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IBatch

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Everything posted by IBatch

  1. Crosby has dealt with this his entire career. Not like it didn't happen when enforcers were around. That said just read Gretzky's book and he feels about those guys watching his back. McSorely HAD to be part of the trade or NO deal. Then the uproar was so loud and didn't abate when he was traded to PIT he was soon back. All most teams have now are the refs. Enforcers leave and the first thing players start doing like a bunch of brats in grade school is slash each other's hands (a huge code violation) to the degree that the league had to step in with the same seriousness as post lock-out obstruction. I'm agreeing with you just so it's clear. EP is going to have to grow thick skin the same way the Sedins did to survive and prosper. Enforcers have a role in every single group. Now there is none left really ... I doubt the league will ever ref games in a way that takes over the role correctly. which means abuse to stars with no retaliation. And refs won't go much further then 2-1 calls for one team, means a lot of extra whacks and dirty hits don't get called. Ugh.
  2. What is "weird" is we starting losing after BB went down, and continued to lose once Markstrom went down too. Fighting - well it's about time.
  3. Well as far as not getting them back on track how many games have we won coming from behind given both our goalies propensity for letting in an early or first goal? Suppose that's just Miller going about his business though and has nothing to do with TG. Didn't like TG pulling the goalie with 2:17ish left in the game when we had been pressing hard for a couple minutes...that said twice this season he's also made it work...so whatever. Keenan's blender would make TG look like it wasn't moving ... Quenville the "Coach of the Decade" has wasted a better line-up. People in the know - that's not most of us on here - consider TG one of the best coaches in the league right now. Are they wrong?
  4. True that's a big hypothetical. Can say one thing though, OTT fans don't treat their players the same way as we do some of our bad or underperforming ones. My exposure to them is they like anyone who wears their uniforms so far (ten unfortunate years of exposure)... All the evidence is on this site that fans are too hard on certain players. BB hasn't taken the next step yet, but despite this he was 4th in scoring for his position when he went down (higher then any of our other players by position) the amount of guys drooling over a mature 2-3 liner and suggesting we should trade BB to replace our first or for whomever is sad really. 25 or so teams would line up to do that at the draft. He's proven, he's on a good contract that can give the team the opportunity to lock him up long term etc...definitely what anyone outside maybe the top three overall is looking for. In 40ish years can't re-call anyone hating on LE more then except Messier (which made sense - he did beat us a few short years before and blew our Linden team up which was in its prime) ... really pre-internet and salary cap/disclosure we'd all be stoked to have an experienced vet like him that can play up and down the lineup-Walter was great on the fourth line in the Linden team - wonder if the ex-Hab Captain was making more then Linden, or Courtnal, or Ronning or Adams? Back then we didn't care - stupid cap I swear that's where the emotion or hate comes in more then anything. 5,000,000 arm chair GMs and half of them keyboard warriors ha ha (ok me too?). If LE was making 3 instead of 6 doubt it'd be an issue at all - in fact a great signing and we'd still be praising JB for it instead. Why not also hate Bear? Or JB for other no good contracts (oh wait we do that too ha ha). Roussel lately right? Point is these are our players for better or worse - hating on them is bad taste and doesn't paint a good picture for the fan base (like we are children really). I usually stay away from the GDT because if anyone misses a golden opportunity to score or stop a goal he's garbage all of a sudden (instead whomever I'm watching it with we just emote out loud and it's done - uncles used to run up to the TV with rabbit ears and palm slap the top repeatedly and swear and cuss ... guess this is how the new era fans deal with game day things instead so I do get it) It is what it is ... Canuck fans new and old have a lot to b!tch about. That said I think that once they put on the uniform -( including Messier initially, back then was actually excited after I got over the shock of it - thinking wow what a great second line center, plus Mogilny, Linden, Bure a lot of the guys from 94...best team on paper we've ever had by a long shot) - we should support them. Of course Messier changed that real quick so he's excluded. Same with the stupid Orca Corp branding us, and Keenan. See now I'm doing it too ha ha. F$@'ing hard to be a fan of this team sometimes - all the fans I know, old and young have had their heart stomped on - a few even had to switch from either TO or MTL to welcome then when they started. Smithers Joe is probably like them. Wise man I'm sure. And also hope we win a cup for those old timers with this core, for a lot of them it's their last chance. For the younger fans keep that in mind when busting on BB. He's the SECOND Calder finalist we've ever had. JBs spoiling us right now. Don't give up on these guys...
  5. A couple other times during the season the team had bad stretches, part of both were key injuries. Losing Markstrom and BB has definitely impacted the team this time. Even the best teams have bad stretches, difference between them and us is they have better players and deeper teams (WSH, Boston, TB and PIT). PIT recently lost 6 in a row and are still struggling to get out of theirs - and Crosby is back. The best I think we can hope for is the team rallying around each other and again pulling themselves out of the funk they are in. If they can do that without Markstrom and BB then I'd say we are also a pretty solid team right now (and our coaching isn't terrible like some seem to think). If not then just file this in the chest as just another Canuck failure. It's a pretty full chest, but this is the Canucks after all and getting your heart ripped out is pretty normal ha ha. Who knows. Maybe our goaltending will heat up - or our support players will start pitching in like they have many times earlier this season. Maybe Tree will be allowed to comeback and be amazing. Maybe he lose every game from here on out and TG is told not to let the door hit his ass on the way out. Probably something in between.
  6. Soooo... good on you and your phenom son, sure his actual coaches have nothing to do with that too. Yes in pee-wee you tell the kids to have fun. At the NHL level though? TG "just go out there and have fun boys - we are looking to add Lafrenniere plans have changed".
  7. The last two times we went to the finals the city burned. Brashear/McSorely, Otto Kicked it In, Moore on Naslun, Bertuzzi on Moore, choking against MIN, Messier/Keenan...could go right back to the start and say 2nd overall instead of a HHOFer. Fans certainly haven't had it easy and even for the newer one's the older ones definitely pass their anguish down (along with the stories). Maybe a dozen of fifty years have been good ones too. Must say I was impressed at the treatment of Ryan in OTT, fans chanting his name before and after he scored - given the vitriol I constantly read on here about LE (Ryan is their LE albatross) I highly doubt in similar circumstances our fans would be happy to see him off the LITR and back on the first line - BOOed for sure. Plus only bad things I read about TG are on here too (don't have access to local media but sure they aren't easy on him)... So I could definitely see why this is the second toughest market.
  8. IBatch

    Jim Benning

    Doubt LE walks away from 5 million (last two years). Maybe he will his last year - or maybe then we can do a Marleau type deal (cost would be like Backes next TDL). Hope he does. That said where's the money for EP and Hughes coming from if we use it all up like this? Sutter and Pearson? Not enough, and they need replacements. Suppose it's possible. Getting Tryamkin back could be nice too. Hurts my head to think about it...hope JBs cap plans work out....QH is playing himself into one boffo deal.
  9. Same with trying to start a "lose Canucks lose" chant on this forum right now and expecting fans to come around to that regardless of the outcome in a week.
  10. IBatch

    Jim Benning

    Nice to see you back. Next time we shouldn't go back in time and relive this. Might as well go back and talk about the Messier/Keenan days. It's just as fun - I'm out too.
  11. IBatch

    Jim Benning

    Might as well fire JB if he did that . Love Manson, but at 27 we'd might as well just look for a UFA and pay a little premium for a guy like him. Dumba I'd stomach - his stock is lowered, might have to add a little but you never know .... wait were you joking?
  12. IBatch

    Jim Benning

    Ok. Was wondering whom you think (and anyone else who's posted with draft pick envy over OTTs bevy of picks) who we had from the last core that was worth picks that waived their clauses? Sometimes I wonder why this is still even brought up. Like we should of had 3 firsts for four years or something. We got one first for McAan, a second for Bieksa and if you add up all the picks moved around up until the Miller trade we managed swapping a first for a second basically, and had the rest of our picks. Vanek only managed Motte. Not shabby. Goldodin and Dahlen didn't work out. OTT had Duchene,Stone, EK, Turris, Pageau etc to work with. That's like trading Kesler and the Sedins in their prime and maybe Luongo for picks - yeah we'd of managed a butt-load too. NYR same thing. Adding context...it helps. I hated the clauses too. Tied our rebuild up, but we sucked enough four of the five years to get some good drafts in regardless. OTT has some of the best drafters in the league. Glad we only play them twice a year - they are going to be a great team and really give the Nordiques a good start.
  13. IBatch

    Jim Benning

    Amen. This team can be great one day, miserable the next - same goes for good streaks and bad ones. Currently we are mired in the worst one of the year considering Markstrom is out it could go on for a while yet. Or not and we bang off three or four winds in a row - they have proved able. Even good-great teams go through this. WSH, TB, Boston and recently PIT have all had bad stretches this year. If we were one of those teams it'd be more understandable to freak out a little and start head hunting players and maybe the coach (funny that Sullivan was NHL.coms writers pick for Adams, then PIT derailed - same with CLB and VAN - the runners up). Maybe the highs are so high (beating a Boston 9-3 etc.) expectations go up - it's hard for them not to really. Was very optimistic coming into this season and quoted Button where I could to defend the team , JB, and particularly the Myers signing - and still do. Huge improvement on the right side and both Tanev and Edler have stayed mostly healthy (knock on wood). He did fine when Edler was out too, and stayed on the 2nd PP unit as a result. Miller, Myers, and QH were the biggest changes in personal this year - maybe Markstrom a little but with him out id say that's a wash from last year. Goals are way up. Goals against are fairly equal. Still work to do but we've definitely gone from a perrenial top ten lottery team the past few years (how long did it take EDM again? Well two different cores really)- all the way up to at least a bubble team...7 more wins are possible still and with TT adding some veteran leadership and helping fill BB role we aren't out of it yet. Even with dumb Canuck luck odds are still higher we make it then don't and that's playing Demko and not Markstrom. Nothing wrong with his sp, just need to outscore our opponents. At the end of the day, looking at how long it's taken ARI, Buffalo, CAR, TO, EDM etc to complete or continue to work on their rebuilds id say JB should have our patience. Especially given we had very little to work with. Now we do and I'd like to see what else he can pull off. Another Miller deal for a defenseman would be sick.
  14. Keep calm. Take a deep breath, grab a cold one or not and just enjoy the game.
  15. IBatch

    Jim Benning

    What does this even mean?
  16. IBatch

    Jim Benning

    Myers definitely shouldn't be included in there yet. So far he's made life incredibly easier on both Tanev and Edler. Probably QHs too. I haven't seen any of our other defenseman down as low as often as him too, if the finish was there he'd have his points which is unfortunate. What isn't unfortunate is without him we'd be dead in the water a long time ago. Tanev and Edler would have played their entire seasons out already as far as games played. I've said this before and will say it again, it's not at all unusual to for defenseman to have their best seasons in their thirties too. Lidstrom is the best example of this but their are loads of others including Burns recently. Heck Zubov had over 70 points after the lock-out at 37 after a perennial 50 point dead puck era (a different topic and also why I think without the redline Gretzky would have scored 300 points in his prime and Bure 100 goals a year). The overreaction on this site win or lose is comical. So glad we didn't have this around in 93-94. Quin would have multiple FIRE QUIN threads, posters would be questioning Lindens leadership and whether someone else should be Captain, Courtnal would be losing his job to Lafayette for his streakyness and Fraser (ref) would have to go into hiding from the death threats ha ha. Seriously a lot of hockey left. We are still in it. The sky isn't falling. And JB made sure he kept his first in case this happened. As a long time fan I never in a million years thought that we'd have a chance in hell with the next (current) core given the state of the team after Gillis left. Tried to reserve judgement on JB and definitely made some nasty posts about things he did. Damn him for giving us hope. In a re-draft who goes first QH or what's his face next Lidtrom sell the farm to get him guy? We were factually worse off then an expansion team under the old rules given the contracts we had and the zero prospects other then Horvat. Figured the best we could do was parts of this core and the next one. Now .. not a chance thanks to EP, QH BB, Miller, Markstrom and the rest. This is a soon to be 32 team league with every GM trying to win a cup. JB has taken us from rock bottom to the middle in a very short time. Don't give up yet. You should know now each losing streak is followed by what with this team this year.
  17. IBatch

    Jim Benning

    Man. JB was one year pre-mature IMO with the way EP and QHs and BB have come in and made huge impacts. His LE signing was the last re-tool one, Sutter was basically to replace Kesler - and never before had any injury issues...Bear? Well before getting blind sided was a useful player in the middle six and Goldobin - can't tell you how many times I've read praises about him on this site when he was being carried by EP. Whatever. If EP and QHs and BB didn't ever come out and surprise the entire hockey universe we'd still be sucking and have no chance of making the playoffs for now, or next year or the year after that no matter who was coaching. On TG. He played in an era when every single player finishes their checks. Calling him soft is actually funny. Like to see some CDCers get hit by guys like Berube, Probert, McSorely, Ewen, Grimson, McCarthy, Odjick, not to mention the dozens of real power forwards of the time...Just ridiculous. Best league in the world and he had a decent career in it. Yes we have wasted cap space. That said every single one of our "expensive" vets will be up in two more years. Guess what? We have some replacements marinating in the minors. Also we will probably have to buy a few more placeholder ones regardless. People in love with TT after a few games and ripping on BB should cut it out. Highly doubt he's going to get better and BB has already surpassed his career PPG by a country mile. Ugh. We lose some games. We won't lose every one of the rest of them. All we have to do is win around 7 more plus a couple OT losses and we are in. Take a time out (that means don't watch a few games). Take a breather. It not life or death stuff. Perspective. We were not expected to make the show by most experts coming into this season. Really we were not.
  18. No. He's JB dumbass and you should tell. That's why when they show him in the press box he's often looking down at something infront of him with a frown on his face. Probably something KingofSurrey or Dumb Nuck just posted.
  19. Jovo could have been our best defenseman ever and owned all our scoring records had he stayed. The year his child before birth he played great, and is one of a few defenseman we've ever had that could on occasion play like Pronger did his best years - as in control the pace and tone of games. Things would sure be different if we had both him and Mitchell longer...played solid hockey on some bad ARI teams after leaving. That said he wasn't consistent - had bad games and like Edler to a degree he left you wanted more. QH doesn't check guys hard or fight and never will - that said he's more then fine in his own zone and all the other things he does are already elite. Not sure if he will ever score 20 goals or break Adrian Acouins freak one year PP record ... but believe he's the first defenseman we've ever had that could peak with 80-90 or more points. For some perspective EK in his peak before injuries affected him - had three seasons where he was top ten in scoring, joining Potvin, Coffey and Orr as the only others to do that. QHs or possibly Makar could end up joining that list. It's not Hedman or Reilly who have stacked forwards to pass off too (or Makar even), or Carlson in WSH. EP and Horvat are way down the list compared to some teams top centers, and Miller, Pearson, LE/JV, Toffoli etc make a solid top - at most a little above average same as EP and Horvat..yet QH is fourth in scoring this year. Imagine what he could do on WSH, TB or TO...he's put points in every player he's played with pockets this year. For all the whining about firing our PP coach etc, we still have one of the most lethal PPs in the entire league - that's the QHs effect - and it's a huge one. Lidster did had a monster season, that said if you look at how many goals our teams were scoring back then you can't help but to smile or laugh, even compared to the best Sedin team could do (around 272-277 I can't quite recall...for awhile we were on pace to beat that this year - and maybe still could). So yes I guess I'd have to agree with you. Not many defenseman we've had have ever scored 50 .. it's a pretty short list. Glad he's done that and hoping he can continue to play at his PPG or better pace for the remainder..70 points would be unreal...top three ish all-time.
  20. I think so too. EP had us on the edge of our seats with similar thoughts in mind (10 goals first ten games!) the first few months ... injuries derailed it same with stamina .. QH on the other hand is getting better as the seasons gone on. He's a breakout machine with expert skating and passing skills...plus when he was drafted one thing that he was ranked at the highest was his compete level (5 out of 5). Witnessed this live in OTT when we were playing catch up, after a few shifts of setting players up with little finish he came into the zone and went by the first three of four guys on the way to the net ... didn't make it but could feel the desire to score and or get us back in the game. He's better defensively then I thought he'd be too. To me JB drafted a future super-star. You can't say that unless you are one of the top couple of players by position. He's already a star - absolutely no way we've come close to seeing the best of him yet. Took all best defenseman in the game the past few decades several years at least to make an impact. With the exception of Makar. Reminds of the year Luongo would have won the Vezina any other year but Broduer went out and made a record (one more win). Except if both players (Makar and Hughes) play the same game they have been the last month it will be Hughes coming out on top. He's close to obliterating our team record at this pace...and cementing a place in the top ten, maybe even the top five for most points by a rookie. His compete level (5 out of 5 ranking pre-draft) is going to help make this happen. We make the playoffs and he's also scored 70 or over ... he will also get Hart and Norris votes. Edit: we've had some very good defenseman in the past, Ohlund, Jovo, Salo, Edler, Tallon, Lumme, Babych, Reinhart etc. It's possible he's already surpassing some of their best seasons with us..freaky and amazing. He won't ever be a complete guy like Weber or Chara in his prime - or a Rob Blake, Chelios type. Well on the latter he was only an inch taller but different era for sure. Tanev is a perfect partner for those things ... he's a little like Housley and little more like Neidermayer. Leetch comes to mind too unfortunately. All great skaters and with the puck. The last two guys are in the HHOF for a lot more then just points- they were guys that could take a game over and control the pace. We have way higher possession with QH on the ice. Plays 24 minutes some nights and he's a rookie. Captain material IMO, not for a while yet but could see it happening.
  21. At this point we have to wonder if he's going to break Lidsters and EPs records...with 18 games left he has an outside chance of a 70 point rookie defenseman season ... if he does that will be top three all-time territory. The fact he's also managing this in today's game and not the 80's where sp% were 10% above the norm today (well 80% for Gretzky-but like EP he's from another planet) ... he's already 15th all-time and his PPG would bump him up into the top ten easily for same games played...
  22. Figured QH would be as advertised and score around 45 points. Well he's better then advertised and has been put himself on a couple of lists that only mostly all-time greats have made. Expectations have definitely gone up now...he's definitely had a better season then EP so far (and EP has been fine - Miller is helping make sure of that for sure though)... QH tied Ray Borques rookie record for three assists games with time to break it too. And helps the team get a chance to win most nights especially on the PP. A little like Housley, a little like Neidermayer....great company indeed.
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