This is Getting Harder to Ignore

[-DLC-]

5 hours ago, drdeath said:

It took until June for midnight to end Vegas’ ball last year. There’s really no way of knowing when this bubble will burst. Last year should have taught us that the folks saying “this can’t possibly last” might have to say it for a while. 

They must be fun at parties.

[Bure2Win]

Who's ignoring, i'm drooling..........while it lasts?

[WHL rocks]

This is a fast team. Their team speed is a pleasant surprise. 

 

EP makes a whole line by him self. 

 

These two reasons make this a playoff team. 

 

On top of that our division is pretty weak. Looks like our rebuild has fast forwarded by a couple of years. 

[Hindustan Smyl]

15 hours ago, gameburn said:

Boeser's injury, and the loss of the 4th and 3rd center are huge.   Edler has been better the last year and a bit, but tbh he is not the future and probably not a big part of the present.  Pouliot, and Stecher have both improved over last year -- Green's system is really helping too.  But on D, the real story is that of Gudbranson and Hutton:  it's as if they are here on the team for the first time -- totally different players.   Gudbranson is physical and a hero on pk, Hutton is the best offensive D we have until Hughes gets here. Amazing.   The goaltending is no better than Miller's work but more consistent than last year's work by the same 2 goalies -- again, improvement is the theme.

 

So many of the Canucks are still at the age/stage of career where they are improving.  This is huge for the future and huge for the morale and energy on the team.  

Wait til Hughes, Woo and Lind get here, lol.   If Gadjovich and Dahlen can play at the NHL level, then the sky is the limit for this team.  

 

When Pettersson gets better line-mates (Lind, Hughes, Dahlen, mainly) to go along with Baertschi and Boeser?  More goals, more ways to win.  Also, Goalie equipment is returning to normal (the way it was for a hundred years until Roy changed things) which will make the Canucks offense even more potent -- Virtanen, Boeser, Pettersson and Dahlen are all superb shooters, and in the case of Virtanen and Boeser were drafted specifically for their shooting ability.  (Pettersson was drafted for that and much more, as we all know.) 

 

You ain't seen nothing yet. 

 

This year is very unlikely to be their first cup -- few young teams have won right away -- usually there is a year or two to learn to win (Edmonton and NY Islanders come to mind with their dynasties.)  But two years from now?  Even next year, if Hughes and Dahlen are here? 

 

The team is beginning to look a bit like the Chicago team when Toews, Kane, Keith, Seabrook began to hit their stride, but prior to Crawford's arrival.  Our equivalent = Horvat, Pettersson, Hughes, Hutton, with Demko a year or two away. 

Exciting times to be a Canucks fan for sure.  

 

The Canucks really do seem to have taken a substantial leap even with all of these injuries. When you add to fact that Juolevi and Hughes will likely join the team next year, and perhaps Tryamkin after that, things definitely look like they’re on the up and up.

 

Like you said - did anyone ever expect this out of Hutton and Gudbranson?!?!  I certainly didn’t.  

 

I think Pouliot and Del Zotto are gone after this season however.

[messier's_elbow]

This thread pops up every year. The kids look good which is promising, they are entertaining, easy to like, they have seemingly good coaching....but let’s see how they are doing in the dog days of February. Loui Erickson plays like a star every November then vanishes for the rest of the season or gets injured. Horvat is going to get burned out at this rate, the guys playing unreal but it’s going to be another 4-5 weeks of this grind on him. At least they are being smart with injuries this season. Keeping Pettersson and Boeser out till completely healthy are great moves. 

[spook007]

2 hours ago, messier's_elbow said:

This thread pops up every year. The kids look good which is promising, they are entertaining, easy to like, they have seemingly good coaching....but let’s see how they are doing in the dog days of February. Loui Erickson plays like a star every November then vanishes for the rest of the season or gets injured. Horvat is going to get burned out at this rate, the guys playing unreal but it’s going to be another 4-5 weeks of this grind on him. At least they are being smart with injuries this season. Keeping Pettersson and Boeser out till completely healthy are great moves. 

You may very well be right, however the difference this season is instead of losing players over November/December we are getting players back... Big players.

So far the depth players have been able to keep us going.

 

The early season rest for Baertschi/ Edler/ Boeser/ Beagle/ Sutter might be a blessing in disguise... 

 

Definitely lots of reasons to be optimistic...

[spook007]

18 hours ago, stawns said:

The biggest thing for me is their ability to play a variety of styles and still outplay their opponents.  When they've played teams that play a tight, defensive style, they've been able to tighten up their games as well.  When they've managed to put up a cpl early goals and the other team is forced to open up the game, to try and get back in it, the Canucks have feasted on them.

 

I really don't see the way they are playing as an anomaly.  I think this is the way they've been built and the way that Benning wants Green to coach.

Not only Benning...

Owners will be drooling at the moment. The kind of hockey being played fills the seats at Rogers... 

 

We'll be hard pressed to find a fan in the stands that doesn't prefer this kind of hockey to, what we've seen the last few years.

Of course the goal is the play off, and hopefully it can lead us there, but the hockey been played now has for sure caught the eye of all hockey fans,

[Westcoasting]

8 hours ago, Hindustan Smyl said:

Exciting times to be a Canucks fan for sure.  

 

The Canucks really do seem to have taken a substantial leap even with all of these injuries. When you add to fact that Juolevi and Hughes will likely join the team next year, and perhaps Tryamkin after that, things definitely look like they’re on the up and up.

 

Like you said - did anyone ever expect this out of Hutton and Gudbranson?!?!  I certainly didn’t.  

 

I think Pouliot and Del Zotto are gone after this season however.

What makes you think this?

[Hindustan Smyl]

1 hour ago, Westcoasting said:

What makes you think this?

I think a combination of the Canucks making room for Juolevi and Hughes, along with the Canucks needing to free up cap space, makes this a strong likelihood.

[Westcoasting]

4 minutes ago, Hindustan Smyl said:

I think a combination of the Canucks making room for Juolevi and Hughes, along with the Canucks needing to free up cap space, makes this a strong likelihood.

I'm leaning towards them keeping Pouliot for the amount they've played him this year.

[gameburn]

9 hours ago, Hindustan Smyl said:

Exciting times to be a Canucks fan for sure.  

 

The Canucks really do seem to have taken a substantial leap even with all of these injuries. When you add to fact that Juolevi and Hughes will likely join the team next year, and perhaps Tryamkin after that, things definitely look like they’re on the up and up.

 

Like you said - did anyone ever expect this out of Hutton and Gudbranson?!?!  I certainly didn’t.  

 

I think Pouliot and Del Zotto are gone after this season however.

You may be right about Del Zotto and Pouliot -- each have a terrific asset (MDZ hits every shift, Pouliot is a fantastic skater) but they aren't good enough over all, not like Hughes and Juolevi are going to be.  Woo is Biega with finish I think, so he might be valuable too.  Tryamkin would be great to have back assuming he's as good or better than he was.

 

The big thing is that the team has a great attitude and the perfect skill set for today's game;    with the return to normal goaltending it can only get better.  

I'm no big fan of Benning's trades and FA signings... but man, can this guy draft. 

[Hindustan Smyl]

6 minutes ago, Westcoasting said:

I'm leaning towards them keeping Pouliot for the amount they've played him this year.

Fair enough.  I haven’t analysed our cap in depth, but if there’s a fit there and it makes sense, then by all means.  

[gameburn]

11 minutes ago, Hindustan Smyl said:

Fair enough.  I haven’t analysed our cap in depth, but if there’s a fit there and it makes sense, then by all means.  

It all depends on how many D the team wants to dress, and how far along Woo, Juolevi and others are in their development.  We can assume that Hughes is rookie of the year material next year. If Juolevi and Hughes make the team?  And play 20 minutes a game minimum? This means Stecher, Hutton, Tanev, Hughes, Juolevi, Gudbranson as the big 6, with Hutton, Hughes and Juolevi providing offense, while Gudbranson, Tanev, and Stecher are more on the defensive side.  (Stecher could be more like Juolevi though, in being 2-way.)   Without injuries, this is enough D actually -- and possibly all the team can afford in cap space by 2021.   You can get your Biegas and Chatfields to fill out the rest of the minutes/back up for injury.   No money or need for Edler, MDZ or Pouliot.  If Woo is as good as he seems to be, then Edler, MDZ and Pouliot are even less necessary, because we would then have not a BIG 6, but an even bigger 7.  The latter 3 could all be redundant by next Fall if Woo is good enough or if Tryamkin returns.  Or both!  

 

I have to give Benning credit here: the contracts seem to be lining up like the stars: all 3 of the potential expendables have suitable contract situations to make things happen. 

[stawns]

1 hour ago, Hindustan Smyl said:

I think a combination of the Canucks making room for Juolevi and Hughes, along with the Canucks needing to free up cap space, makes this a strong likelihood.

MDZ, yes, Pouliot, I doubt it.  He's coming along nicely and they don't have the depth to just cast aside a young dman.  Additionally, who knows if Hughes is NHL ready next year.

[Dr. Crossbar]

On 09/11/2018 at 10:10 AM, Rob_Zepp said:

Uh, ok.    I was lucky to be in NA and sharing a number of wiggly drinks with people who are typically Canuck bashers but I noticed how much their tune has changed and it inspired me to simply write something from the box.   As someone who has posted here literally thousands of times making it clear how much a fan I am of the team I felt it was more than a supportive view and largely directed at people who have found it so easy to write off the Canucks.    What surprised me today was how that opinion was "ignored" and instead people feel someone having less confidence that this team will be as points successful as others may feel as somehow abhorrent.   Wow.

 

Canucks are a fun team to watch and were for a lot of last season too.   Green has brought a real change to this team.   This is getting harder to ignore.  Cheers.   

I see where you're coming from completely. Was out having drinks downtown when I wrote that and noticed the same thing among fans.

 

I'm more on the side right now of not applying previous negative history of other teams to this team until we see more negatives.

 

At least that way we can actually see and recognize what we do have that's different than the other teams of recent years. 

 

Enjoying the fun!

[gameburn]

2 hours ago, stawns said:

MDZ, yes, Pouliot, I doubt it.  He's coming along nicely and they don't have the depth to just cast aside a young dman.  Additionally, who knows if Hughes is NHL ready next year.

This is a really an interesting point of discussion.

  Pouliot has been pretty good, and improving over the course of the last 18 months.  I think we are used to him being a liability and he does still make mistakes... but he isn't the same player now that he was a year ago.  Much improved, almost as much as Hutton.

  Is he good enough to displace Stecher or Hughes (lol) or Juolevi or for that matter Hutton.  I guess every D could be offensively oriented, so no need to dump Pouliot to keep Tanev or Gudbranson or someone similarly reliable but not great at the offensive game.   

 

 The most likely ones to be gone, imo, by Summer/next Fall are Edler and MDZ.  (I had thought Pouliot would be on this list, but you have changed my mind on this.)

 

Leaves us with Pouliot, Gudbranson, Hutton, Tanev, Juolevi, Hughes, Stecher -- which is 7 D.  If they carry 8, then Biega or Chatfield can fill in.  If Woo makes the team or Tryamkin magically reeappears -- neither is impossible imo -- then Tanev (injury prone, attractive as trade bait if healthy) could be moved at TDL or Summer.   Makes Hutton or Gudbranson the "vets."   No cap problems here, either.  Down the road, if everything/everybody keeps developing... this could be a defense to rival Nashville's.  Most are quick, a couple have unusual skill sets (Gudbranson hits like a truck and apparently can duke it out if he has to and can even kill penalties!;  Hutton and Hughes have creativity in abundance.)   Similar age of players too and all have character and even a sense of humour, which suggests good things as well.

 

question: does the team move MDZ, Edler and Tanev at THIS Trade deadline if they are in a playoff position?  Either for picks or a missing piece?  

[Baggins]

5 hours ago, gameburn said:

This is a really an interesting point of discussion.

  Pouliot has been pretty good, and improving over the course of the last 18 months.  I think we are used to him being a liability and he does still make mistakes... but he isn't the same player now that he was a year ago.  Much improved, almost as much as Hutton.

  Is he good enough to displace Stecher or Hughes (lol) or Juolevi or for that matter Hutton.  I guess every D could be offensively oriented, so no need to dump Pouliot to keep Tanev or Gudbranson or someone similarly reliable but not great at the offensive game.   

 

 The most likely ones to be gone, imo, by Summer/next Fall are Edler and MDZ.  (I had thought Pouliot would be on this list, but you have changed my mind on this.)

 

Leaves us with Pouliot, Gudbranson, Hutton, Tanev, Juolevi, Hughes, Stecher -- which is 7 D.  If they carry 8, then Biega or Chatfield can fill in.  If Woo makes the team or Tryamkin magically reeappears -- neither is impossible imo -- then Tanev (injury prone, attractive as trade bait if healthy) could be moved at TDL or Summer.   Makes Hutton or Gudbranson the "vets."   No cap problems here, either.  Down the road, if everything/everybody keeps developing... this could be a defense to rival Nashville's.  Most are quick, a couple have unusual skill sets (Gudbranson hits like a truck and apparently can duke it out if he has to and can even kill penalties!;  Hutton and Hughes have creativity in abundance.)   Similar age of players too and all have character and even a sense of humour, which suggests good things as well.

 

question: does the team move MDZ, Edler and Tanev at THIS Trade deadline if they are in a playoff position?  Either for picks or a missing piece?  

Guddy leads all our D with 7 points without the benefit of PP time. Hutton has 6 points with 3 from the PP and Pouliot only 3 points with 1 from the PP. Edler stiil leads all our D in ppg with .5, Guddy 2nd at .39, and Hutton 3rd at .38. You may want to re-evaluate your opinion of Guddy.

 

I agree DZ has become expendable for the trade deadline. But until Juolevi and Hughes proves something I don't view any other D-man as expendable at this point. Guddy is highly underrated here and won't be moved. The left side is really where our D depth currently lies. The right side not so much. Meaning Tanev and Guddy are likely non-starters in a deadline conversation. DZ and Edler are the pending ufa's, but I do think Edler will be re-signed. Edler is also our highest value deadline trade piece though. But I don't believe Edler will be moved, or would waive his ntc, if we're in the playoff picture. DZ on the other hand may get moved regardless of the playoff picture.

 

Those hoping for a big sell off at the trade deadline, regardless of standings, are going to be very disappointed imo. We're light on pending ufa's and that's what playoff teams are typically looking for.

[Rob_Zepp]

15 hours ago, messier's_elbow said:

This thread pops up every year. The kids look good which is promising, they are entertaining, easy to like, they have seemingly good coaching....but let’s see how they are doing in the dog days of February. Loui Erickson plays like a star every November then vanishes for the rest of the season or gets injured. Horvat is going to get burned out at this rate, the guys playing unreal but it’s going to be another 4-5 weeks of this grind on him. At least they are being smart with injuries this season. Keeping Pettersson and Boeser out till completely healthy are great moves. 

 

[gameburn]

1 hour ago, Baggins said:

Guddy leads all our D with 7 points without the benefit of PP time. Hutton has 6 points with 3 from the PP and Pouliot only 3 points with 1 from the PP. Edler stiil leads all our D in ppg with .5, Guddy 2nd at .39, and Hutton 3rd at .38. You may want to re-evaluate your opinion of Guddy.

 

I agree DZ has become expendable for the trade deadline. But until Juolevi and Hughes proves something I don't view any other D-man as expendable at this point. Guddy is highly underrated here and won't be moved. The left side is really where our D depth currently lies. The right side not so much. Meaning Tanev and Guddy are likely non-starters in a deadline conversation. DZ and Edler are the pending ufa's, but I do think Edler will be re-signed. Edler is also our highest value deadline trade piece though. But I don't believe Edler will be moved, or would waive his ntc, if we're in the playoff picture. DZ on the other hand may get moved regardless of the playoff picture.

 

Those hoping for a big sell off at the trade deadline, regardless of standings, are going to be very disappointed imo. We're light on pending ufa's and that's what playoff teams are typically looking for.

I agree on Gudbranson: the guy is finally looking like the player they traded for.  His offense is surprising and may not be sustainable imo, but he did put up points in Jr., so anything is possible.  No way in the world we trade him.

 

Re-signing Edler is not a bad idea, but would he come back for only 1 year?  Can we even consider 2?  If there are offers for Edler, then I can see trading him... would we have to sign him first or do it before his last year is out?

Tanev… I'm not sure we have even seen the best he can be... but those injuries every year... do we just accept it, knowing he is likely to be MORE injured with every year?  If he could just find a way to avoid being cornered...

 

 

[Baggins]

49 minutes ago, gameburn said:

I agree on Gudbranson: the guy is finally looking like the player they traded for.  His offense is surprising and may not be sustainable imo, but he did put up points in Jr., so anything is possible.  No way in the world we trade him.

 

Re-signing Edler is not a bad idea, but would he come back for only 1 year?  Can we even consider 2?  If there are offers for Edler, then I can see trading him... would we have to sign him first or do it before his last year is out?

Tanev… I'm not sure we have even seen the best he can be... but those injuries every year... do we just accept it, knowing he is likely to be MORE injured with every year?  If he could just find a way to avoid being cornered...

I highly doubt Edler signs a one year deal. I think Benning will want two and Edler three. I figure it will end up being two of ntc with the third year a limited ntc as the comprimise.

 

I said in the off-season Hutton and Pouliot better show up ready to play because only one will be here long term with Juolevi and Hughes coming. Edler I believe will remain a bridge for those two to find their way. So far Hutton's winning and Pouliot is becoming expendable. But the season is far from over. Either both of them need to prove Edler expendable or one of the two will be moved. That's my opinion.

 

On the right side we have Tanev, Guddy, Stecher, and who? Biega? This is why i don't see Tanev getting moved this year. There's nobody really pressing for a right side spot yet.