Hindustan Smyl

Edler = Edler? hmmmm.......ya don’t say eh? In all seriousness, I still think it’s premature to compare this team to 2011, but we’re definitely on the right path. Ww have to keep in mind that the 2011 Canuck team dominated almost every single statistical category in the NHL, won the Presidents Trophy, and came within a game of winning it all. In many ways, that 2011 Canucks team was one of the greatest teams ever assembled. Right now - we’ve only played 12 games of practically injury free hockey and a relatively soft schedule. I’m excited about this Canucks team as well, but we need a bigger sample size.

Hopefully, that ref is Kelly Sutherland. A few cracked ribs and a broken skull would be much appreciated .

As is Loui Eriksson.

Yes. Elias Pettersson, as promising as he is, does not and would not have the same value as the greatest player in the history of our sport and one of the greatest athletes of all-time. I apologize for the Pm that I sent you, but comparing Petey to Gretzky (value wise, not stylistically) is ludicrous. Having said that, I should not have insulted you and for that I do apologize.

I browsed there, and the main narrative amongst the tank crew is that we haven’t really faced adversity yet due to our relatively soft schedule along with little to no injuries. I don’t have a problem those arguments, but what annoys me about the Tank crew on HF (specifically guys like y2k and Jack Burton) is that they *want* these things to happen so that they can be proven right. That’s the really pathetic part.

We shouldn’t be giving up 4 PPG’s to *that* team!!!

You’re likely right about Roenick possibly pandering to the Leaf audience. JR usually has some pretty good insights (atleast what I remember of him from 2012-2014), which is why I find his comments a little strange. Is he not as in tune with today’s game as he was before? Meh. Whatever. Only one way to clear up misunderstandings. Win.

True, but the same can be said for Wilde can it not?.......and Wilde plays a position where the Canucks need more long term help on (right side D). I love Gaudette, but couldn’t one make the following argument? 1) Sutter should continue to be a decent 3rd line C option for this team (in case of injuries, you could have someone like Miller move to the Middle). 2) Tyler Madden has a very good chance of being where Adam Gaudette is today, two years from now (when Sutter would presumably leave or be moved from the Canucks). Therefore, as much as we love Gaudette, and as much as he could continue to grow, it would make just as much sense to trade Gaudette for an asset where the Canucks need more long term help (ie right D). Now - do Eriksson and Gaudette alone get you Ladd and Wilde? Probably not. Nucks would need to add a bit. However - assuming that Ladd’s extra year on that contract doesn’t hinder the Canucks cap wise (to a point where we wouldn’t be able to extend some of our young core RFA’s/UFA’s), then I’d strongly consider this. Ladd might be a shell of what he once was, but he’s a natural leader and he’s won a cup (intangible attributes that this organization values).

So says the guy who implied that Elias Pettersson has the equivalent value of 80’s Gretzky.

Opinions are the opposite of Roenick’s Number of cups won. Everyone has one.

It’s funny. This thought had actually crossed my mind.

I wouldn’t be shocked either, but California almost always plays us tough for whatever reason. LA will come at us hard as well since we completely humiliated them last time, while Anaheim has some decent weapons. San Jose are still figuring things out, but they aren’t that far off from being an excellent team again. This won’t be an easy road trip, but I think the Canucks will be up for the challenge.

An FYI - I never mentioned moving Madden. Even though I flirted with the idea of moving Gaudette, it was with the expectation that we’d be getting an equally young asset back in a more pressing position of need (Wilde).

It’s tough to project what Madden will be like in two years (atleast for me as I don’t follow him that much), BUT.........if the Canucks management brass feels that. 1) Sutter will be a good 3rd line Center for us for the next two years. 2) Madden has a very good chance of successfully replacing Sutter as our 3rd line C when the time comes, and being a very good 3rd line C, then the idea of taking a calculated risk in moving Gaudette for a young RHD doesn’t become the worst idea in the world all of a sudden. Having Hughes, Wilde, Woo, Tryamkin, and Juolevi as part of our future defensive core does seem pretty tempting. My gut tells me that the Canucks wouldn’t be able to afford Ladd’s contract for that extra year (and that Eriksson’s contract is by far the lesser of two evils), but perhaps I’m wrong.

[discussion] Loui Eriksson + Adam Gaudette for Andrew Ladd + Bode Wilde (Vancouver would likely have to add a little here. As to what that would entail, I’m not sure). For the record, I likely wouldn’t make *any* moves this year if I was Benning (I am of the opinion that things are almost perfect the way the are, although that’s a different story for a different day), but I’m bored and so I want to explore the following idea: Eriksson and Gaudette go to NYI, and we get Ladd and Wilde. NYI possibly does this because........ 1). They already have Noah Dobson as a young RD stud and so losing Wilde wouldn’t exactly deplete them long term on that side. 2) If I understand correctly, the Isles are a bit short on prospect centers and so perhaps Gaudette can help them here (I might be wrong with here regarding Isles prospect center depth. I can’t be half assed to look it up). 3) NYI take on a higher cap hit in LE, but it would be for a shorter term than Ladd. Vancouver possibly does this, because..... 1) They continue to improve their defensive prospect pool.......which has come a long way, but is still a little thin. 2) They take a calculated risk that Brandon Sutter can continue to be an effective 3rd line Center for two years, while Tyler Madden can successfully take over that role in two years. 3) Removal of a disgruntled player. 4) The cap. I haven’t studied the cap too much lately and so I have no idea if the Canucks would be able to afford Andrew Ladd’s extra year, but they would reduce their cap by 500,000 for the short term. Again - no clue if I’d actually do this, but I’m bored and so I thought speak my mind.

I’d kinda sorta consider Markstrom for Jones and a 1st, but I can’t see San Jose going for that. I’d also hold onto both Marky and Demko for this year, and only consider moving one of our goalies at NEXT year’s deadline.

“Mark my words guys. Darren Archibald is one of the most under-utilized and underrated players in the NHL. His CF/60% stats and fenwick clearly indicate that he’s a 3rd line calibre player. Unfortunately, the dinosaur management in Vancouver doesn’t see it. If Darren Archibald goes to another team, he’ll very likely become a good 3rd line player.” - MS on HF Canucks.

Great post and I completely agree. I’m always surprised when people say that Luongo was still “just as good” from 2009 onwards as he was from 2006-2008. Luongo was still an excellent goalie, but it was obvious that he wasn’t the same goalie as he was during his first 2.5 seasons. A part of it can be attributed to the groin injury (as you point out), but I also think the 2009 series against Chicago mentally damaged Luongo’s brain a little (Kane, Toews, and Byfuglien being the biggest culprits). Lou was a great goalie, but he had a bad habit of letting certain teams get into his psyche (I.e. Chicago, Boston, Minnesota). I would argue however that it wasn’t just Luongo that was mentally fragile. The entire Gillis era Canucks (2008-2013) was a mentally fragile group that could be pushed to a path of self doubt if pushed hard enough. They were the most talented and successful group that we ever had, but they were very “San Jose-ish” in terms of their ability to fragility. Anyways - I’m getting off topic a bit, but man........that Luongo from 2006-2008 really was something. He absolutely stonewalled Dallas in 07. With regards to this current core of Canucks, they still have a ways to go before they can compare themselves to our 2010-2012 teams, but I don’t see “mental fragility” being a future issue for this core. The only real weakness I see from this team, is that they don’t have a clue on how to play against teams that trap, which is why they’ve struggled so mightily against teams like New Jersey and Arizona. Canucks need to figure that out otherwise it will haunt them at some point.

Agreed. The Kings will come out hard against us. I predict a closely fought OT loss, but the Canucks have been pleasantly surprising me all season.

It boggles my mind as to why this city’s players and media like to talk trash about Vancouver so much. ”To the rest of Canada, you’re welcome,” - Kings after winning Game one against the Canucks in 2012. ”we shouldn’t be losing to a team like THAT 8-2,” Drew Doughty. Just makes their entire team look classless with those kinds of comments. Hopefully, the Canucks just take the high road and beat them where it matters most: on the ice.

I like your post, but we have to be careful with hypotheticals. The Canucks fan in me wants to agree with this, but the flip side of this is that we’ve had a pretty laid back schedule so far and we’ve played a few times on their back to back, along with the fact that we’ve sometimes faced back-ups. Let’s just take our current record for what it is and keep pushing forward. We’ve had a great start but bigger and blacker tests are ahead of us.

Not sure but he's around 196 lbs apparently. And about 6'1". http://www.tablesleague.com/teams/vancouver_canucks/loui_eriksson/

One minor point of negativity I’ll bring up: I’m not a fan of Adam Gaudette sitting up in the press box. I’m not sure if coaching/management is trying to get him to study the games from up above, but I’d much rather see Gaudette logging big minutes in Utica. Let Eriksson play as much as possible on the 4th line while Motte recovers from injury.

The thing is, those guys on HF Canucks were trying to downplay Schaller’s production in Boston (I believe Schaller had somewhere between 12-15 goals in the season before coming here). The “advanced stats” guys on HF Canucks (and by “advanced stats” guys, I mean guys that are/were deliberately painting. Picture to make Benning look bad) were inferring that Schaller only got that production due to generous deployment, and that Gaunce would have produced the exact same way in Boston. The love for guys like Brendan Gaunce and Darren Archibald on HF Canucks were absolutely biased and ridiculous.

There’s no way Eriksson is 179 lbs. I remember reading that somewhere as well, but it has to be a mistake. Eriksson is definitely north of 200 lbs.