[[GDT/PGT] Vancouver Canucks @ Ottawa Senators | March 17, 2021 | 4 p.m. PT | SNP]

Good thing the panel is letting us know Vesey can’t play. 

[[GDT/PGT] Vancouver Canucks @ Ottawa Senators | March 17, 2021 | 4 p.m. PT | SNP]

5 minutes ago, ESP77 said:

WTF is going on with these announcers? They've mentioned Vesey wasn't able to get in like 20x.

 

Wait, Vesey isn’t playing?

[[GDT/PGT] Vancouver Canucks @ Ottawa Senators | March 17, 2021 | 4 p.m. PT | SNP]

8 minutes ago, debluvscanucks said:

Our good luck charms

Still repping the nucks colours even with a hnic toque, gotta love it 

[Elias Pettersson | #40 | C]

44 minutes ago, gurn said:

Who cares?

 

Fans that want to see him play.

Gamblers trying to figure out the odds of victory.

Those people that have him  or his linemates in their hockey pool.

Opponents that want to target where he’s hurt. Not saying people do this all the time but I’d rather not have a target for other teams to go after, especially Petey. 

[Jimmy Vesey | #24 | LW]

No risk, medium reward. Don’t see any downside to this claim. 

[Olli Juolevi | #48 | D]

51 minutes ago, Hairy Kneel said:

Well that hit on Tkchuk was worth the wait. The similarities I see with Tanev is his calm demeanor.  Doesn't look like he panics.

Safe to say we all enjoyed that hit. 

[Olli Juolevi | #48 | D]

1 hour ago, Hairy Kneel said:

I think OJ is sneaky strong.  If he bulked up a bit more he could really be a physical D man for us. Like a Jiri Bulba, I just checked Bubla played at 200 lbs. I think OJ could add 10-15 pounds. OJ is listed at 6'2"  182 lbs I think he looks a bit heavier than that. But  200-210 would be good for him.

I agree he seems pretty strong, that being said , sometimes I feel like he puts himself in bad spots when he takes a hit. Somewhat similar to Tanev. 

[[GDT/PGT] Vancouver Canucks vs Montreal Canadiens | March 8, 2021 | 7 p.m. PT | SNP, RDS]

40 minutes ago, WHL rocks said:

Fact is Demko is part of the team.

I don’t get when people  the excuse of a goalie stealing a game. You’re exactly right, the goalie is a part of the team. Arguably the most important part of the team. 

[Jake Virtanen | #18 | RW]

1 hour ago, Fred65 said:

Forsberg or Zucker are not "heavies" in fact Virtanen to his credit apologised to Forsberg later, he didn't realize who it was. It's like having a fight with Petersson

I’m not saying they were heavies I just don’t think that initial fight holds as much weight as you stated that’s all 

[Jake Virtanen | #18 | RW]

2 hours ago, Fred65 said:

Jake has never been the same since Bobby Farnham beat the crap out of him, I recall Gudbranson tweeted Farnham and told him  congratulations you beat up a teenage

I seem to remember Jake tuning Forsberg and Zucker after that as well so I don’t think it changed him that much. 

[[GDT/PGT] Vancouver Canucks vs Toronto Maple Leaves | March 6, 2021 | 4 p.m. PT | CBC, SNP]

42 minutes ago, Dogcrazy said:

Schmidt / Homanic are both downgrade on Tanev / Stecher.  Our D has definitely took a step back since last season.    

Reeeeeeeal cold take

[[GDT/PGT] Vancouver Canucks vs Toronto Maple Leaves | March 6, 2021 | 4 p.m. PT | CBC, SNP]

Watching some of this oilers flames game, soooo nice watching Neal fill in tkachuk 

[[GDT/PGT] Vancouver Canucks vs Toronto Maple Leaves | March 6, 2021 | 4 p.m. PT | CBC, SNP]

6 minutes ago, Devron44 said:

Watch out Hogz just got some confidence shooting the puck. That guy is gonna be a heck of a player.

 

Absolutely beauty, not given the ref the time of day. Just celebrated and skated to the bench 

For a second there I thought the leafs were going back the other way with a 5 on 0 lol

[[GDT/PGT] Vancouver Canucks vs Toronto Maple Leaves | March 6, 2021 | 4 p.m. PT | CBC, SNP]

If Demmer stays hot, watch out for the nucks!

[Jake Virtanen | #18 | RW]

1 hour ago, wildcam said:

I agree look t Boston they have another big tough team, watched game last night against Washington last night..After Wilson hit on Carlos 2 Boston players had fights with Wilson...We have 1 guy that adds a real physical toughness MacEwen 6'3 and Green sits him?

I know you need balance and you can't have goons anymore but MacEwen can play...We need more of a mix, hope Gdjovich, 6'2, 215, keeps improving..

Myers, 6'7 ,215  when playing with edge helps, Tryamkin 6'7, 265 lbs #5 D man would  be a nice fit 1.3 X 2 years?

Roussel needs to sit more not as good after knee injury, Pearson is 3rd line winger,  lets put Gaudette wing on 2nd line..

Gaudette will add more offensive to the 2nd  line

If we want to be a serious contender we’re gonna have to get bigger and meaner. We need our team to be more assertive. One of those teams that even if we lose, the other team leave Rogers wishing they hadn’t played. 

[[Report] Flames fire Geoff Ward, name Darryl Sutter as head coach]

10 hours ago, linden17 said:

This actually makes a lot of sense. Calgary was supposed to be a top team with their signings. I was legit saying to my friend tonight that Calgary just needs a coaching change. Too much talent for them to be doing as they have been. We on the other hand are in more of a less panic mode where our decisions can be made in the off season.

Honestly I don’t think Calgary is that great, even on paper. Gaudreau and Monahan can’t be the guys to lead a good team offensively, and without a couple lights out games from marky against us, we would probably be ahead of them in the standings. 

[Brent Seabrook announces retirement after 15 seasons]

Can’t wait to see how Chicago gets outta this one. No way Bettman allows the hawks to have that much wasted cap. 

[Jack Rathbone | #3 | D]

2 hours ago, SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME said:

Rathbone’s PNHLe chart these days 

 

 

(not sure he’ll maintain 1.67 AHL points/GP though, but still...)

Left handed Makar confirmed

[Vasily Podkolzin | #92 | RW]

10 hours ago, Outsiders said:

Ever since his concussion he suffered here in VAN he won't fight. Only talks and as a result does stupid things cause he won't fight. Its a shame really, his first year in VAN he had a career high in points and looked great. He also had that nasty knee injury which is why I think he's lost a step. Ultimately you see guys play the same way Roussel does and they don't last after 30. Their bodies are done. Roussel is 31.

Yeah I think it’s the knee injury that’s hurt his game. I don’t care if he doesn’t fight (wasn’t a particularly good fighter to begin with), but it’s unfortunate that he can’t even throw a proper hit anymore. 

[Jack Rathbone | #3 | D]

2 hours ago, Ray_Cathode said:

We do have a right hand shooting defenceman coming in Woo, but I think he needs a couple of year in the AHL, except that with each game he plays he gives me more reason to think that won’t be necessary. He has surprised me several times already this season with just how good his hands are. If you’ve seen the Tom Hardy movie, “The Drop”, you’ll know what I mean when I say, you just don’t see this guy coming.

Excellent movie 

[Vasily Podkolzin | #92 | RW]

43 minutes ago, Ray_Cathode said:

He might be a useful replacement for the unproductive, undisciplined Roussel. Third line scoring touch, muscle, net front presence. 

Used to be a fan of Rooster but he’s just not effective anymore. Seems to have a hard time staying with the play, not as much jump as he used to have. Takes penalties as a result. 

[Vasily Podkolzin | #92 | RW]

2 minutes ago, Ray_Cathode said:

Podkolzin plays either wing. Fortunately, the cap issues will force JB to take away Green’s security blankets - Eriksson, Roussel, Sutter, Beagle, Pearson, and replace them with younger, cheaper players. That will leave room for guys like Gadjovich, Lind, Jasek, McDonough, Kunz, Michaelis to fight it out over forward spots. Not wishing him any ill will, but Ferland’s ongoing concussion problems  might cause him to seek other employment - which is too bad, we need a guy with his aggression and willingness.

Nice to know we have some depth with potential. You’re spot on with Ferland, would be nice to have him healthy and in the lineup. Would help guys play a little bigger and meaner. 

[Vasily Podkolzin | #92 | RW]

1 minute ago, Boudrias said:

Where is Gadjovich going to slot in. He is having a great year to date. Big guy and he likes the front of the net!

I think Pod gets the longer leash between the two, but it’s so nice to see Gadjovich with the good start in Utica. Great to have some quality size and skill in the pipelines, this team needs it bad. Wish we had a little more nasty in our current lineup. 

[Olli Juolevi | #48 | D]

Nice to see OJ playing well, he’s pretty much exactly the player he was drafted to be. Makes you wonder where he would be at without the brutal injury luck. 

[(Rumour) Virtanen on the trade block]

43 minutes ago, oldnews said:

Meh.

 

If a potato chip could handle 12 defensive zone starts (1 ozone) = 7.7% - and come out an even 0 - in a matchup/shutdown role - then I'm ok with that potato chip.

Those were Virtanen's (14:40)  minutes last game in a shutout vs the Jets (not an easy group to shutdown btw).

 

Some people continue to see that as 'he didn't score' - so it's a 'loss' / he's useless / didn't contribute.

 

But when you have lines that handle those minutes and give up nothing - that is actually a gain / a positive.  It not only enables your young top 6 to play minutes more conducive to their success (ie feed them the ozone starts) - but it also takes relative pressure off them to produce when the matchup lines are shutting down the opponent.

 

So - to repeat - Virtanen has the lowest on ice goals on the team at 1.4 on ice goals against per 60.

He has the highest on ice sv% of all forwards at .954.

He's doing that while getting 37% ozone starts on the season.

And these are not 'outlier' outcomes from a small sample this season. 

He is typically near or at the top in takeaways as well (is 3rd among forwards this season) and hits...

 

If he can regain some of the goal scoring he's produced thus far in his career - 50 goals in 279 games coming into this season = 15 goals per 82 games - and that's again, playing a balance of bottom six type minutes at less than 13 minutes/night....

It's not necessarily a question of Zack vs Jake.   I like Virtanen as a fit on either Beagle's line (the Motte Beagle Virtanen combination was very effective - and fun to watch) and I also like him as a fit with Horvat, who likewise likes the transition game (which fits well with his dzone starts)......I'd prefer to move Roussel personally.

 

 

 

 

 

This post is too reasonable to be on a Virtanen thread.