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RWJC

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Everything posted by RWJC

  1. Problem with Soucy is he’s great when he wants to play the game as he should. When he’s off, he’s a bit of a liability in that he takes inopportune penalties. He’s somewhat polarizing as 3rd pairing D. Slot him into 2nd pairing for a fixed period of time, and his flaws will show. We should be aiming higher for 2nd pairing, but he’s a good option to round out the D if he comes in at 3 per or under. We could get Schenn back for half that and he’d be almost as effective.
  2. With Ethan Bear needing shoulder surgery, it is no longer a guarantee that the Canucks will tender the blueliner a qualifying offer next week, reports CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal (Twitter link). Bear is owed a $2.3MM qualifier but is set to miss at least the first couple of months of the season. With cap space still at somewhat of a premium for Vancouver, that might be too high of a price tag for their liking. Meanwhile, Dhaliwal adds that the Canucks are working on a new contract for pending UFA defenseman Noah Juulsen and have reached out with an offer to pending UFA rearguard Kyle Burroughs. As for goalie Collin Delia, the door isn’t closed on a return but the odds of him re-signing appear to be dropping. Also from Dhaliwal (Twitter link), he recently updated Tanner Pearson’s situation. The winger has now undergone seven surgeries as a result of his wrist injury and it remains to be seen if he’ll be able to return to the ice. The NHLPA indicated back in January that they were looking intohow Pearson’s injury was handled and the continued uncertainty can’t be helping things. Pearson has one year left on his deal which carries a $3.25MM AAV. At this point, it looks like he’ll at least be starting next season on LTIR.
  3. Agree with you but with hesitation to pencil in any of our players in development to the main roster just yet. Sample sizes are too small to be certain they can handle the responsibility. I like the idea of sliding them into a rotation for the 6/7/8 and seeing who comes out as being consistent and dependable. At the same time, by end of season I really hope we can permanently call up a couple. Also, maybe this is Boner’s year as one of the 3? Regardless, at some point you have to provide him the opportunity or move on because he’s been marinating quite a while now.
  4. Ahhh ok thanks, much appreciated. I’ll be the first one to say I tried to shine a positive light on the trade when it was first announced. I didn’t like it, but as a fan you have to sometimes try to spin the positive otherwise it can change how you view your team and that can become quite frustrating. Especially when you have term that will affect this club like OEL did. I didn’t want that to cast a dark cloud over my being a fan of this club so I altered perspective. I’m not blind to the negative, and I fully embrace criticizing this club. It’s healthy. I think most of us thought JB had more up his sleeve and that his curating would’ve been executed without creating such dangerous consequences. When I began to see OEL struggle with his game, i immediately chalked it up to injury. To me he never looked healthy, save for early in the season. And whatever his ailments are, they have progressed, to a point where his skating was noticeably different this past year. Now I’m not at all saying that it’s just bad luck he couldn’t live up to the contract. I don’t think the potential for that ever existed, tbh. The problem is that JB made the deal fully cognizant that OEL was already beginning to show signs of regress while with ARZ. He still bought him regardless, leaning heavily on the intangibles to satisfy the price point. Straight up likely amongst the top 3 shittiest decisions ever by someone operating in a GM role. We can all agree on that in retrospect. As such, whatever you guys are hashing out, I hope you both accept that both of you are right. I’ve been around long enough here to say that @aGENT is probably one of the more articulate, routinely consistent and well thought out posters on CDC. And you yourself I think are making very, strong relevant points here too. Given the research you both put into your posts. I just think a truce is in order because I for one would like to hear both your thoughts and takes on next moves. We all know what we have to look forward to on the negative side of OEL’s buyout. Who really gives a shit about who said what here when it comes down to it. I know I don’t. Maybe it’s just ample frustration that brings out the combative nature, but none of us have any real insight so it’s moot. Seems to me most posters want success for this franchise and as such perceive how it can be achieved from soooo many different angles. Opinions and perspectives change and it’s fair for and to everyone to accommodate and accept that, regardless of whether it seems personal or not. Just my two cents.
  5. @dougieL what are you actually trying to achieve here with your perspective? Are you trying to change minds? Not being condescending, just curious to know what your motive is. Thanks
  6. Alien, what has happened to you?!? You’re making sense a lot lately. Has the interstellar jet lag finally been wearing off or is it the generous consumption of human party petrol?
  7. Even though you have an itchy jock, I’m happy it hasn’t affected your trigger finger too.
  8. I see it this way…there are some good assets available in Free Agency, but what we will have to pay to secure them will be costly. Add on top a draft pick and the price becomes even greater. I like Graves and a few other options, but we also need to make some solid hockey trades. Now that we have some wiggle room and have improved negotiating position, we can afford to find the right deals as they come along and not be hamstrung by predatory GMs. I just don’t want to see us immediately up against the cap by extending an impending UFA too early, especially if another option emerges from a team desperate to shed cap.
  9. Would be nice to give some reps to Woo on the big stage and make a decision about his future from there. Would love to see him in our jersey longterm if he has the chops to stick
  10. Not sure I’d trade anything for the rights to any impending UFAs at the moment. I hope we wait and see what shakes out closer to July 1. No reason to be hasty that way.
  11. Totally their fault. Totally their fault they weren’t born earlier and came to the Nux in the 82 cup run too. Its also their fault we have a family doctor shortage in Canada. Fukn stupid. How about we apply some rational thought and look at the number of players who “recently” walked through the JB door and subsequently their play fell off completely. Schmidt, Halak, Dickinson, Holtby, etc etc. The onus is on the guy who couldn’t make a positive trade if his life depended on it. But seeing as CDC has a rabid Karen population I guess we can foot the blame for those failures on the Sedins too I guess.
  12. Might be true, might not be. Dont lose sight that JB was the one who worked that deal over two seasons under direction from ownership to bring in reinforcements in the “now”. The Twins aren’t to blame in any capacity. Best bet is to contain it to the people who truly had the final say. JB and Aquas. That’s the nucleus that really pulled the trigger. No need to sully the rep of anyone else in the process. Here’s what Daniel had to say about OEL’s role back in 2021: https://twitter.com/Sportsnet650/status/1418986589204754443/mediaViewer?currentTweet=1418986589204754443&currentTweetUser=Sportsnet650 And an article from later that year. It’s a real shame OEL couldn’t sustain form: https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/physical-focused-little-plays-ekman-larsson-recapturing-old-form/sn-amp/ The Sedins Working With the Team Again Of course, leadership doesn’t only come from the guys on the roster. The Canucks recently hired Henrik and Daniel Sedin into their front office, where they will be “Special Advisors to the General Manager”. The Sedins were examples to dozens of players in the Canucks’ system during their playing careers, and now have the chance to continue to do so. On a recent interview with Sportsnet 650, Daniel had only good things to say about Ekman-Larsson, specifically noting his incredible leadership. Without directly stating it, Daniel’s message was essentially that OEL’s role with the Canucks will be the same as the one he and Henrik played for so long in the organization. Undoubtedly, the Canucks hope that the addition of the Sedins will help Ekman-Larsson get back to the player he once was. Benning knew what he was doing when he brought in Ekman-Larsson, the Sedins, and the other veterans he’s acquired this off-season. The development of these young players is essential to the Canucks’ long-term success, and having the right leadership in place will make all the difference. Benning has also said a few times that he’s looking for a veteran Russian to come in and play a similar role for rookie Vasily Podkolzin, who’s expected to join the team this year. If all goes according to plan for Benning, the next generation of Canucks stars is going to be ready sooner rather than later.
  13. Exactly. That’s between ownership and JB. The twins have to back up the decision when discussing it publicly. Why anyone thinks they should have commented any differently is living in an alternate reality. Nonsensical.
  14. Gentleman’s bet that that’s exactly where he ends up; a contender?
  15. He belongs in the league still. Just at a far lower salary and less responsibility. Dude’s been playing injured during a fair portion of his tenure with the club. He’s a bit beat up, imho. He’ll be a great addition for a playoff contender. So much experience and poise, not to mention he’ll be so hungry to chase a cup. He’s still a solid veteran Dman.
  16. Totally agree. I think it’s more than fair to be critical of this franchise. It’s warranted. At heart, even pessimism is a product of wanting the best for this club, so I hear you on that. For me, this transaction is nothing less than positive because of what it frees up. That’s the long and short of it. There is a heavy cost on both sides of the equation, but this one Aqualini himself is having to save face for and it’s a fair chunk of change. That tells you all you need to know about the intention of and execution by this ownership group. Some may not agree with how they approach their product, we can’t change that. But as a fan, it’s sometimes cathartic to let go of personal bias as to how you’d like to see the franchise run and instead view it through the collective eyes of who owns it and discuss a viewpoint from that position. That’s what I try to do and it makes some of the lean times a little easier to digest. This move will cause strain, no doubt. But come year 2 of this buyout and we have established ourselves as a perennial playoff candidate, it will have been an incredible success. Other teams have been incredibly successful through successive post seasons of having to trim the fat to keep cap compliant. There is no reason we aren’t capable of doing the same. To think JR doesn’t have tricks up his sleeve or at very least a framework, would be to hastily ignore a very storied career as an executive. We now have a very solid cast in place. The roster will only improve from here on in.
  17. Understood. But your argument is one dimensional as the problem, in and of itself, is OEL. He can’t play up to salary, he’s consistently regressing, his age has caught up to him and injuries are dominating his ability to play. he was a dead end (as you are aware) and only depreciating. sure, could’ve given him another year…and wasted opportunity to begin the much needed alterations to this roster. The future cap space penalty that you are concerned about will be absorbed by economizing other contracts. Again, if the plan is to purse players who are young emerging RFA contracts, or to open the door to our own prospects now that Abby is showing signs of truly being a pipeline, then we can achieve some certainty, structure and balance that incorporates dead cap space. Essentially isn’t that closely related to what you want, only slightly accelerated? Adding new, young blood to the roster? Some with enough NHL level track record that it’s more of an educated guess than a crapshoot that we have positive depth/growth. That’s an ideal solution for where this club has recently come from. We just have to hope that we can find some diamonds in the rough or casualties of varying circumstance. I think it’s highly possible we do. Other teams are already dealing with cap restraint situations. We aren’t the only compromised club. But at least now we are better positioned to accommodate those future penalties through transactional moves, whereas with OEL rostered, even LTIR’d due to his potential of returning, we couldn’t. It was a major handcuff. The only way we could’ve saved face was for OEL to agree to LTIR himself through the remainder of the contract. He’s a pro with a few years left. Considering his trade protection, this guy was in complete control of our future. It was time to correct that. one contract hijacked us. it’s gone. another one will end this season. we are tending upwards, even if we start each season with a cap setback. At least now we can plan around and for that. That is wealth. Options are wealth in this capacity.
  18. Why are you so focused on that though? Are you not able to justify that this is the best course of action / lesser of two evils? Your argument is valid but it is outweighed alone on the potential of what this opportunity now presents for this club. Face it. We had an albatross that either way was going to weigh us down for the longterm. Mgmt is new but their leash to success may not actually be the length of OEL’s contract. They have the unenviable task of righting a previous regime’s wrong, while also handicapping themselves for the future (theirs specifically included) which further subverts the agenda/mandate from ownership. It just had to be done. And with EP negotiations you wanna show him that you aren’t wasting anytime at all. As the saying goes “there is no time like the present”.
  19. The risk is him meshing with the current group and if he doesn’t, we have another mess to deal with. If he can’t find a synergy here, he will effectively have labelled himself a problem player or malcontent, which no one will pay a pretty penny for. I like PLD but I like him better playing elsewhere. I just don’t trust his motivations, and on occasion, lack thereof. But if he could be happy here he would be huge add.
  20. Some fans watch the game with a focus solely on our players and their faults. They aren’t truly capturing everything. Others watch the “full” game and that includes analyzing how the opposition formulate their plays and also in the same vein how our club’s players anticipate. Bear for the most part is very positionally sound and aware. But some fans don’t appreciate the finer details like that and take them for granted, instead solely focusing on the action directly around the puck. Anyone who understands hockey in terms of true skill realizes Bear’s strongest asset is his reliability that way. Like all D with similar instinct, he will make a bonehead play at times, but that’s just hockey/sport. The hate on him is kinda juvenile.
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