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IBatch

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Everything posted by IBatch

  1. MT managed 77 points on the second line last year... not too shabby. Think we have more forward depth then then right now but not the same guns. Lindholm was a revelation, they have four guys capable close to or over a PPG ... we have two. Once Podz and Hogs arrive we will pass them. If Rittich turns out to be pretty good they have a decent chance of getting somewhere come spring....whatever Gio is doing we need some of that for Edler for sure. Crazy to have a career year at his age...
  2. Looks pretty cool to me for an old guy. Give him a badge, a hat and a six shooter and away he goes.
  3. What do u mean? Thinned skinned ha I have very thick skin. Just ribbing you, this post made me laugh out loud. I said it earlier and I will say it again, the worst media coverage is by far the stuff in and around Vancouver. Negative nancies the bunch of them. I really don’t get anyone who’s slighted by the supposed “Eastern Bias”, other then the amount of TO coverage it’s really not there. They don’t have any skin in Vancouver and really often don’t even have much of a clue what’s going on, parroting is the name of the game. EP heated up with ten goals in ten games to start the season and all of a sudden they had something other then the Sedins Then EP had a few five point games and an endorsement from the great one himself and he was interesting too. No skill coach or really extra help at all...and doing better then anyone in his draft class to boot, heck at one point he was almost tops in the league for PPG...getting injured by a-holes also led to some great articles, Ken Campbell’s in particular. Heck he even got a cover story from THN last year as a rookie, and they did such good work that it was revealed an old staff member was the one who insisted they come and scout him. Benning gave the credit to Delmore as he’s the one who pushed for the pick....but it was not him that discovered EP for Vancouver Media out here really isn’t much different then it is out west. They just constantly talk about the closest team (in my case the Sens, but at least it’s better then reporting on what type of sandwich AM had for lunch). The ONLY time they talk about the Canucks here at all period is when they come to town ... maybe a little about EP too but it’s old regurgitated news. I mean how often does the Vancouver media talk about any other team really? Not often and definitely not about any team out East...well maybe a little about the maple laughs. As far as thick skin, well maybe newbies that only watched the WCE and Sedin teams have thin skin, pretty sure anyone who followed the Linden teams and went through the Keenan era or earlier have a lot of callous build up.
  4. Demko. As far as difference makers go I think goalies are the most important. Slight edge over Pettersson, he’s obviously special and also is in an important spot. No idea if he can make it work, but if he can become a top five or even top ten goalie holes on the team don’t matter as much. Look no further then Patrick Roy and what he was able to do with two teams that really had no business making it to the final let alone winning the cup. A great goalie is always the biggest difference maker. edit: ok for some reason my brain read this wrong.’ Who’s the most important player, well that’s obviously EP as of right now. What’s the most important position, goaltending. Horvat also is important, no Horvat no points for EP.
  5. A few things. First your welcome Hindustan, keep making these and ignore the negativity, practically any proposal no matter how good gets some . It’s more for discussion points then the actual proposal often, and sometimes I they get tweaked with another’s viewpoint to a real believability level. So don’t stop making them. Secondly LE is buyout proof given the amount of bonuses that would end up having to be paid with cap even on his last year, it’s not worth it. And if he retires the cap hit counts anyways. The only savings available would be to bury him in Utica. There is absolutely no way out of his contract unless a floor team is willing to take his cap dump, which would cost us more then Marleau presently, same with next year, his last year maybe we could get lucky but it would still be a steep price. Likely at the minimum a second rounder and a B prospect. We are screwed, and so is he, untradeable without taking on an equally horrible contract. And the small amount of ones available come with other snags, like Lucic one more year and a NMC that would require we protect him in the ED, a huge NO. Ryan is a possibility, id do that if we can as it’s a littler higher cap hit but one less year. That’s the best case right there. Doubt OTT does it though, I sure wouldn’t. Schaller will be waived. Bear should be played, and when his stock goes up before he’s injured, traded then. That would mean one of Pearson or Ferland will be on the third line...not sure what Green will do. Three years from now Rousell and Beagle are done too...the hope really is that some of our B guys will work out, Lind, Madden, Hogs etc, they will become their replacements eventually and if not a cheap Vet hopefully. On Benn. He’s already a 4-5 guy. Can’t believe we got him that cheap and neither do most experts. He’s getting better still, in his prime, advanced stat love child, plays a heavy heavy game and could quite easily replace Edler in two years as our second pairing guy if needed. Hopefully OJ can do that, or at least make a good third pairing guy. Cap space might dictate that we have to do that even if it’s not ideal. Think you will be pleasantly surprised at how things will work out for our defense, Tree is coming back too, almost certainly. He could also replace either a L or R side guy as he plays both (although is a L shot). Best case for our cap space and for our team is both OJ and Woo work out. Think we will be playing both in two years no matter what. It might mean we miss the playoffs while because technically we have an artificially lower cap, I’d say by about 6-8 million depending on whether LE can still play a decent shift on the fourth line. He IS statistically one of the best PKers in the entire league...that’s worth at least 3 right there. For now at least. AG should replace Sutter by then too. The team we have now will go through a similar transition as we just did in 2-3 years, hopefully because Madden, Woo, OJ, AG, Hogs, Podz and maybe a few of Lind, JG, Utetanen, Lockwood, Brisebois etc win some spots too. THATs the team that can win a cup. All our current main core guys will be in their primes ...
  6. Jovo was the closest IMO. We’ve had some very good defenseman no doubt, but never a Norris type and Hughes would have to break the mould to ever win one. If his advanced stats are fantastic and he also can put points up like EK, then he has a chance that the voters will overlook the other parts of the game his body simply won’t be capable of doing. Don’t think Housley ever won, although sure he was close personally I think that’s his highest peak. Ghost had a great season two years ago and he’s small too, McAvoy is listed at 6’ feet but no way he is, seen him play a few times and he doesn’t look much taller then Krug. Ellis and Rafalski are hopefully his floor, although Ellis was also highly touted, absolutely made mince meat of his junior competition and would have gone higher if drafted a year or two ago. edit: Orr and Harvey have the most Norris trophies and both changed the way the position was played. Two of the best ever to lace them up. If memory serves me right he’d have had more (Harvey) if the trophy existed earlier. Shore would have won 8-10 too if they existed back then, he won the Hart more then once, only guy to do that other then Orr. Think Pronger is the only other defenseman to win a Hart, although Potvin was close a few times too.
  7. Don’t think that your idea deserves as much flak as it’s getting, my guess is quite a few of those posters hasn’t spent the time yet to do the arithmetic because your basic premise is correct, we are going to be in a pickle two years from now trying to keep all these guys and re-sign them. The difference is your not factoring in some help coming in from the prospect pool. IF OJ is a player, he’s going to replace one guy on the left side. Maybe Benn but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he becomes Edlers replacement and we go with him and OJ, which will save us some money. I’m also fairly certain we are going to be stuck with LEs cap hit for the duration, or even worse Lucics, best case it’s Ryan as I believe his is only two years. He won’t be doing a Marleau like trade. And hopefully Woo joins us a season from now and sticks. He’s Tanevs replacement. Tree maybe comes back too. That will cost a lot less then Edler and Tanev at least short term. In two years we will feel a pinch no doubt, but it will only be tight for a year, we might be forced to play some rookies but should manage ok. My arithmetic shows 26-30 million off the books, Boeser has money now so he shouldn’t be included. I see both Rousell and possibly one other guy traded with a year left on his deal. That money will be needed for Hughes, EP, Tanev and Edler and Benn replacements. Not worried about the forwards as we have too many anyways. Shedding two will help and they won’t need replacing. Sutter is off the books too, AG replaces him. Let’s say 16 for EP and Hughes, which leaves about 10 left for OJ, Woo, and Benn. We will only be in trouble if OJ and Woo don’t make it. Edit: the following year we get 9 more million for LE and Luongo. LE will be a fourth liner by then if he’s not in Utica. 2 million to replace him, if we even need too, Podz is on a rookie contract and the rest should be saved to re-up Horvat and replace Miller the following year etc. That team could be simply sick.
  8. Man JV is going to make one ugly old man. He could play the evil witch in any horror flick if his hockey career doesn’t sustain him. The rest can play a band of aged Vikings out on the witch-hunt.
  9. Those are the two teams that I think will fall the farthest in each division from last year too. If Byfuglien goes down WNP is screwed, and his workload just got a lot bigger, and he usually struggles to stay healthy. Otherwise they are still a good team, you never know Laine could get traded to help their depleted defense too so they can fix things. He was a non-factor the second half of last year anyways...and they still did fine. SJ has EK, if he’s close to 100% which is entirely possible, maybe they will be fine. For a year or two at most. Burns isn’t getting any younger not that it’s a factor yet, but it will be one. MIN isn’t as good and getting old too. Don’t think they are an automatic either. NSH should do fine but Rinne can’t play more then 50 now and their back-up didn’t play as well last year. Think they are better with Duchene and Subban out simply because they need the offense so badly and Subban was buried down their depth chart anyways and struggled to stay healthy. And then there is what the experts predict and what actually happens. It’s never the same, one or two teams surprise and I think we’ve got at least decent odds of being that team this year, and one or two teams disappoint. Vegas could be that team or maybe Calgary. If Gio goes down so do they. Not many guys win the Norris at his age, and he’s had a history of one healthy followed by one not so healthy season. They won’t miss but they could slide. I’m pretty sure we will get in, as high as second in our division.
  10. As per the OPs actual questions you can keep all your core guys right to their fourth contract, not that it is always wise. 5-6 guys seems to be the most a team can carry at one time once they all get paid. Also if they are top paid players less. WSH might part ways with Backstrom this year as a result. St Louis might have to move some guys out to pay AP his 10 million too. That’s the way it goes. Once Horvat is a UFA the same thing will happen to us, especially with EP and Hughes big raises the year before. The Rousell’s and Beagles will turn into cheaper alternatives. Heck TO can’t even get a core up to 6 guys given their pay-scales. TB too.
  11. You bet...and just as importantly CHI also won a cup with those guys but the best version of that team came later. In other words like you said at the end the window does not have to be short. It’s not outside the realm of possibility that this year or the next we win a cup much like CHIs first (this one with Markstrom too, Crawford came in later, just like Demko will). The were pretty bad a few years before their first cup too. The lock-out shortened cup was their best season by far, they ran with it from the time the first puck dropped right until the last whistle of the post season, presidents trophy winners and a pro-rated record that would have challenged some of the best regular seasons ever too. THN ranked that as the 15th best single season in league history despite playing only 48 games, it was impressive. Im not saying we are contenders (yet) but there are simalarites. We are probably a year or two away before whatever window we have really opens ... but with these guys it’s at least cracked a little. EDM took time to gain some traction with the best young group of players ever assembled, same with CHI’s guys...but you never really do know which is one of the great things about hockey.
  12. Too many old scabs from watching this team to really get disappointed anymore (just kidding)... I suppose another crushing defeat in game seven of the cup final would be disappointing though ha ha. Just kidding...kind of. I will be very happy if we miss the playoffs and win a lottery ticket OR don’t miss the playoffs and win a few games... I’d say we’d be successful if Hughes is also a Calder candidate, the team really is tougher and harder to play against, the younger players all take steps and the vets play well too, Markstrom plays like he did December and on last season and Demko gets better as well, and perhaps more then anything when the usual suspects go down we don’t crumble and cave like the past four years and the new depth carries us. If half those things happens I’d see playoffs happening, and maybe we even win a round, if all those things happen then the first paragraph.
  13. They played great hockey last year and could have made it to the final instead of St Louis. THN has them as a contender going into the season. That said anything goes nowadays, being a contender really only guarantees you a spot in the dance. After that anything happens. So many better regular season teams lost in the first round last year, hard to say if it’s a fluke....but the sample size is starting to get big enough to realize that the regular season doesn’t really mean squat these days. Vegas could have won the cup if not for a bogus game seven major. Who knows what will happen for any team once they make the show next year.
  14. Understandable, I’m really happy with our new look and get the pressure Benning must be under to produce too. My biggest worry about delaying that long would be that Horvat and even Boeser and EP would get used to the losing and start to want to play elsewhere. Both ways have merit (letting the team bottom out a little longer and hoping the lottery is finally kind to us) didn’t make much stink after the Miller trade because I see that merit and posted quite a bit on it. But it took a bit of time to process. Wasn’t expecting it ... on its own it wasn’t enough, he’s sold me after re-signing Edler to a good contact for us followed up with Benn and Myers. The cherry on top is definitely Ferland. Looking at what’s happening with the rest of the division, other then ARI virtually zero improvements and some regression even (SJ). Like I said I’m not completely convinced it was the best path, we won’t really know for a few years...but at least we have a chance now and the waiting is over, and won’t hold it over his head either, it’s a good strategy. And like a broken record the best version of this team is three years away...plenty of time to get our feet wet in the playoffs and get ready for when the window opens.
  15. If he is and it’s not a result of early and often soft goals then watch out, this tram just got that much better. Markstrom was playing like a top ten goalie December on, if he keeps it up and looses the starting job us fans are in for a real treat..
  16. Good. We can’t give up on this team, it’s a not a bad one anymore, and if we make the playoffs i truly believe anything can happen, it has in fact happened twice before, and this team is more like the 94 team then Broduers. We could have 8 20 goals scorers on the roster right now. That’s something that’s rarely happened and when it does those teams usually win. Horvat, EP, Boeser, Miller, Pearson, Ferland, JV, Bear, Sutter and yes even LE. Miracles do happen ...why not to us? Green has the guys to create three scoring lines and one heck of a checking line. Wonder what he will do... Think it might take until Christmas to sort it out...but once it does watch out.
  17. Accidentally on purpose is better then tragic failure. One thing I can say about Benning is he’s an underrated cap dog, as in top cap dog. He’s got one player on contract for more then four years as of right now. Read a great article from Ken Campbell recently that said if your not bumping up against the cap and have issues trying to fit everyone in then as a GM your not doing your job. Benning has an artificially set lower cap and is definitely pushing the envelope. Before Rousell is back someone has to be traded or a few guys demoted. The “Redden Rule” was made to prevent teams from burying NHL caliber players in the NHL, but we we can still get 1 million in cap space from Schaller and LE if needed. Pretty sure that’s the plan although I also think LE won’t be too happy and could play himself out of the bottom six if he’s motivated enough. Benning has been paying attention to what it takes to make a team under the cap with the way he’s staggered the contracts. He knows he can keep prospects percolating until vets are almost done, then trade them for a bag of pucks or let their contracts run out. The team we have three years from now will be a drastic makeover again, even more so then what he did this year. Looking forward to that team more then anything, but will enjoy the ride along the way.
  18. Linden was also used as a shield to deflect any disdain at the whatever was going on with the team while he was here. I do agree that the team will be judged over the next few years, and I am cautiously optimistic about our chances of making the playoffs. I like our team and in league parity think anyone can come out of the woodwork and win a cup, so the more kicks at the can the better. But am not entirely convinced that waiting another year or even two before striking wouldn’t have been the wiser choice. If everyone and everything works out we are golden, if not we will end up in another rebuild eventually and that team will become our better bet (parts of two cores). That’s ok too. Lindens plan whatever it may or may not have been could still be the better path we will never know. I’m just glad he left, not because I didn’t like him as president, but because I was growing tired of seeing his good name used to placate fans and the media.
  19. Harvey? Not sure how tall he was but he was built like a bull. Got your point though, Rafalski and Ellis come to mind but there always is a first...Gretzky is 6 plus feet, although built like a twig...got your point. Krug is a little tank too, like St Louis but on defense. Fluery is smallest of the smallest and most successful at that size 5’4” 140lbs when he came in...and in a much tougher era
  20. Me too. He’s at a reasonable cap hit and is a big part in helping change a soft culture that has existed in this team for quite some time, which has bothered me for a while. I’ve said it many times in the past we can be a bottom team but don’t need to be pushed around, it’s the only thing about the Keenan era that made it somewhat palatable we always had some warriors and weren’t soft. Something Benning tried to add at the beginning but never really got there and failed miserably during the actual rebuild phase...lots of tough guys available for cheap that we could have iced instead of an overpaid bottom six. I like that the article also brought up JV, I agree that Ferland will help him realize how to play that role (heavy game) and be responsible defensively while also pitching in on he scoreboard. Benn too to a certain degree defensively. This is not at all the same team anymore, it might take some time to settle in and for everyone to gel the same way, but I’m confident they will get there. If the game gets rough there is pushback players on every line now. I’m almost sure at some point something will happen that will also help galvanize this mentality and add an element of bravery and swagger to the team. Way back when Probert was traded to CHI I will never forget what Roenick said “he makes the guys feel two inches taller”. With all these no nonsense and sizeable players arriving I’m pretty sure that it will have a very positive affect on the rest of the team, they will know they have each other’s back and pretty sure there will be a culture shift. No way will there be another Matheson type play without serious and instant retribution. edit: Benn has a history of not putting up with his guys getting hit hard ... had a pretty good bout against Jorge’s and technically isn’t a bad fighter, great at little blocks like Rypien was. Tough as nails too, can’t believe we got him at this cap hit, one of the steals so far as a free agent. We haven’t seen his best yet either...wouldn’t surprise me at all if he gets another contract with us and is a big part of the team the next six years or so.
  21. I get what your saying but he doesn’t fight often enough or at least hasn’t in the past for that to be a factor unless he completely goes full “enforcer” at some point later on because his skills erode or doesn’t get the ice time. Complaints about him from former CAL fans were that he tends to avoid the big men that can fight and doesn’t stick up enough for his star players .... which is kind of counterintuitive for this article. I’m sure the truth is somewhere inbetween. Looking at his career fights he has a few against decent fighters, most of them are not. Last year he fought 6 times tying his most in a year, done one other time, and then seasons of one or two per year, around what Horvat does. Career wise in five years he’s fought about the same as an average enforcer used too in their hey-days. Doesn’t mean he won’t be a deterrent, he has decent size and throws some mean punches. His game is contact, reminds me a little of Darren McCarty that way and even Brad May, a tough player with some skill too. He fought more then he did the past two seasons probably because it was a contract year and that he was struggling with concussion issues earlier. All that said I’m happy we have him and could see him getting a chance to play with EP and Boeser like the article said, I truly think that EP was getting mobbed way too much down the stretch and it got in his head and also hope that Ferland can and is willing to help put a stop to that. Also have some hopes that he can have a career year point wise playing with these guy or Horvat. Edit: sad thing about the article might be the most important information...how many times we have beat Vegas and SJ the last couple years ... what was it again? 3 times? Hard to believe.. SJ isn’t going to as good this year, and won’t be nearly as good when we start peaking in three years either...Vegas is definitely still and in the future our biggest competition. Glass almost ready and some are calling him the next Toews already. SJ has little in the pipe and are aging fast plus have lost Pavelski and maybe Thornton although I could see him signing a really cheap contract for one more kick at the can with them...
  22. Me too. Last year without the losing streak and just playing .500 instead we would have squeezed in. Now we have a completely different team. Upgraded in every position....and a bevy of middle six players that can or could have very good seasons playing on the second and even the third line. Pearson, Ferland and Miller all have size to go along with JV, and although I don’t have high hopes Goldobin and LE still could surprise for different reasons. Add Bear into the mix and Green definitely could create three scoring lines with different looks. At the very least the top three lines will have lots of pop and toughness, and the team will finally have the depth that we’ve been missing the past four or even five years. And a lot of internal pressure to produce as well...
  23. Don’t get this much at all. NHL.com doesn’t have the best people working for them but they do provide up to date information as well as a clean insight into the past regularly. Sure they poked a bit about Boeser not been signed but it’s no different then other news on this if except they really have no skin in it, and really it was no big deal. They recently downplayed the LE thing, and in that article quoted Benning saying that there is plenty left over for Boeser ... which there is as Rousell won’t be counting against the cap which they also reported. My only complaint is they don’t say enough about the Canucks, would be nice if they did more articles, I read their news every single day and have for years. It’s often accurate and fairly unbiased. Especially compared to other news sources. I find the same about THN, they might have a slight lean towards what’s going on with TO and the East given who’d writing the articles and who they cheer for, but it’s not reflected in their quality and quantity of the articles, they tend to include each team fairly evenly unless something special is happening in which case they cover it fairly well. Definitely don’t have an Eastern Bias. And the difference between the two is THN has some of the best in the business writing the articles ... their Future Watch and ranking lists for all time greats is way, way above anyone else’s given the people the get together to produce them, next level stuff. FYI both EP AND Boeser had cover stories and long articles written about them in their rookie years. Im sure fans from every different team feels they are also being under and or misrepresented by NHL.com. The best thing about their site is that it’s current and everything that happens that matters at all is reported on. And you don’t have to wait long to get the information. Plus their constant review of important events in the past (this day in the NHL blah blah happened). And they did a great job in covering the leagues top hundred players minus the fact Malkin was snubbed. The site is easy to navigate and a great source for stats...no complaints here.
  24. Hard to say really. I would have answered somewhere between the third and fourth choices. TB and WNP had/have real windows now and not much happening (yet). I’d say for sure each time any team makes the playoffs now anything can happen. Teams are just that close in talent these days with the exception of a few, but things don’t always work out as planned. I do think this teams best chance will be in three years, once the cap is all available again and all our main guys are in their early to late primes. Podz will inject something and some of our later picks will be taking over support roles which will free up cap to re-up Horvat etc. A lot of this depends on who replaces Tanev and Edler, hopefully that’s OJ and Woo but we still might need to use free agency to do that which wouldn’t be ideal. I’m happier then I thought I’d be with the next Canucks chapter, if I had to bet it would be on parts of this core and parts of the next that will have the best chance.
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