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Alexander Edler | #23 | D


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2 hours ago, DownUndaCanuck said:

This is exactly it. With Sbisa and Stecher playing a lot now, they're learning and can show that they can play against top defencemen. With that confidence, hopefully the coaches are more willing to play bottom pairings than burn Edler out at 25+ mins a night. We need him down at 22-23 to be successful.

 

This team lacks a true 25+ minute defenceman, lets not pretend like Edler's one of them. He's still our best guy though. When Tanev comes back I hope our defence looks a bit like this:

 

Hutton - Gudbranson

Sbisa - Tanev

Tryamkin - Stecher

 

And when Edler's back it'll be interesting to see where Tanev ends up. Stecher has been IMO our best defenceman all season long, even when Edler and Tanev have been healthy. I'd rather see Stecher on the top pairing playing 20-21 minutes right now which seems like a lot for a rookie, but he's proven that he can log those big minutes without making mistakes but more importantly, playing well right until the end.

 

Edler - Stecher

Hutton - Gudbranson

Sbisa - Tanev

 

With that depth, WD has no excuse to over-play any particular pairing. If there's more PPs, our top pairing gets more minutes naturally. If there's more PKs, our bottom pairing log more minutes. Everyone should be equals in that defensive unit. Sbisa at maybe around 15-18 minutes, Tanev at around 20, Hutton and Gudbranson at around 20-21 tops, Stecher around 20 and Edler no more than 22 minutes.

I think Tryamkin needs to be kept in the lineup. His presence is far too valuable. 

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11 hours ago, ajhockey said:

Problem is, we have seven NHL-quality d-men with Tram and Stecher stepping up.

That's a problem?  Not in my mind.  There are always injuries on D and it never hurts to have competition for spots anyway.  GCG!

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7 minutes ago, nux_win said:

That's a problem?  Not in my mind.  There are always injuries on D and it never hurts to have competition for spots anyway.  GCG!

As you eluded to, it's only a problem if/when everyone's healthy...

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17 minutes ago, J.R. said:

As you eluded to, it's only a problem if/when everyone's healthy...

It's not even a problem then.  I think that it is always a good thing to have more NHL quality players than roster spots, that way nobody is guaranteed a job and everyone has to be on their best performance at all times.  No floating allowed.  If someone needs a rest (or a break for motivational reasons) then there is always someone else who can step in.  It's good to keep everyone hungry and a little uncertain.  GCG!

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4 hours ago, nux_win said:

That's a problem?  Not in my mind.  There are always injuries on D and it never hurts to have competition for spots anyway.  GCG!

Indeed, I meant "problem" as in a good problem to have.

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  • 4 weeks later...
1 hour ago, Crabcakes said:

I'd really like to think that there's more there than we've seen so far

 

Me too. I didn't expect him to put up points obviously but was hoping he would resemble Wille Mitchell more than Andrew Alberts. For how he has played this year he looks like a 5/6 tweener, not a second pairing Dman. Sbisa has outplayed him.

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40 minutes ago, canucklehead44 said:

 

Me too. I didn't expect him to put up points obviously but was hoping he would resemble Wille Mitchell more than Andrew Alberts. For how he has played this year he looks like a 5/6 tweener, not a second pairing Dman. Sbisa has outplayed him.

Maybe in a couple of years when he is as old as Sbisa is now, Guddy will be better. It's not completely unheard of for Dmen to get better as they progress through their mid-twenties. Remember what Pizza was like a couple of years ago?

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8 hours ago, WeneedLumme said:

Maybe in a couple of years when he is as old as Sbisa is now, Guddy will be better. It's not completely unheard of for Dmen to get better as they progress through their mid-twenties. Remember what Pizza was like a couple of years ago?

 

He is better than Pizza was two years ago for sure.

 

I think he will be fine, Dmen can take awhile to adjust.

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10 hours ago, canucklehead44 said:

 

Me too. I didn't expect him to put up points obviously but was hoping he would resemble Wille Mitchell more than Andrew Alberts. For how he has played this year he looks like a 5/6 tweener, not a second pairing Dman. Sbisa has outplayed him.

Sbisa has outplayed him but Sbisa has made a leap forward this year that many fans still do not want to recognize. Sbisa was playing well last year and has upped it again. That said he is almost 3 years older. Passing judgment on Gudbranson after 30 games is way to premature. I do not look at whether one is better than the other but what a d-core with both playing well does for the Canucks. The Canucks cannot be satisfied building a d-core for regular season play. They need a group that can compete in 'heavy' CUP play. I still think that EG can be part of that.

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57 minutes ago, Boudrias said:

Sbisa has outplayed him but Sbisa has made a leap forward this year that many fans still do not want to recognize. Sbisa was playing well last year and has upped it again. That said he is almost 3 years older. Passing judgment on Gudbranson after 30 games is way to premature. I do not look at whether one is better than the other but what a d-core with both playing well does for the Canucks. The Canucks cannot be satisfied building a d-core for regular season play. They need a group that can compete in 'heavy' CUP play. I still think that EG can be part of that.


Me too. I don't mean to knock EG, but I am just saying it like it is. I think he can develop into a very good dman for us. Sbisa has played 62 games more than EG, so the gap isn't that big in terms of experience. 

It is more about managing expectations. Gudbranson was touted or penciled in as our #3 dman, with Sbisa as a bottom pairing. 

If Gudbranson played up to expectations this team probably still misses the playoffs AND he gets a huge pay raise. With him struggling this lowers his leverage, so hopefully we can lock him down for a lower price so he can be an affordable part of our core when we are actually competitive again. 

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3 minutes ago, canucklehead44 said:


Me too. I don't mean to knock EG, but I am just saying it like it is. I think he can develop into a very good dman for us. Sbisa has played 62 games more than EG, so the gap isn't that big in terms of experience. 

It is more about managing expectations. Gudbranson was touted or penciled in as our #3 dman, with Sbisa as a bottom pairing. 

If Gudbranson played up to expectations this team probably still misses the playoffs AND he gets a huge pay raise. With him struggling this lowers his leverage, so hopefully we can lock him down for a lower price so he can be an affordable part of our core when we are actually competitive again. 

Guddy offers up toughness, and can log big minutes.  He proved in the playoffs with Florida (26 min/game) that he's a top shut down guy.  What do we do with him if he demands 5+ per season?  Is he worth that, especially considering Tanev's contract?

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