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Curmudgeon

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Everything posted by Curmudgeon

  1. I stumbled on YouTube videos of Yuji Nishida. Amazing vertical jump and killer spike. I heartily recommend you give his highlights videos a look.
  2. Three differences between now and ten games ago: 1. The new faces in the lineup have had at least some time to adjust to a new team, system, home and culture, which leads to: 2. Because they are more comfortable, they are playing with more confidence and familiarity with each other, which leads to: 3. Trusting each other on the ice and knowing they have each other's back, which leads a coordinated team effort.
  3. No. He'll still be an RFA after this contract expires. I think the method in his madness was to take a short term deal now during tight cap times and swing for the home run in his next deal. At the rate he is continuing to get better and better, his next deal may start with an 11 or 12. Just saying.
  4. Not my experience, Sparky. Intelligent people wonder about everything.
  5. At first glance, Simmonds would seem attractive, but it would be for fourth line and there is nothing at all wrong with Lazar, Aman and Joshua, with Studnicka as depth. I always thought the Simmonds scored high on the give-a-**** meter, but at this point in this team's coming changes towards youth and skill, he isn't the droid we're looking for.
  6. There have been rumblings the last couple of days that Joel Quenneville might be working on a comeback. Imagine that.
  7. Count me in the small minority who believes it is too early to make a definitive call on Stillman. Wasn't playing in Chicago, joined the team in the middle of an early season stinkeroo start, got hurt (?), and has struggled in the last couple of games. But right now he doesn't deserve to be in the lineup ahead of Burroughs.
  8. Nailed it. The speed and tenacity of the forecheck are a bit too much for him right now, but as Ryan Johnson says, all he needs is more reps. He's played 47 games in the AHL and 23 in the NHL. He definitely has the smarts, the skating, the vision and the skill to become a top four guy. Just not yet.
  9. On the contrary, good post that displays a great deal of thought. I would keep Petey, Quinn and Kuzmenko. Everybody else would be on the table.
  10. None taken, and you are right, I could have been better at editing.
  11. Not that I care one way or another, but it seems like ALL of the vitriol on CDC is being heaped on Tanner Pearson. Unfair, I say. He's not the only one who has been ineffective this season, so it must be recency bias at work. Pearson made the most recent set of glaring errors (Demko excepted) so it's his turn in the frying pan. The Canucks have only two problems: 1) they haven't figured out how to move the puck out of their own zone, leading inevitably to turnovers and goals against, and 2) they haven't figured out how to make controlled entries into the other team's zone, leading inevitably to dumping, chasing and being caught deep when opposing defencemen clear their zones with apparent ease. And those problems, my friends, represent a failure of coaching. It would be helpful to bring in decent coaching, but it seems to me all of the good ones are currently employed elsewhere. I really like Bruce and he has excellent people skills, but Rutherford is entirely corrected in criticising the lack of structure. Most nights the coaches don't look like they have any kind of game plan that can kill penalties, run power plays, and as already mentioned, exit their own zone, and enter the offensive zone with control of the puck. If it were me, I'd back a dump truck up to Barry Trotz's front door and unload all the money if only he would agree to come in and impose "structure" on this collection of individuals so that they become a functioning unit. And yes, I am aware that there are those on CDC who hate Trotz, too, but they are generally of the contrary type who hate most things for no apparent reasons.
  12. Ahh, the horrible memories. Jim chasing OEL so hard he lost out on Toffoli, Tanev and Stecher, all of whom I'd have kept and Markstrom, who I would have let walk. Fast forward one year and again he chases after OEL and succeeds, thus effing up the salary cap for years to come. And by the way, to all those who are certain that Aquilini was pulling the strings in the Benning years.might do well to consider that maybe he gave Jim too much rope and maybe should have been MORE engaged than he actually was? And by that I mean requiring better accountability from a guy he should have suspected was in over his head. Just a thought.
  13. Yes, it's true he's not exactly Brian Burke caliber of always being available to antagonize the media. So far, Allvin and his staff have quietly gone about their business. They have added to Vancouver's roster: Travis Dermott d, Spencer Martin g, Nils Aman c, Alexey Kuzmenko w, Jack Rathbone d, Curtis Lazar c, Ilya Mikheyev w, Dakota Joshua w, Riley Stillman d, Jack Studnicka c and Ethan Bear d They have also added Arshdeep Bains, Linus Karlsson, Christian Wolanin and Collin Delia as prospects in Abbotsford. They also drafted a bunch of kids at the entry draft and signed a Swedish Defenceman named Filip Johansson who is believed to be ready to come to North America next year. Their scouts are out doing their jobs and it looks like the plan is to get younger and faster and more skilled. Sounds easy if you say it fast, but I believe Allvin is doing fine and am okay with him not being as available to the media as some would like.
  14. Kind of ho-hum, no? Season Team Lge GP Min GA EN SO GAA W L T Svs Pct 2022-23 Calgary Flames NHL 10 566 28 0 0 2.97 4 3 2 234 0.893
  15. So Bruce gets fired at noon, then Sheldon Keefe gets fired at 12:30, then Bruce is hired to coach his beloved hometown Leafs. I don't know where Sheldon goes, nor do I care. Whomever the new Canucks coach is, he will have to look stern and imposing and be impeccably dressed so that he looks pleasing behind the bench, with bonus points awarded if he actually knows how to coach.
  16. Not sure what you mean by lighting fires under players' arses. Also, I fail to see how lighting said fires under Myers and OEL are magically going to make them somewhat closer to competent. Now if by lighting fires you mean trading them off for as many draft picks as you can eat and still have room for a prospect or two, I'm here for it.
  17. I dunno, but I get the distinct impression that Boudreau is not going to make it through November, and that he isn't going to be the only one who goes. I could easily see them trading one or more of Miller, Horvat, Boeser, Myers, OEL, Garland, Hoglander, Podkolzin, Pearson and even Demko. Rutherford likes to wheel and deal and while he's not the GM, he is still the puppet master. Year after year of bandaid solutions to systemic problems have resulted in a middling team that is neither too good nor too bad and neither a winner nor a loser. Furthermore, since the Sedins were drafted at 2 and 3 a quarter of a century ago, the Canucks have never drafted higher than 5th twice (Petey and Juolevi), so building through the draft hasn't been a viable option. Trades by the previous regime brought Miller (good), Pearson (okay), Garland (okay), and OEL (not good). And there's more; because the team has mostly been middling to poor, but spending to the cap, they have rarely been in a position to sign big ticket free agents in July. So, not bad enough to get a top five pick, yet tapped out financially so that they can't compete for top free agents. Overall, this has been a recipe for mediocrity since the 2010-2012 teams aged out and were dismantled. So, is there a solution? Maybe. I have never been in the "tear it apart and start again' camp, but I have arrived at that point after watching this team since day one. While I am a faithful fan, something has to change and it has to be drastic enough to reset the whole culture. Bo is a wonderful guy and a great team leader who can supply much needed offence, but if he could be swapped for two, three or four pieces, why not auction him off to the highest bidder? Boeser is still a legitimate goal scorer, but if he can bring back two or three pieces, I'd be okay with trading him. Same with anybody on the roster except Petey, Quinn and maybe Kuzmenko. Yes, that's how dire the situation is. The biggest issue has been not that ownership is meddlesome and too hands on, but that they have consistently hitched their wagon to the wrong stars. With the exception of Alain Vigneault and Mike Gillis, the Aquilinis have generally chosen people for key jobs who lacked the experience required to do the job adequately. Linden's only qualification for president was that he was a pretty good player. Benning was a hockey guy who lacked basic planning skills and who was never able to put together a consistent winner. Willie Desjardins was not "real good". Tortorella's time here was like a drunken weekend after your girlfriend kicks you out. Travis Green did what he could with what he was given, but at the end the players bailed on him. Enter Rutherford and the Pittsburgh mafia AFTER Boudreau was given a two year deal, which was an ass-backwards move by Francesco. By now it is clear that Boudreau is NOT Rutherford's guy and it is only a matter of time before he is shown the door, and especially if the team loses most of the five games on this road trip. So, in summary, if the team continues to win one, lose three, Bruce is probably done before Christmas, two or three core guys could be gone sooner than later, and the fan base can go back to arguing about who the Canucks should take with their resulting high draft pick. I'll start: I like Adam Fantilli. Who says no?
  18. I wonder if I am the only one here who doesn't fully understand what people mean by "rebuild" and "retool". Seems to me we need to arrive at some generally agreed definition of each, because the words obviously mean different things to different people. In the eight years he was here Benning completely turned the entire roster over, and except for Horvat, nobody who was here when he started was here when he was finished. Is that not a rebuild? Allvin and crew have brought in Mikheyev, Kuzmenko, Lazar, Joshua, Stillman, Studnicka, Bear, Aman and Martin, with Karlsson and Bains developing in Abbotsford. Is that not also a rebuild? So when I read fans who want to "blow it up" or "tank for whomever the latest number one pick will be", or " tear it down and build it back up", I want to ask them be be specific. What would you do and why? Who stays, who goes? How many more years of bottom feeding is acceptable for an already an angry and vociferous fan base who demand this team wins pretty much every game? And so I am left with the question: What is your definition of a rebuild, and describe how you would rebuild the Canucks. I'll wait.
  19. Just dropped in to say that was the greatest two-way game ever played by a Canuck. Pettersson is other-wordly in his understanding of the game.
  20. Just a quick note to point out that Elias Pettersson's defensive game is next level. His anticipation and smart forecheck are incredible.
  21. November will be a challenge. 13 games left this month and the Canucks could realistically lose 12 of them. If they lose the next five or six, Bruce there he was.

    1. King Heffy

      King Heffy

      I'm really worried that will end up with Yeo as the head coach.

    2. Strawbone

      Strawbone

      Wait why could they realistically lose only 12? I can't think of a single team in the NHL that couldn't beat the Canucks right now.

  22. No he won't and no they won't because no he isn't.
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