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bigbadcanucks

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Everything posted by bigbadcanucks

  1. The clown you're quoting must be a Canuck-insider.
  2. Thanks for clarifying...I guess a simple search would have given me the answer. Can we claim Luke Schenn as an adopted BC-boy?
  3. Schenn moves way better than he was advertised. He's heavy, hits, and plays a steady stay-at-home game. Plays like a veteran who knows what he's supposed to do with the tools he's got in his toolbox. Like him a lot. Would be 100% in favor of a two year contract at $1.25 million AAV. Fact that he's a BC-boy is a bonus. Fact that he played his junior hockey in Kelowna is a bonus. Edit: thanks to PhillyB and AJ for correction.
  4. Claire Alexander? Wow. You must be as old as I am. I was there when the dinosaurs roamed the earth.
  5. I realize that Goldobin and Pearson aren't the same type of players, but here is a little comparison between the two: After 4 full seasons as a NA pro, Goldodbin is clipping along at 0.389 ppg in 113 NHL games, and at 0.851 ppg in 148 AHL games. After 4 full seasons as a NA pro, Pearson was at 0.404 ppg in 146 NHL games, and 0.752 in 105 AHL games. Goldobin chosen 27th OA in his draft class; Pearson chosen 30th OA in his draft class. Goldobin given opportunity to play with the team's top centre, while Pearson had a nice run as the LW on the Jeff Carter line - i.e., both given the opportunity to play in the top six of their respective teams. Many view Pearson as a legit top six who's having a tough season, while many view Goldobin as an on-going project who is still working through his growing pains (and rightly so). In my past posts, I have been a supporter of Goldobin mainly because I think he's an uber-talented hockey player...IMHO, in due time (maybe as early as next season), Nikolay Goldobin will become a legitimate top six forward that everyone was hoping for. I have a feeling that he'll pay off for all the patience shown by Goldobin supporters. And the fact that he's struggled should allow the management to bridge him for the next 2-3 years at a reasonable cap hit allowing flexibility for short term UFA signings.
  6. Have you seen Pouliot play over the course of the season? He's by far, IMHO, the worst defenceman this team has ever had in the lineup.
  7. IMO, the best Canucks team assembled was Pat Quinn's 1994 Stanley Cup finalist. This was a team that could beat you with skill and with their fists. Now that JB has acquired/inherited some high-end talent (Pettersson, Boeser, Hughes, Boeser) he needs to up the punch-you-in-the-face toughness factor. Tryamkin, though not a known fighter, would be a good start.
  8. Was just looking at Ottawa's cap situation. They're paying $5.6M for players to not play for them (Condon buried; Burrows buyout; Phaneuf retained)...makes the Canucks' $3.0 million being paid to Luongo (retained), Gagner (buried), Pyatt (buried) not so bad. I'm liking this trade...sorry to see Archibald leave, but I'm thinking Pyatt and McKenna will help the Comets for the balance of this season. Gonna bet that Gadjovich will see some more ice time now that Archibald has been moved, and that he and MacEwan are going to be leaned on to up the grit factor.
  9. Can you add your sig to the ballot? Nothing says "Canuck" more than a couple of hosers like Bob and Doug McKenzie. Bob and Doug >>>>>>>> than current Johnny Canuck skating on his toes with a stick in his hand like he's the grand marshal for the Vancouver Pride parade. I'm going to go out on a limb and say the Vancouver Giants lumberjack would lay a serious smack down on the Canucks' Johnny Canuck.
  10. Right...and the current logo/uniforms were the cause of these mishaps. Thanks for the laughs. Good one.
  11. My view on Goldobin is that he's where Baertschi was a year after the Canucks got Baertschi from the Flames. Like Baertschi, he's had to learn the defensive side of the game and he's more of a playmaker than a finisher. They're about the same size too, and can skate very well. IMO, Baertschi has turned into a good top six player, though that's difficult to say definitively given that he's missed so many games over the past few seasons. I like how Goldobin has quietly gone about his business this season and has taken the opportunity to play on the top six and has run with it quite nicely. I also have been impressed with his ability to gel with Pettersson, which to some degree is tough to do unless you have the talent to keep up with Pettersson. I wouldn't call it a break out season just yet (maybe at the end of January we can say this) for Goldobin, but he's definitely on his way. A top six that consisting of the following over the long term looks pretty good to me. Goldobin -- Pettersson -- Boeser Baertschi -- Horvat -- Virtanen Throw in a bottom six of the following for the foreseeable future, and I think the Canucks have a forward group that can compete with pretty much anyone in the NHL: Eriksson -- Sutter -- Leivo Motte -- Beagle -- Roussel Granlund/Gaudette Gonna state the obvious...Tim Schaller's days look like they are all but over.
  12. Thanks for the trip down memory lane...got to see a ton of Gretzky while growing up in Winnipeg. Lucky enough to have had parents who had season tickets. Section 13 row 8 seats 7 and 8 in the old Winnipeg Arena on Maroons Drive. Gretzky and his magic torched and tormented the Jets for most of the 1980s. Have to say that I haven't seen a player that reminded me of Gretzky until Elias Pettersson. Could Boeser be Kurri? Could Horvat be Messier? Could Virtanen be Anderson? Could Demko be Fuhr? Could Hughes be Coffey? Could Juolevi be Lowe? Wouldn't that be something if all this came to be for the Canucks?
  13. Especially a Harvard Business degree. A Harvard business degree and a Harvard MBA = 40 years of annualized income of $650,000 as a hedge fund manager or middle management for five years to 10 years and 30 years as a senior exec for a Fortune 500 company equates to $26 million lifetime earnings, plus stock options. That's a nice fall back position to find yourself if a pro hockey career (probably three years at AHL $160,000, and 10 years NHL AAV of $30 million, plus 27 years post hockey income of $650,000 equivalent) doesn't work out. There's something to be said for getting a college degree from an Ivy League or a "new" Ivy League school (friend of mine went to Rennselaer Polytech Institute in Boston on a full hockey scholarship (even though it's not an Ivy League school and even though he didn't play a second of pro hockey, there's a picture of him wearing an RPI jersey in a game situation in the HHOF) and he has probably has established himself with a net worth of $50 schmill or so on the strength of his college degree). Like Mr. T says, pity the fool who ditches school. EDIT - gonna bet that Patrick McNally doesn't give a rat's ass that his pro hockey career didn't work out. In spite of his one year academic suspension, with his Harvard degree, I'm going to bet that there's a bunch of opportunities coming his way. EDIT 2 - ixnay Edit 1. Looks like McNally is still living out a pro hockey dream with signing on with Division 2 teams in Europe.
  14. This isn't to disparage Teemu Selanne in any way, but Teemu did all of this as a 22 year old, with an uber talented Alexei Zhamnov as his centerman and a group of top flight puck moving d-men made up of Phil Housely, Teppo Numninen, and Freddy Olausson (though I was living in Vancouver by 1989, I grew up in Winnipeg, and was a Jets/Selanne fan during the 92-93 season when Selanne broke into the league). What the young 19yo (soon to be 20yo) Pettersson has done in his first nine NHL games is something I haven't seen since Gretzky ruled the Smythe division. The pessimist in me is waiting for the drop-off in Pettersson's game to come, but based on what I've seen so far, I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. Without doubt, Pettersson is the most electrifying rookie since Pavel Bure that I have ever seen in a Canucks jersey (and I have lived in Vancouver 20 of the past 30 years, and have been a transplanted Canucks fan since 1994 Cup run). Here's hoping that Pettersson can sustain what he's doing for the remaining 67 games...should that be the case, he'll be knocking on Art Ross's, Hart's, Calder's, Rocket Richard's, and Ted Lindsay's door, and the Canucks will be punching its ticket to the playoffs.
  15. Not that Gudbranson is fleet of foot and can make great plays on a regular basis, he's the type of player that every team needs -- a big, nasty hombre who can intimidate. IMHO, one of the biggest reasons why Calgary has fallen off the map is because of the loss of Deryk Engelland. Engelland had that intimidation factor which the Flames miss. I'd love for JB to land one more player of Guddy's ilk on the back end. This would keep the traffic in front of Marky a lot less congested.
  16. If I'm not mistaken, he was also banging the Shea Weber drum back in 2003. I can't confirm, but I remember reading it. Can't remember the circumstances of what happened at the 2003 draft, but I believe Delorme was Chief Amateur Scout at the time and was championing Shea Weber.
  17. I've always been a proponent of the Canucks leaving their farm team in Utica for reasons that have been cited many times already (i.e., less travel time, more practice and work out time, sleeping in their homes, etc.). But, there's no real evidence to state that those attributes for keeping the farm team in Utica has actually helped the Canucks. The only notable players to have gone through a development period in Utica are Virtanen, Gaunce, Markstrom, and Archibald. I suppose it could be argued that there's been a lack of movement of players from Utica to the Canucks because of lack of talent vs. lack of resources to develop, but the more I think about it, the less I'm inclined to think that it really doesn't matter where the farm is, other than maintaining a loyalty to the ownership/management group led by Esche and to the great fans of Mohawk Valley. And we've seen that Frankie is only loyal to his wine collection. For what it's worth, I hope the Canucks keep the farm team in Utica...sounds like Esche, Johnson, Conacher, et. al. are running the AHL franchise like an NHL franchise, which is reminiscent of the way Chipman and Heisinger ran the Moose when the Canucks had the farm team in the 'peg. And if I remember correctly, these were the guys who helped develop Kesler, Bieksa, Burrows, Schneider, Raymond, Edler, etc.
  18. Is it just me or does anyone else think (hope) that this is the season that Brendan Gaunce breaks out and becomes a legit 15G-15A forward in the NHL? From what's been reported, this is the first off-season that Gaunce hasn't had to rehab an injury and is the beneficiary of a full off-season of training. Gonna be interesting to see how Gaunce starts the seaso...and if all goes well, am hoping to see him as a solid contributor in every zone of the ice this season.
  19. Loved watching Kronwall get Kronwalled by Jake...now only if Jake brought this to the rink nearly every game vs. some of the games and the whole game instead of part of the game. Bold prediction...this will be a break out year for Virtanen. He puts it together and rises up the depth chart, forcing Green to move Pettersson to centre ahead of schedule.
  20. Ballard missed 13 games over his first five years in the NHL before coming to Vancouver, and looked like a legit top four NHL d-man (though he played the final part of his last season with Florida with a damaged hip that needed to be surgically repaired the summer the Canucks acquired him). I wish we had a chance to see a healthy Keith Ballard in Vancouver. I think a lot of us would have a different opinion of him as a hockey player. Ballard missed 98 regular games due to injury (and a few as a healthy scratch)...not much of a chance to show his wares. Vancouver Canucks = place where healthy/durable players become fragile the minute they get off the plane at YVR (e.g., Dan Hamhuis). In case it isn't obvious, I was always a big Ballard fan. Pity that we couldn't see him at his best. I saw him play some of his best hockey vs. the Canucks as a Coyote and was super happy the Canucks got him from FLA in 2010. At the time, I thought he and Bieksa were going to form one of the best tandems in the NHL...oh how wrong I was. Forgot this was the Boeser thread...love him. Rooting for him to get 40 to 45 goals this season and dominate. Wish I had his hair.
  21. Don't know much about Schaller, but first impression is that he is a big, gritty center who is willing to stand up for his teammates. Canucks had a serious shortage of players willing to push back, so I really like the signings of Schaller, Roussel, Beagle and Archibald. Definitely needed to up the grit factor, especially with the likelihood of Pettersson playing in the top six this coming season. IMHO, a very good Canada Day (or should I say NHL UFA Day) for the Canucks.
  22. Good, solid, big, defensive western guy. I like what this does for the lineup...a guy like Beagle, coupled with the signing of Tim Schaller helps create a lot of flexibility up the depth chart and takes away some of the defensive assignments away from Sutter. Gonna make it tougher for Gaudette to make the opening day roster. Hopefully this is a sign that players like Sam Gagne is on the trade block. Hope that Beagle can smother McDavid, and I like the way Beagle matches up against Getzlaf, Kopitar, and the other bigger centers in the Pacific (something the Canucks didn't have an answer for over the past few seasons). All in all, good signing for the Canucks.
  23. For whatever reason, players going north, more times than not, seem to outpace players going south. I don't know if this is psychological (e.g., Draisatl giving up on the backcheck at the blue line) or if it's because players going south have been on the ice for longer than players going north or any other reason. Jake's speed is impressive, but you know what would have been more impressive? If he scored on the rush or made a deep drop to the trailer (a la Thomas Vanek) for a better scoring chance (McDavid does taps Jake's stick at the last moment which may have done enough to prevent a grade 1 scoring chance). Hope we get to see more of this kind of effort and speed out of Jake next season.
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