Amebushi

And here lies my problem. If transmission is such an issue why are schools not only open, but don’t require masks? Do children just naturally excel at social distancing, hand washing and general sanitizing that I didn’t know about. Also why are gyms still open? Are they somehow “essential”. I don’t question that the people in charge are a lot smarter than me with regards to this virus and would like to point out I am following the rules but am starting to understand those who don’t. When rules don’t make sense it’s harder to get behind them.

And here lies my problem. If transmission is such an issue why are schools not only open, but don’t require masks? Do children just naturally excel at social distancing, hand washing and general sanitizing that I didn’t know about. Also why are gyms still open? Are they somehow “essential”. I don’t question that the people in charge are a lot smarter than with regards to this virus and would like to point out I am following the rules but am starting to understand those who don’t. When rules don’t make sense it’s harder to get behind them.

I have an honest question for the people calling others covidiots and quoting all the numbers. Do you actually believe the measures being taken are correct, accurate and clear? Let me clarify something...I am seeking debate not the usual “part of the solution or part of the problem” rhetoric. I don’t believe a cloth mask will prevent the spread of a microscopic virus but I wear one all day. It is required, and not that big of an inconvenience. I social distance while working and on necessary trips (such as shopping) My issue is the new rules...I can go to work, spend all day around coworkers but if one comes to my house for a drink or a meal I am now a criminal? I can go to a bar and be around strangers but can’t have my previous “bubble” in my house??? Schools have thousands of unmasked kids in them but my wife can’t go to dance class with 4 other ladies? Is there really no room for debate here at all? I am all for slowing the spread, and I too know people that have had it. I mean no disrespect to those who have seen worse but I personally know over a dozen business owners that are bankrupt or close, many more that will be when loans come due. I know people personally struggling with severe depression that can no longer access their support networks. Do people here really believe that a shutdown of this level with total randomness is the best possible solution?

The only thing worse than a giant wall of I’ll formatted text is someone quoting the entire wall of text...Louie is not going to walk away from millions. If he had pride and a desire to play pro hockey he would have either terminated already or showed up and played some pro hockey. He signed a retirement contract and clearly intends to collect every penny. Stick him on the bus and move along. No I didn’t read the whole thing as it clearly all depends on LE saying, “gosh thanks JB but I don’t like making tons of money anymore...” to clear the cap space for the rest of these moves.

If he can pass a physical, I don’t know...be happy! Ferland when healthy is an asset to this team. He has been unfortunate with concussions, but a healthy Ferland is not our problem. What I would really like to see is Eriksson having a freak hacky sack injury that seperates his paycheque from the teams cap space. Maybe an allergy to equipment, or a last minute family vacay to Robidas island...if Ferland can play we should be happy, I understand the feeling that it won’t be for long, but at his contract he is still a pretty decent player. Just hope if that’s the way it goes that he can last longer than a game or two.

Happy Birthday Petey! Trying to think what I accomplished by 22 ... nah, I’m gonna go drink a beer and toast him instead. Looking forward to watching EP light up goalies and highlight reels for a long time to come.

At this point in each young mans career it is difficult to compare them fairly. Hughes and Makar have broken through and are already what I would call elite players. God I am sick of the word generational on these boards though. The word literally means one in a generation...if we are having this debate then none of them are generational! I would put all three of them in the same “tier”. None of them are definitively better than the others and only time will tell which can improve on their weaknesses, maintain their play, avoid injuries etc. Careers are not built in one year or we would be talking about the great Louie Eriksson. Super happy with Quinn, I wouldn’t trade him for any of the others, but if I was an Avalanche or Sabres fan I would say the same about their young stud Dmen. The real question is how do we find another one?

I went with yes to an extension and two or less years. The team is progressing, the young guys are clearly improving. My only beef with Green isn’t really directly with him. The power play is dreadful most of the time. I know there are other coaches who wrote this stuff up, but doesn’t the head coach pull all the strings at the end of the day? All that firepower on the ice and we do the drop pass into a turnover and short handed chance night after night. You need more than one play!!!! Looking forward to seeing the coming season and what Green can do with all these changes.

Good analysis and good conversation in here. I agree with most of it. It might just be the homer in me but I think Canucks are top 3 in Canada. We were definitely the best team last year and I don’t feel that much he changed. I expect to see a different style of play next year than we are used to we have multiple D men that can move the puck and put a little speed behind it. Our PP should be better while the PK May suffer a bit. Forward group really isn’t much different on paper. TT was always an injury replacement for Brock to ensure the playoffs happen and we don’t lose next years first round pick. JV will have his chance to prove he can play top 6 consistently and the goalies are going to be what they are. Markstrom wanted too much term at too many dollars to keep. Holtby has to be a solid backup, not an all star. It is Demko that we are counting on to step up and play the tough minutes. I for one believe that Edmonton and Toronto are still dumpster fires from an organizational standpoint and all the firepower up front isn’t going to change the lack of a team mentality. Ottawa and Montreal have improved and could surprise a few but I think are still below us. Winnipeg should be an easy win, but never are. Calgary is the other team I would say has a decent shot of making a big step forward this year (followed by several steps back). Markstrom and Tanev will definitely help their defensive issues at the loss of Brodie. This will drew up their offensive players to be a little looser knowing that a calm presence is in net and at the blue line. I just don’t see Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, or Edmonton beating us in a playoff game or late season battle that means something. Our crew has been through a lot and are better for having been there.

I have to disagree with some of this. But first I’d like to lay some common ground. Louie was a signing that was top of his UFA class and by the numbers a decent signing. I also agree that Roussel was over paid and too much term from day 1. Where I disagree is that Ferland has shown a lot of middle six potential throughout his career. We can debate the injuries but I feel that if he had stayed healthy (which I now definitely doubt will happen) he would have been worth every penny of his contract. Beagle is a different story to me. He was overpaid for sure, however at a time when this team was circling the toilet. We had no one with the experience he brought to soak up the minutes, face offs and quite frankly losses that he can and has done. If you want players to go from Stanley cup champions to bottom dwellers it takes a little extra convincing. His contract is hurting the team now but most UFA signings do that in the last year or two. He had done what he was brought in to do (protect the youth from situations they can’t handle) continues to play hard minutes and win face offs. There are better options, and now that we are not a lottery favorite we can even get some of them to come here. In order to get quality players to sign team friendly deals you need a team worth playing for. Now that he have that we need to see the next set of moves. LE is a regrettable experience, as is Roussel. Ferland I will defend a bit due to concussions and hope he just retires to spend time with family before turning himself into a vegetable. Beagle didn’t help the team with the contract but I think we are better for having had him here...just my $.02

I completely agree. LE has had all the time and space given to improve, find his game, or at least show he still gives a sh*#. The team is in a decent place right now. They are able to compete, have several contracts set up to end as our young stars need to be paid. There is no good reason to throw away assets or cap for LE. Send him down and hope he hangs them up. If not, oh well it will be over soon either way.

The name of this thread is “why are we never in on top free agents”. Is that a direct enough quote? The biggest cap issue is also the biggest free agent we signed in years. Beagle was definitely a top name. He helped the caps win a cup the year before. Will you answer a question yet? You haven’t so far. What do you want Benning to do? We can’t unsign the guys we have so what do you suggest other than questioning my state of mind, age and demeanour? What UFA deal did you actually want and how do you propose the team pay it?

Enjoy your donuts and sprinkles...thanks for answering absolutely nothing as usual. Keep on trollin baby!

Seems to be a common theme for you. I said you want “in on UFA players”. Jay Beagle, Brandon Sutter and Louie Eriksson were big UFA signings. This is how they got here, by being “in on them”. You called me immature and my responses childish. Where are your answers? How many of our expiring contracts did you want to keep? Where was the money for Toffoli supposed to come from? Are you opposed the the Nate Schmidt deal too? Which overpaid UFA did you want this year? I’m not upset or angry, but I am calling you out. Try typing a response that makes sense. What do you want??? I see complaints about existing contracts. I see complaints that we can’t get more UFA contracts. Without a crystal ball or a time machine what do you want from Benning this year?

No argument here...I don’t want him on this team or around our prospects however possible. I just very much doubt he will retire and walk away from that contract.

How is that different? @The Lock was responding to your comments, not your personality. You do seem bitter and want it all. You don’t like any of our UFA signings but want to be “in on the next ones”. You don’t respond to the questions of others but keep ranting about what you want. How hard is it for Detroit to be better? You want to call me immature and childish. Keep trolling somewhere else please. If you read anything I’ve written in this thread as well as several others our “overpaid” bottom lines are the exact contracts you want to be “in on”. I’m happy that we didn’t over pay on long term to anyone this year. If it’s a step back so be it. You think it’s OK to trash someone you don’t know but call out others. You name call and tell others they are childish. Do you know me? You didn’t answer any of my questions or respond to any of my points but continue to throw comments at others that you don’t live up to. I’m up for healthy debate but all you do is whine and name call. If you don’t like the way I end my comments too bad. Go cheer for Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa or Detroit since you seem to think their GM is doing a superior job. What do you actually want other than to complain that Louie sucks and we overpaid for some vets a few years ago when the team sucked?

I can tell you that for the 2.5 million he is owed I would ride a bus, pretend I can play hockey and wear a skirt while I did it. Pride is one thing and millions of dollars are another. This isn’t Roberto Luongo we are talking about. If Louie cares what the fans think, how his contract looks or if the team wins it would have showed in his play by now. The game has passed him by and he wants a paycheque. The AHL would just be the same money at a slower and easier pace if there even is an AHL this year. He isn’t going anywhere despite all our wishing.

Yeah ...I mean who would attack someone from behind a computer screen without knowing them? I mean yet another thread about how JB is and how terrible his signings are. How are “never in on big UFA’s”. I’m assuming you know Benning to attack him from behind a screen like this right? Oh and please tell me all the teams that are better than when the season ended? A flat cap has made life difficult for everyone and I personally like the moves so far. Are we better today than at the end of the year? Probably not. Are we better than if we had given money and term to Toffoli, Tanev, Markstrom and Stecher? Yeah I think we are. We are finally in a position to play some of the youth we have been piling up, clearly have a plan to have available cap to sign Hughes and Petey. Go get a chocolate donut with the perfect amount of sprinkles and cheer up a bit. The glass may be half empty but at least no one pissed in it this year.

No one said Myers is a #1 Dman, he was the #1 Dman available through UFA that year. Benning signed the best available defence man as a UFA. You still complain He makes head scratcher moves and gives up too much...but let’s not talk about Nate Schmidt??? OK I’ll play your game. How about JT Miller. Was that an overpayment as well? Terrible move? Who would want that bum when you can have the 20th overall pick? /s My last point is that you want to be “in” on the top UFA’s. Tell me please, who was the top UFA the year we went after Eriksson? The contract you keep whining about was the biggest UFA of the year unless you really wanted Lucic instead. You call yourself a Canuck fan for life...I call you a troll. You can dislike Benning as he has made a bunch of mistakes, but you disregard all the good things he has done. Show me a team that went as far as we did last season that doesn’t have one or two BAD contracts on them? How would you like to have Lucic, Bobrovski, Weber or any other list of overpaid UFA players. They are UFA because they were willing to go wherever paid the most. If you are terrible (like we were a few years ago) no one will take less than top dollar to join your sinking ship. Is it a coincidence that these lousy contracts are ending at the same pace that the team is getting better? If you’re crystal ball is so good, which UFA is the best this time? Will Taylor Hall fix all of Buffalo’s problems for $8 million? Do you really want to pay Pietrangelo for 7 years in a pandemic? We all want the best players and dump the lousy ones but it isn’t that easy.

I know it’s a different subject but after looking at the capfriendly site I see Minnesota has a problem...three defence men not named Matt Dumba have NMC. They could stand to lose a pretty good player if they don’t do something. Suter and Spurgeon will be tough to move at over 7.5 each but I wonder if they would be willing to part with Brodin rather than lose Dumba for nothing...another lefty and I suck at trades but I wouldn’t want to lose Dumba in an expansion draft because of too many NMC’s

I can honestly tell you that I wouldn’t trade Louie “little things” for Marchand. I can stretch a lot of things but that rat on my team is a no go. Anyone else including Chara I would get over but if Marchand wears an Orca I’ll find a new team to cheer for.

I don’t see it happening...if the stars aligned and he wants to play here for a year for dirt cheap you take him. Why would he not sign the same contract in Boston? Love him or hate him he is their captain that brought them the cup, solidified the back end for years and has been very loyal and cheap for the back end of his career. I see him lacing the skates in Boston or just hanging them up. I see no in between for Big Z.

At 1 year 1.5 I think you sign it. Low risk high reward. At more than 1 year or over 2 I say HELL NO. If you aren’t good enough for Detroit or Edmonton then I think you should have to prove it for cheap.

Where did you go on this post? I asked you if you would wait until Benning filled out the roster before complaining and this is your response. A few hours later Nate Schmidt is on the roster and I haven’t seen a post since. Is Toffoli still gone for NOTHING? You have to move cap around to fill holes in the roster and occasionally it takes more than a day to complete all the transactions. My bet still says there is at least one more move coming but it may be later. If not I’ll still be happy that we are going to ice a defence that is a little bigger, a little less fragile and a little more offensive than we were this year.

I feel like Nate Schmidt will go a long way to help fill the void on D...and for a third round pick!