someone like Adam McQuaid though. What would it take? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRussianRocket. Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Do we have enough grit? Yes. Is it necessary to go out every game, lose control of emotions and put the team in trouble with aggressive behaviour/play? No. The guys know when to turn it up extra and when not to, not a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mon visage quand Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 funny how they lost to the gritty Bruins then they lost to the Bruins because most of the team was either out with injuries or playing with lost limbs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimp C Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 We have a lot of grit in our prospect pool. Virtanen Archibald Kenins Cassels McCann Labate Mallet Friesen Fox Lain Tryamkin Corrado McEneny Cederholm Stewart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stanleycanucks Posted November 10, 2014 Author Share Posted November 10, 2014 It looks to me like this team can handle itself and the bumps and bruises that comes with a full season (and a potential playoff push). What I wonder is if they will have the "push-back" at the right times. Against LA, they got pretty man-handled, and nobody made a physical statement against Kesler tonight. Those tend to be moments where physically establishing yourself can be an advantage. One thing I've wondered since the start of a better than expected 11-5 season, however, is if Vrbata will clear enough room for the Sedins like Burrows did. To me, I'd prefer to see Burrows with the Sedins and Vrbata with Bonino and Higgins. Burrows has the grit to get into the dirty places and makes sure nobody is a dink around the Sedins. Vrbata would be a great complement to Bonino's "pass-first" style, and Vrbata plays more North/South than the Sedin's cycle East/West. That's the only hole in grit I'd potentially look to plug. That being said, boy is Dorsett ever a great addition. Love that guy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lock Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 I don't care how much "grit" a team has. If a team draws more penalties due to the other team having more "grit", then guess who wins the game in the end. We do however need the entire team to play hard and contribute in what way they can. Really it's work ethic that wins games, not "grit". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rey Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 funny how they lost to the gritty Bruins then They lost because they tried to be gritty when they really weren't. Stop pretending to be gritty, work hard, and you'll gain the respect to get the calls. If that team didn't try be gritty against that Boston series, the Canucks probably would have had a cup. You can try to be gritty all you want, but this team will never stack up to the top teams in that department. If you want to challenge tough teams, you better be prepared to drop your gloves and fight. They didn't have that in the finals years ago, and they still don't have it now. They said the right things back then, but never acted on it. Now, they don't have a choice. Play between the whistles. The only player that still doesn't is Burrows and eventually he'll piss someone off, they'll attack our stars and we have no one to back them up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lock Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 You can try to be gritty all you want, but this team will never stack up to the top teams in that department. If you want to challenge tough teams, you better be prepared to drop your gloves and fight. They didn't have that in the finals years ago, and they still don't have it now. Goals prove things a lot more than fights. Standing up to your opponents by dropping the gloves will only get you so far. If you're working harder than the other team in general, the other team will be out-manned and no gloves would be needed at that point. Fighting's a reaction. Working hard is an action. Kesler during that run was a good example of this. He didn't need to drop the gloves. He did however play to win and that work ethic is what got us to the final. It's just too bad that the injuries got the better of us in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Boudreau Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 I think the Canucks could stand to be younger, faster, and a heavier team. Meaning a team with guys who are 200 plus pounds. In the west in helps in the playoffs to be a heavy team when the physical play really amps up. The Canucks seem to match up well against St.Louis because despite their "heaviness" they do not seem to play as fast as the California teams which are all heavy, fast, and yet still skilled. To me Montreal has more grit than the Canucks which is surprising considering only a couple years ago they used to be pushed around. Not anymore with heavy guys like Subban, Emelin, Tinnordi, Prust and Beaulieu. They can give it back just as good and Boston struggles against them because of their speed and the fact that they can't intimidate them anymore. For a western team the Canucks don't have much size width wise as they do length wise. Guys like Horvat and Jensen, Vitanen, Guance etc should help with them all being legit over 200 pounds and difficult to knock off the puck. In 2011 though the Canucks were a skill team with enough grit from guys like Torres, Lapierre,Malhotra etc that helped to balance out the skill guys. Hamhuis was also a bigger hitter then. Still they wanted to punish teams on the power play for trying to get physical but their pp went ice cold in the finals when the Bruins were taking runs at them. http://mirtle.blogspot.ca/2014/10/2014-15-nhl-teams-by-height-weight-and.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathew Barzal Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Grit is needed for balance, but not to win games. The Bruins didn't 'outgrind us', they had players that knew their roles and beat us on pure skill and good health. With the grinding mentality you would think guys like Kane and Briere would dissappear come the playoffs. It's just the opposite though, they THRIVE. A common misconception with our struggles over the past few years is that we weren't able to throw blow for blow in physicality with the best of em. In reality, we didn't have the skill to throw blow for blow on the scoreboard. Our puck possession has been the pits and still is. 'Grit' is the last thing this team needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Boudreau Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Grit is needed for balance, but not to win games. The Bruins didn't 'outgrind us', they had players that knew their roles and beat us on pure skill and good health. With the grinding mentality you would think guys like Kane and Briere would dissappear come the playoffs. It's just the opposite though, they THRIVE. A common misconception with our struggles over the past few years is that we weren't able to throw blow for blow in physicality with the best of em. In reality, we didn't have the skill to throw blow for blow on the scoreboard. Our puck possession has been the pits and still is. 'Grit' is the last thing this team needs. I think either way works. I look at the Habs and Bruins as an example of a skill team vs a team in the Bruins who is seen as a tough goon team or whatever. When the Bruins are forced to play a speedy team like the Habs they struggle. When a team is fighting back the Bruins feed of it more and try to intimidate the other team. Basically it just comes down to which team can impose their will on the other in terms of being able to play their style of game whether it be a more finesse game vs a more physical grinding game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.DirtyDangles Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 funny how they lost to the gritty Bruins then read my mind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.DirtyDangles Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 I think the Canucks could stand to be younger, faster, and a heavier team. Meaning a team with guys who are 200 plus pounds. In the west in helps in the playoffs to be a heavy team when the physical play really amps up. The Canucks seem to match up well against St.Louis because despite their "heaviness" they do not seem to play as fast as the California teams which are all heavy, fast, and yet still skilled. To me Montreal has more grit than the Canucks which is surprising considering only a couple years ago they used to be pushed around. Not anymore with heavy guys like Subban, Emelin, Tinnordi, Prust and Beaulieu. They can give it back just as good and Boston struggles against them because of their speed and the fact that they can't intimidate them anymore. For a western team the Canucks don't have much size width wise as they do length wise. Guys like Horvat and Jensen, Vitanen, Guance etc should help with them all being legit over 200 pounds and difficult to knock off the puck. In 2011 though the Canucks were a skill team with enough grit from guys like Torres, Lapierre,Malhotra etc that helped to balance out the skill guys. Hamhuis was also a bigger hitter then. Still they wanted to punish teams on the power play for trying to get physical but their pp went ice cold in the finals when the Bruins were taking runs at them. http://mirtle.blogspot.ca/2014/10/2014-15-nhl-teams-by-height-weight-and.html I totally agree here. Size and speed usually trumps all. The chances will come with the chaos and more often then not once the other team is worn down the skilled guys can take over and snipe it home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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