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Player by player state of the rebuild, and a bit of ranting.


xereau

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This is what a rebuild looks like.  Its painful.  It sucks.  Its humiliating as a fan.  And imagine what those players in that locker room are feeling right now.  They have to be absolutely embarrassed.  And disgusted.  Benning and Green are both in the spotlight as much as the players.  They have to put on the brave face and face the media every day.  Neither one of them laces up their skates and touches the puck.  The only ones that will dig this team out of the black hole that they themselves have created, is the players themselves.  Yep, Benning put them all here, together.  And yep, Green is the one to bake the cake.  But only the players are the ones that can succeed, or drive HMCS Rebuild right into the rocks.


The franchise roster is comprised of the remnants of an old core, UFAs, trade assets, draftees, and prospects.  I am going to try to boil down each player into a single bullet style comment.


Current roster

 

Old Core:

  • Edler.  Experienced. Slow.  Air tight NMC. Would be a solid top 4 on a contender.  Is our #1. Probably gone in 2019.
  • Tanev. Experienced. Made of glass. Starting to slow. ~Zero offense. Trade return low, or he'd be gone. Probably stays to pair with Quinn.

 

UFA assets:

  • Beagle. Best UFA signing by Benning.  Solid PK.  Leader.  Bottom 6 rock solid depth.
  • Biega.  The little bulldog that could.  Speedy. Solid on boards. Loses the puck, and his man.  Bubble guy.
  • Del Zotto. Was supposed to be a PP guy. Hasn't played PP. Chases. Dumb penalties. Terrible signing.
  • Eriksson. Worst UFA signing by Benning. OK D, but highest paid player needs to be complete.  Disastrous anchor contract.
  • Gagner.  Soft. Inconsistent.  Buried in minors.  Had a decent return stint.  Gone again.  Terrible signing.
  • Nilsson.  Inconsistent. Platoon backup.  Hasn't been good enough.
  • Roussel. Epic pest as advertised.  Gritty. Fast. Some dumb penalties.  Good depth.
  • Schaller.  Underwhelming. Vanilla depth.  Has been benched lately.  No offensive upside.  Doesn't grind down low.  Placeholder.
  • Stecher. Home town boy.  Small.  Sure tries. Small.  Bubble player next year.  Small.  Ugh.

 

Traded assets:

  • Baertschi. Soft.  Low grade top 6.  Concussion issues.
  • Goldobin. Top 3 in points. Leads many O analytics.  Gaining confidence every game.  RIDICULOUSLY SOFT with the puck. Potential star, still.
  • Granlund. Jack of all trades.  Maligned by many.  Not a great checker.  OK scorer. Replaceable at some point.
  • Gudbranson. Huge. Drafted very high. Inconsistent. Flashes of great play. Solid top 4 D.  Nearly impossible asset to draft/acquire.  Good trade.
  • Leivo. New. Big body. Has hands.  Scored in 1st game. Potential top 6. Can check too.  Great trade.
  • Markstrom. Inconsistent. Stubborn with coaches. Bubble #1. Not the guy long term.
  • Motte.  Chris Higgins 2.0.  Is becoming a fan favorite.  Glue guy.  Probably an upgrade on Granlund long term. Could be a core guy.
  • SutterIs the foundational center mgmt touts. Look at our record without him. Hopefully Gaudette can replace long term.  Need him back ASAP.
  • Pouliot. Disaster in his own end. Slow. Sitting for weeks at a time = gone soon. Didn't give up a lot to get him.

 

Draftees

  • Boeser. Sniper.  All Star Game MVP rookie.  Slowish.  Needs to back check. Top 3 long term core winger.
  • Gaudette. Hobey Baker winner from 5th round = win.  Long term 3rd line core center.
  • Horvat. El Capitan. One of the best contracts in hockey. Long term #2 core center.
  • Hutton.  The comeback kid.  Had a rough sophomore year. Solid top 4 D. Big. Still learning.  Core D.
  • Pettersson. Best drafted player since Bure. True #1 core center we need.
  • Virtanen.  Flashes of becoming a top 6 beast. Solid 3rd line grinder.  Plus player in a checking role on a  terrible team.

 

Prospects/In the system

  • Brassard.  Overager CHL D.  Unsigned.  Big. Righty.  Expect him to get a look in Utica.
  • Brisebois.  Drafted. Utica D.  Signed. Stay at home.  Tanev clone. Bubble long term.
  • Chatfield. Undrafted. Utica D. Signed.  Rover. Has a great offensive upside.  Liability on D.  Longshot NHLer.
  • Dahlen. Signed. Traded for Burrows. Utica F.  Talented scoring forward.  Potential core Top 6.
  • Gadjovich. Signed. Drafted. Utica F.  Power forward.  Can score.  Slow. Bottom 6 NHL potential.
  • Gaunce. Signed. Drafted. Utica F. Bubble depth.  Can't stick in NHL.  Had high hopes.  Probably on last NHL contract.
  • Gunnarsson.  Unsigned. Drafted. Unsigned. Long shot stay at home NHL D.
  • Hughes.  Unsigned.  Drafted.  #1 D prospect in Canucks history.  Future core #1 D.
  • Jasek.  Signed.  Drafted.  Two way RW. Playing well in Utica.  Utility NHL potential.
  • Juolevi. Signed. Drafted. Puck moving D. Learning NA game in Utica.  Top 4 future core.
  • Lind.  Signed.  Drafted. Scoring winger.  Still adjusting to AHL. Potential top 6 winger.
  • Lockwood.  Unsigned.  Drafted. NCAA. Two way utility NHL potential.
  • MacEwen. Signed. Undrafted.  Utica.  Big body, bottom 6 core potential.
  • Madden.  Unsigned. Drafted. NCAA.  Offensive potential.
  • McEneny. Signed. Undrafted. Utica.  Depth D at best.
  • Palmu. Signed. Drafted. Utica.  Depth energy scorer.  Intriguing player.  Depth NHLer potential.
  • Rathbone. Unsigned. Drafted. NCAA.  Potential top 4 NHL core D.
  • Sautner.  Signed.  Undrafted. Utica. Depth D at best.
  • Tryamkin.  Signed. Drafted. KHL. Bolted to the KHL.  Canucks' problem child.  Potential beast.  Future uncertain.
  • Utunen.  Unsigned.  Drafted.  Liiga. WJC gold and silver.  Potential is there.  Long term project, young.
  • Woo. Unsigned.  Drafted.  WHL.  Solid body, has offensive upside.  Potential top 4 core D.
  • Zhukenov.  Unsigned. Drafted.  VHL.  Two way utility potential.

 

OK, that was a somewhat exhausting inventory taking process.  But actually learned a few things.  Felt bad giving a bunch of young prospects and current players the yellow treatment. But not everyone is cut out to be future core.  Hell, not even the future core are guaranteed to be future core.  Things change.  Some new guys will appear out of nowhere.  Some for sure guys will and already have slipped to bust/forgotten status.

What can we take away from this?

 

  • Benning should have his hands slapped away from the summer cookie jar.  Two good signings.  This year.  Maybe he is learning.  Conservative, depth UFA is how you rebuild. No more big splashes, Jim.

 

  • Benning has clearly outright won some trades.  Guddy, Goldy, Sutter, and Leivo all great trades.  Markstrom wasn't even his trade, and considering what we gave up for him, and his inconsistency and inability to take the #1 role and run with it, is why I ranked him orange.  Pouliot has been an unmitigated disaster.

 

  • Benning is a scout at heart.  We have several draftees as part of a new core playing on the NHL team.  This is good.  I count 7 green lit prospects as probably NHLers.  And like I mentioned above, there are always those guys that will come out of nowhere and make a difference in the NHL.  I see Chatfield, Jasek and Palmu as this kind of prospect.  I am disappointed with Lind's trajectory currently.  He has some very poor numbers in Utica for an offensive prospect.  We have a LOT of D coming.  They take longer to develop as we all know.  We are probably going to see several depth UFA D signed in the coming two or three seasons, with some sticking, most disappointing.   Its hard to come up with the exact right combination of size and speed to contain the speedy offensive meta the NHL has adopted.  Tryamkin was, and may still be, the prototypical perfect D for this team and league.  Please come home, Tree!!

 

  • There is A LOT of yellow in this list.  This means we have a lot of mediocrity, and uncertainty coming in the future.  This skid, as bad as it has been, it probably for the best.  We need more green in this list.  We need more sure thing up and comers.  And the only way you do this is by getting high picks.  And solid scouting.  This is where we are ultimately going to succeed or fail as a franchise.  And we don't really ever hear about these depth scouts, other than Gradin in Sweden.  And Salo in Finland.  We sink or swim on this depth.  This is why this process has been an eye opener for me.  We have some good young depth coming.  But it is a way off.  Especially the D.  We should probably be bracing for another couple years of terrible play.  But I just want to see the guys compete out there.  Not going to name any names, but we have a few ass draggers on this team currently, that should be producing, and are not.

 

(the following was ripped from another one of my posts)

 

And now on to the giant green white and blue elephant in the room.

 

  • Where is the backbone of this team? 
  • Is this the 'new age country club' identity from the Gillis years still the status quo? 
  • Where is the push back when a player slams Pettersson to the ice? 
  • Where is the emotion when someone headshots Baertschi? 
  • Who is going to do something about Edler getting clipped from behind and falling on his face?  NO ONE?!? 
  • WHAT IS THE IDENTITY OF THIS TEAM?

 

There was a LOT of discussion after the EP incident, by the fans and the media.  But the Canucks 'didn't see it happen' and 'it was a close game'.  BULL.  They have those tablets on the bench.  There has been barely a peep from the fans here on CDC after Sven, and nothing from the media.  And virtually crickets from the Canucks.  Why on EARTH would Edler want to re-sign here?  I am not asking for bench brawls.  Or curb stomps.  But I want to see something. Anything.  There is a reason other teams are taking runs at our guys.

 

Our D is abysmal.  Baumgartner is the best we can do for D coach?  All I see the entire team collapse to the net, every single time the other team touches the puck.  I just don't know what ever happened to making guys pay for going to the net.  Defense is a team concept.  The blue line corps is only part of the problem here.  The whole team is playing a poor system, that clearly is amateurish.  What can be done about this?  Paging Larry Robinson....

 

Now a quick jab at the offensive system.  BATTLE BATTLE BATTLE plastered all over everything at the start of this season.  It was evident.  For a while.  Winning the dash to the puck more often than not.  Actually banging guys off the puck on the boards.  Shooting it from everywhere.  Getting rebound goals.  Where has this style of play gone?  What has gotten into the team?  If you are going to be a puck pursuit team, shouldn't you pursue the puck?  How about the old school blue collar dump and chase game we have reverted to? This is amateurish too.  It also helps if you actually go get the damn puck when you chip it out or dump it in.  We get rid of the puck like its a hand grenade,  let the opponent pick it up, and don't even make it miserable on the other team most of the time!  What happened to carrying the puck up the ice?  Making the opposing D fail by collapsing to far too fast?  We were all over teams to start the season.  Our forwards and D were rushing up the ice end to end. Now everyone seems afraid to make a mistake?  Run and gun it out there!  Finally, the power play is mostly a sad joke.  That drop pass makes me want to puke.  Our two guys on the side wall are the only threat.  D almost never gets a good look, or even a shot through.  Everyone just stands still!  Newell Brown is the best we can do?  Huh.

 

Lastly, the buck has to stop somewhere.  Green refuses to scramble or load up lines to get things going.  This was the rap on him in Utica:  stubborn and pigheaded.  If he refuses to adapt to the NHL his stint will be a short one.  This run of losses puts him closer to the precipice than anyone thinks too, imo.  Benning has not changed the roster significantly to give Green much to work with considering all the holes in the line up.  Leivo was a good start, however.   And Beagle returning is like getting a quality trade for nothing.   As I started this all off, it is up to the players to dig out of this black hole in which they have put themselves.

 

I hate to say this, but something is rotten about this team.  I don't know enough about the internal workings to put my finger on it.  None of us here do.  But there are signs.  Linden knew enough to bail, and this, my friends, should tell is A LOT about the state of this franchise.  The most beloved alumni of all time, had seen and heard enough, took his puck, and went home. 

 

I am still a fan.  Love this team.  But I care enough to write a long rambling amateur breakdown on how I see things.

 

 

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Good analysis, and agree with pretty much all of the ratings. The only ones i would change is putting both Baertschi and Madden in green. Baertschi looked real good before his injury and our top 6 is definitely missing him. Madden is playing really good as a true freshman and has a good shot to make a stacked USA world junior team. 

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Not sure how you can say he won the Sutter or Leivo trades. Leivo has played one game so you don't get to assign a  win or loss to that trade yet. And Bonino has been more durable and outperformed or was equal to Sutter in each year since the trade (which also cost Clendening and a 2nd and only got a 3rd back).

 

First 2 seasons after the trade

Sutter 101gp-22g-21a-43pts 52% FO

Bonino 143gp-27g-39a-66pts 50% FO (2 Cups including 18pts in 24gp in the 2016 run)

 

2 seasons subsequent

Sutter 93gp-14g-16a-30pts 48% FO

Bonino 98gp-16g-20a-36pts 53% FO

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Great job, not much to argue with there......

 

As for the question at the end...……...

 

IMO....assistant coaches...……...Defense and special teams are just brutal...….I see the PK getting better as Beagle and Sutter get back into it, but I absolutely hate the PP and think it is far too stationary and I see both Boeser and Pettersson wanting to be in the same place on the ice......both look frustrated on the PP......I think movement fixes that. But who the hell knows?

 

Again....great job!

 

I did not like the tank falling off the trailer, though! What does that mean?

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1 hour ago, xereau said:

I hate to say this, but something is rotten about this team.  I don't know enough about the internal workings to put my finger on it.  None of us here do.  But there are signs.  Linden knew enough to bail, and this, my friends, should tell is A LOT about the state of this franchise.  The most beloved alumni of all time, had seen and heard enough, took his puck, and went home. 

 

Linden didn't quit on this team, he was shown the door by impatient ownership who is also causing that stench you're referring too.  All people have to do is listen to Gillis talk about how Francisco would come into his office with trade proposals.  He wants to be a hands on owner a la Jerry Jones and that's frightening.  We all heard the phrase "Well it starts at the top" and this team is a reflection of that. 

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Please start stock piling more "BIG" defense men,we have got to get a norris trophy winner one of these days.

Fifty years and counting and we have had 3 guys that I would say were that caliber but still not quite good enough.

This is our biggest weakness,and to be Stanley Cup Champs you need good to great defense men.We are seriously lacking any scoring from the back end,or even great passing out of our end,we just seem to get hammered back there.

We could probably put some better goaltending on my Christmas list as well,but good defense makes for much better goalies.

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24 minutes ago, GritGrinder said:

Not sure how you can say he won the Sutter or Leivo trades. Leivo has played one game so you don't get to assign a  win or loss to that trade yet. And Bonino has been more durable and outperformed or was equal to Sutter in each year since the trade (which also cost Clendening and a 2nd and only got a 3rd back).

 

First 2 seasons after the trade

Sutter 101gp-22g-21a-43pts 52% FO

Bonino 143gp-27g-39a-66pts 50% FO (2 Cups including 18pts in 24gp in the 2016 run)

 

2 seasons subsequent

Sutter 93gp-14g-16a-30pts 48% FO

Bonino 98gp-16g-20a-36pts 53% FO

Sutter was the end of the line on the Kesler hostage situation.  Gudbranson is also part of this team based on that same deal.  So two core roster players for 1 slightly more offensive center, a plug forward (McCann) and a AHL defenseman (Clendenning).  Still a win.    Leivo for a guy (UFA signing too btw, Carcone) that will probably never play a NHL game = a win, even if it is only 1 game in.

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1 hour ago, xereau said:

Our D is abysmal.  Baumgartner is the best we can do for D coach? 

 

If Nolan Baumgartner wants to motivate the D, he should just show them a link to his wiki page and say "Look what could happen to a 10th overall D-man if you don't smarten up"

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40 minutes ago, xereau said:

Sutter was the end of the line on the Kesler hostage situation.  Gudbranson is also part of this team based on that same deal.  So two core roster players for 1 slightly more offensive center, a plug forward (McCann) and a AHL defenseman (Clendenning).  Still a win.    Leivo for a guy (UFA signing too btw, Carcone) that will probably never play a NHL game = a win, even if it is only 1 game in.

Nice attempt at a spin but no...the Sutter/Bonino trade was not anywhere close to a win for JB...a break even at best and I’m being extremely generous. I’ll leave my comment about the Leivo trade as it is. And a core of what..? a rotten apple? In case you haven't noticed Sutter and Gudbranson are oft injured and the Canucks are the worst team in the league since those 2 became part of the "core". I also love how you try to throw McCann under the bus as a plug when him and JV’s career numbers are nearly identical

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9 minutes ago, kingofsurrey said:

Get rid of  FA and JB and bring back Trev.......

This.

 

Though I get that it's unlikely Aquilini will go.  Benning has been nothing short of a massive failure here.  Let's look at some of the stats:

 

Canucks since the beginning 2015/2016:

- Last in points percentage.
- Last in GF/game.
- Second last in GA/game.
- Last in goal differential (-179). Next worse is ~20% better at -147 (Arizona). Fourth worst is at -99.
- Third last in PP% and PK%.
- Second last in xGF% and last in adjusted xGF% at all game states.

 

And I wouldn't say this team has even been in a rebuild.  It's simply been a bad hockey team that failed at trying to make the playoffs (which is what Benning has tried to do every year).  

 

Awful signings, poor trades, neglecting to acquire draft picks, and missing out on Tkachuk and Nylander/Ehlers, has really set this team back several years. I know people a few years ago opposed a tear it down rebuild because they didn't want to become like the Oilers.  Guess what?  This team is just as bad as the old Oilers.

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28 minutes ago, GritGrinder said:

Nice attempt at a spin but no...the Sutter/Bonino trade was not anywhere close to a win for JB...a break even at best and I’m being extremely generous. I’ll leave my comment about the Leivo trade as it is. And a core of what..? a rotten apple? In case you haven't noticed Sutter and Gudbranson are oft injured and the Canucks are the worst team in the league since those 2 became part of the "core". I also love how you try to throw McCann under the bus as a plug when him and JV’s career numbers are nearly identical

No trying about it.  The guy is a plug.  Firmly stuck under the bus.

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17 minutes ago, GritGrinder said:

Nice attempt at a spin but no...the Sutter/Bonino trade was not anywhere close to a win for JB...a break even at best and I’m being extremely generous. I’ll leave my comment about the Leivo trade as it is. I also love how you try to throw McCann under the bus as a plug when him and JV’s career numbers are nearly identical

I think the Penguins and the Canucks both got what they were looking for out of that deal to be fair.

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2 hours ago, xereau said:

This is what a rebuild looks like.  Its painful.  It sucks.  Its humiliating as a fan.  And imagine what those players in that locker room are feeling right now.  They have to be absolutely embarrassed.  And disgusted.  Benning and Green are both in the spotlight as much as the players.  They have to put on the brave face and face the media every day.  Neither one of them laces up their skates and touches the puck.  The only ones that will dig this team out of the black hole that they themselves have created, is the players themselves.  Yep, Benning put them all here, together.  And yep, Green is the one to bake the cake.  But only the players are the ones that can succeed, or drive HMCS Rebuild right into the rocks.


The franchise roster is comprised of the remnants of an old core, UFAs, trade assets, draftees, and prospects.  I am going to try to boil down each player into a single bullet style comment.


Current roster

 

Old Core:

  • Edler.  Experienced. Slow.  Air tight NMC. Would be a solid top 4 on a contender.  Is our #1. Probably gone in 2019.
  • Tanev. Experienced. Made of glass. Starting to slow. ~Zero offense. Trade return low, or he'd be gone. Probably stays to pair with Quinn.

 

UFA assets:

  • Beagle. Best UFA signing by Benning.  Solid PK.  Leader.  Bottom 6 rock solid depth.
  • Biega.  The little bulldog that could.  Speedy. Solid on boards. Loses the puck, and his man.  Bubble guy.
  • Del Zotto. Was supposed to be a PP guy. Hasn't played PP. Chases. Dumb penalties. Terrible signing.
  • Eriksson. Worst UFA signing by Benning. OK D, but highest paid player needs to be complete.  Disastrous anchor contract.
  • Gagner.  Soft. Inconsistent.  Buried in minors.  Had a decent return stint.  Gone again.  Terrible signing.
  • Nilsson.  Inconsistent. Platoon backup.  Hasn't been good enough.
  • Roussel. Epic pest as advertised.  Gritty. Fast. Some dumb penalties.  Good depth.
  • Schaller.  Underwhelming. Vanilla depth.  Has been benched lately.  No offensive upside.  Doesn't grind down low.  Placeholder.
  • Stecher. Home town boy.  Small.  Sure tries. Small.  Bubble player next year.  Small.  Ugh.

 

Traded assets:

  • Baertschi. Soft.  Low grade top 6.  Concussion issues.
  • Goldobin. Top 3 in points. Leads many O analytics.  Gaining confidence every game.  RIDICULOUSLY SOFT with the puck. Potential star, still.
  • Granlund. Jack of all trades.  Maligned by many.  Not a great checker.  OK scorer. Replaceable at some point.
  • Gudbranson. Huge. Drafted very high. Inconsistent. Flashes of great play. Solid top 4 D.  Nearly impossible asset to draft/acquire.  Good trade.
  • Leivo. New. Big body. Has hands.  Scored in 1st game. Potential top 6. Can check too.  Great trade.
  • Markstrom. Inconsistent. Stubborn with coaches. Bubble #1. Not the guy long term.
  • Motte.  Chris Higgins 2.0.  Is becoming a fan favorite.  Glue guy.  Probably an upgrade on Granlund long term. Could be a core guy.
  • SutterIs the foundational center mgmt touts. Look at our record without him. Hopefully Gaudette can replace long term.  Need him back ASAP.
  • Pouliot. Disaster in his own end. Slow. Sitting for weeks at a time = gone soon. Didn't give up a lot to get him.

 

Draftees

  • Boeser. Sniper.  All Star Game MVP rookie.  Slowish.  Needs to back check. Top 3 long term core winger.
  • Gaudette. Hobey Baker winner from 5th round = win.  Long term 3rd line core center.
  • Horvat. El Capitan. One of the best contracts in hockey. Long term #2 core center.
  • Hutton.  The comeback kid.  Had a rough sophomore year. Solid top 4 D. Big. Still learning.  Core D.
  • Pettersson. Best drafted player since Bure. True #1 core center we need.
  • Virtanen.  Flashes of becoming a top 6 beast. Solid 3rd line grinder.  Plus player in a checking role on a  terrible team.

 

Prospects/In the system

  • Brassard.  Overager CHL D.  Unsigned.  Big. Righty.  Expect him to get a look in Utica.
  • Brisebois.  Drafted. Utica D.  Signed. Stay at home.  Tanev clone. Bubble long term.
  • Chatfield. Undrafted. Utica D. Signed.  Rover. Has a great offensive upside.  Liability on D.  Longshot NHLer.
  • Dahlen. Signed. Traded for Burrows. Utica F.  Talented scoring forward.  Potential core Top 6.
  • Gadjovich. Signed. Drafted. Utica F.  Power forward.  Can score.  Slow. Bottom 6 NHL potential.
  • Gaunce. Signed. Drafted. Utica F. Bubble depth.  Can't stick in NHL.  Had high hopes.  Probably on last NHL contract.
  • Gunnarsson.  Unsigned. Drafted. Unsigned. Long shot stay at home NHL D.
  • Hughes.  Unsigned.  Drafted.  #1 D prospect in Canucks history.  Future core #1 D.
  • Jasek.  Signed.  Drafted.  Two way RW. Playing well in Utica.  Utility NHL potential.
  • Juolevi. Signed. Drafted. Puck moving D. Learning NA game in Utica.  Top 4 future core.
  • Lind.  Signed.  Drafted. Scoring winger.  Still adjusting to AHL. Potential top 6 winger.
  • Lockwood.  Unsigned.  Drafted. NCAA. Two way utility NHL potential.
  • MacEwen. Signed. Undrafted.  Utica.  Big body, bottom 6 core potential.
  • Madden.  Unsigned. Drafted. NCAA.  Offensive potential.
  • McEneny. Signed. Undrafted. Utica.  Depth D at best.
  • Palmu. Signed. Drafted. Utica.  Depth energy scorer.  Intriguing player.  Depth NHLer potential.
  • Rathbone. Unsigned. Drafted. NCAA.  Potential top 4 NHL core D.
  • Sautner.  Signed.  Undrafted. Utica. Depth D at best.
  • Tryamkin.  Signed. Drafted. KHL. Bolted to the KHL.  Canucks' problem child.  Potential beast.  Future uncertain.
  • Utunen.  Unsigned.  Drafted.  Liiga. WJC gold and silver.  Potential is there.  Long term project, young.
  • Woo. Unsigned.  Drafted.  WHL.  Solid body, has offensive upside.  Potential top 4 core D.
  • Zhukenov.  Unsigned. Drafted.  VHL.  Two way utility potential.

 

OK, that was a somewhat exhausting inventory taking process.  But actually learned a few things.  Felt bad giving a bunch of young prospects and current players the yellow treatment. But not everyone is cut out to be future core.  Hell, not even the future core are guaranteed to be future core.  Things change.  Some new guys will appear out of nowhere.  Some for sure guys will and already have slipped to bust/forgotten status.

What can we take away from this?

 

  • Benning should have his hands slapped away from the summer cookie jar.  Two good signings.  This year.  Maybe he is learning.  Conservative, depth UFA is how you rebuild. No more big splashes, Jim.

 

  • Benning has clearly outright won some trades.  Guddy, Goldy, Sutter, and Leivo all great trades.  Markstrom wasn't even his trade, and considering what we gave up for him, and his inconsistency and inability to take the #1 role and run with it, is why I ranked him orange.  Pouliot has been an unmitigated disaster.

 

  • Benning is a scout at heart.  We have several draftees as part of a new core playing on the NHL team.  This is good.  I count 7 green lit prospects as probably NHLers.  And like I mentioned above, there are always those guys that will come out of nowhere and make a difference in the NHL.  I see Chatfield, Jasek and Palmu as this kind of prospect.  I am disappointed with Lind's trajectory currently.  He has some very poor numbers in Utica for an offensive prospect.  We have a LOT of D coming.  They take longer to develop as we all know.  We are probably going to see several depth UFA D signed in the coming two or three seasons, with some sticking, most disappointing.   Its hard to come up with the exact right combination of size and speed to contain the speedy offensive meta the NHL has adopted.  Tryamkin was, and may still be, the prototypical perfect D for this team and league.  Please come home, Tree!!

 

  • There is A LOT of yellow in this list.  This means we have a lot of mediocrity, and uncertainty coming in the future.  This skid, as bad as it has been, it probably for the best.  We need more green in this list.  We need more sure thing up and comers.  And the only way you do this is by getting high picks.  And solid scouting.  This is where we are ultimately going to succeed or fail as a franchise.  And we don't really ever hear about these depth scouts, other than Gradin in Sweden.  And Salo in Finland.  We sink or swim on this depth.  This is why this process has been an eye opener for me.  We have some good young depth coming.  But it is a way off.  Especially the D.  We should probably be bracing for another couple years of terrible play.  But I just want to see the guys compete out there.  Not going to name any names, but we have a few ass draggers on this team currently, that should be producing, and are not.

 

(the following was ripped from another one of my posts)

 

And now on to the giant green white and blue elephant in the room.

 

  • Where is the backbone of this team? 
  • Is this the 'new age country club' identity from the Gillis years still the status quo? 
  • Where is the push back when a player slams Pettersson to the ice? 
  • Where is the emotion when someone headshots Baertschi? 
  • Who is going to do something about Edler getting clipped from behind and falling on his face?  NO ONE?!? 
  • WHAT IS THE IDENTITY OF THIS TEAM?

 

There was a LOT of discussion after the EP incident, by the fans and the media.  But the Canucks 'didn't see it happen' and 'it was a close game'.  BULL.  They have those tablets on the bench.  There has been barely a peep from the fans here on CDC after Sven, and nothing from the media.  And virtually crickets from the Canucks.  Why on EARTH would Edler want to re-sign here?  I am not asking for bench brawls.  Or curb stomps.  But I want to see something. Anything.  There is a reason other teams are taking runs at our guys.

 

Our D is abysmal.  Baumgartner is the best we can do for D coach?  All I see the entire team collapse to the net, every single time the other team touches the puck.  I just don't know what ever happened to making guys pay for going to the net.  Defense is a team concept.  The blue line corps is only part of the problem here.  The whole team is playing a poor system, that clearly is amateurish.  What can be done about this?  Paging Larry Robinson....

 

Now a quick jab at the offensive system.  BATTLE BATTLE BATTLE plastered all over everything at the start of this season.  It was evident.  For a while.  Winning the dash to the puck more often than not.  Actually banging guys off the puck on the boards.  Shooting it from everywhere.  Getting rebound goals.  Where has this style of play gone?  What has gotten into the team?  If you are going to be a puck pursuit team, shouldn't you pursue the puck?  How about the old school blue collar dump and chase game we have reverted to? This is amateurish too.  It also helps if you actually go get the damn puck when you chip it out or dump it in.  We get rid of the puck like its a hand grenade,  let the opponent pick it up, and don't even make it miserable on the other team most of the time!  What happened to carrying the puck up the ice?  Making the opposing D fail by collapsing to far too fast?  We were all over teams to start the season.  Our forwards and D were rushing up the ice end to end. Now everyone seems afraid to make a mistake?  Run and gun it out there!  Finally, the power play is mostly a sad joke.  That drop pass makes me want to puke.  Our two guys on the side wall are the only threat.  D almost never gets a good look, or even a shot through.  Everyone just stands still!  Newell Brown is the best we can do?  Huh.

 

Lastly, the buck has to stop somewhere.  Green refuses to scramble or load up lines to get things going.  This was the rap on him in Utica:  stubborn and pigheaded.  If he refuses to adapt to the NHL his stint will be a short one.  This run of losses puts him closer to the precipice than anyone thinks too, imo.  Benning has not changed the roster significantly to give Green much to work with considering all the holes in the line up.  Leivo was a good start, however.   And Beagle returning is like getting a quality trade for nothing.   As I started this all off, it is up to the players to dig out of this black hole in which they have put themselves.

 

I hate to say this, but something is rotten about this team.  I don't know enough about the internal workings to put my finger on it.  None of us here do.  But there are signs.  Linden knew enough to bail, and this, my friends, should tell is A LOT about the state of this franchise.  The most beloved alumni of all time, had seen and heard enough, took his puck, and went home. 

 

I am still a fan.  Love this team.  But I care enough to write a long rambling amateur breakdown on how I see things.

 

 

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What a lot of people don't understand is that getting the personnel in place is one step.  After you have the personnel in place, then it's a few years before they truly learn to play together, to just instinctively know where their teammates are on the ice.  When they play against teams like Minny, LA, SJ etc etc, what we see is players who have been playing together for a very long time.  They might not have the pure talent that the Canucks have, but they know how to play together.  The Canucks are amassing some impressive talent, not they just ave to grow together.

 

This is a time to be patient and enjoy the process, as hard as it is at times.

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4 minutes ago, xereau said:

No trying about it.  The guy is a plug.  Firmly stuck under the bus.

McCann with his goals so far this season would be the 5th top goal scorer on the Canucks this season...

 

Just sayin.... and he is 22 years old...

 

Canucks got destroyed in this trade.  Time will tell. 

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