Jump to content
The Official Site of the Vancouver Canucks
Canucks Community

kloubek

Members
  • Posts

    5,665
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by kloubek

  1. ...annnd there you go. Danger averted.
  2. I am honestly not a big fan. He started out really solid but I feel he makes too many mistakes in his own zone. Doesn't generate much offensively and isn't exactly an imposing presence. But really - we got him as a 7th guy. He is paid like a 7th defender and he plays like a 7th defender. Can't really complain too much...
  3. Last night's game didn't do much to boost Demko's stats, but he made some glorious saves to keep us in it. As much as I am happy we won and that we are generating scoring chances, the team is doomed if we can't shore up our play defensively. Even if we make the playoffs AND get Marky back, our lack of coverage is gonna bite us in the ass.
  4. Especially for Risto. That guy is a total disaster in his own end - particularly even strength. Only way I would want to see us trade Gaudette is for a noticable upgrade on D. Even then, I would probably rather take our chances on Rafferty, OJ, Rathbone or Tryamkin than to trade who I believe can and will be our elite 3rd line center. I feel he has the skill and the smarts... he just needs to add muscle and be stronger on the puck battles. We just need to convince Green the 3rd line should be a scoring one instead of forcing the 2 and 2 format he has favoured. Really, can't ask for more than a Gaudette-Virtanen third line pairing. They just need to find a linemate of equal talent and it looks to me like a damn good 3rd line. I would like to see Ferland there next season; I think he and Virtanen could be a real difficult 2-prong attack to stop.
  5. Listening to the media time, our guys just sound defeated. They obviously know they are pissing away the playoffs but nobody has answers.
  6. I actually thought we looked alright tonight in that regard. Just another game for Green to say we looked good, but didn't get results. That line is getting old.
  7. I generally agree - though if Marky is unreasonable in his ask we may have no choice but to let him walk. I am sure Benning isn't interested in a 7x7 contract, for example. We can't handcuff this team. With this said, I don't feel Marky is the type to be all about himself and it is clear what he does for our team, so there is little doubt Benning will at least try hard to get it done.
  8. Assuming he isn't too rusty, I would not be surprised. However, if next game was a lock I imagine he would have said so in his media time. Either way, this is all great news for us down the stretch.
  9. I think Petey will be in the top 10 best players in the league inside the next year or two. I think in his prime, he will be top 5 or 6. I believe the only thing holding him back right now is his size, but he has a big frame and should pack on some pounds through the next few years. Once he has the strength to bust through guys with his moves, he will be a VERY hard player to stop. As for TT, I do think we need to point out to him his body of work over his career, and that his current point production is clearly due to the players we have put him with. I believe he will want to re-sign with us (who doesn't like having career years?) and that Benning will try to move cap to do it. I don't feel Benning solely got him as a rental; I believe Benning got him to replace Boeser's points and keep us in the race, but also to give us a better chance to re-sign him once he gets a taste of our team and where we are going.
  10. Full contact, no less. When he says he should be back "soon", I do believe that.
  11. Why does logic dictate that? I could see a couple reasons that doesn't happen: Green might prefer to ease Brock back in instead of putting him right in the fire. Remember that Boeser was playing on the 3rd before getting injured if I remember correctly. When we got TT, most assumed he would be put on our 2nd line to reunite with Pearson. I still think that is in the cards, with Boeser eventually going back to the 1st to be with his friend Petey. Really, I can see an argument to out Boeser on any of the top 3 lines when he comes back. I just hope he took this time to level himself and get his head back in the game.
  12. After two really solid games after the TD, he has certainly gone downhill. (Though some can be explained by just really bad luck) With that said, if he is willing to come back at a reduced rate to play for his hometown team, he is clearly a better option for the money than Benn or Oscar. While both started out well, they have been somewhat awful since imo. With 2-4 potential role defensemen soon to be pushing for a roster spot soon, I just don't know if there will be room to keep Stecher unless we lose the two forementioned guys, and/or perhaps don't re-sign Tanev. (Which would make our team that much worse if it happened). I do like Stecher, but he is no more than a third pairing guy imo and needs to be paid accordingly. If he wants more, move on.
  13. I am really surprised that Miller didn't make a better name for himself before coming here. I wanted him well before Benning got him, but never thought he would be this good. Not sure what clicked in Vancouver compared to his prior career, but we really couldn't ask for more. He is easily one of our hardest working players, hard to get off the puck, is excellent at creating space (especially on the boards where he regularly fakes guys out), has a good shot and quick release, and seems to be a good leader. If you consider the likelihood of a mid 1st round pick being a top 3 player (even with Benning's good record) this seems to be one of the best trades Benning has ever made. I actually really feel for the guy that he has performed so well and tries to hard that our team is just barely clinging to a playoff position now. The rest of the team would be best off noting his style of play and trying to replicate it, and we would be in a much better position right now.
  14. I think it is extremely important for Demko to have a good game against the Coyotes. Our team plays better when we can rely on the goalie and I fear if he has another poor showing the team will lose that confidence (if they haven't already). Playing a good game is especially important as it now looks like we will have one or two regular blueliners out of the lineup. Your time to shine, Demmer!
  15. This is not good. We need all hands on deck if we are gonna stop this slide. #anxious
  16. According to TSN today, Ottawa almost traded for Goldy. Not sure what happened - Benning would be better off getting at least something for a player who doesn't seem to be in our plans. As far as how Goldy has handled himself - all class. I want this kid to succeed... even if it isn't with us.
  17. Honestly, I believe it is because some only look at surface stats. If you look solely at his GAA and Save percentage, he is not up there with the others considered above him. Now, as fans of this team we know how he wouldn't likely have those kinds of numbers playing behind our defensively challenged team, but on the surface he really does look to be down on the list. Doesn't bother me. While it would be nice to see Marky get the recognition he deserves, I would rather he do so AFTER he signs his next contract.
  18. Nor sure he would have anyway with a back to back.Now it is probably guaranteed. While he let in a couple bad goals, the team could have played better in front of him. We have a bigger team than Toronto and certainly didn't show it.
  19. It was an odd comment, but I imagine he means playing against fully developed, often experienced opponents. The AHL certainly isn't NHL caliber, but it isn't exactly a breezy league either. We have quite a few guys down there who could very well slot into an NHL team in various positions and perform reasonably adequately. Given his point totals, it wouldn't be a horrible idea to try Boucher again at this level. I agree that perhaps with the added confidence right now, he *could* produce. I appreciate the hesitance to mess with our lineup when the Pacific is so tight - but isn't it worth a try over playing... say... Eriksson? Does he really bring enough "little things" to make lack expendability?
  20. Disappointing, yes. But I feel there is still confidence in Benning by ownership, and there probably should be based on the team he has assembled - all while rebuilding the prospect pool. Besides a few questionable moves here and there (which all GMs do), I feel on paper our team is a very good one. Even (perhaps especially) our defense has really solid names in it, and should be performing better as a whole. The roster is built with depth, speed, skill, AND size. IMO if anyone complains about our lineup on paper, I would tell them to give their head a shake. So with that in general agreement, the only thing left is coaching. I like Green. I think the team plays hard for him. But the systems being used just aren't working as well as they need to be - particularly from a defensive perspective. I feel a different coach *could* help us. On the other hand, I feel firing him could potentially change team chemistry (which by all accounts is excellent) and it is possible a large part of our problem is simply having a young team. At the end of the day, I don't think I would want to risk it at this point quite yet. We still came a long way from last year.
  21. Bad game. From goal outwards, we were not good. A lot of missed passes/plays and turnovers. We looked good for the first half of the third, but we should absolutely come to play for games against teams like the Sens. Ffs - they had what... 6 guys playing who haven't even played 20 games in the NHL? If we want to be a playoff team, we gotta put games like this away. On a side note, really happy for Ryan. Tough road to come back from - hopefully he remains on the wagon.
  22. Ideally, no. But we really could shed salary, and perhaps he will end up viewing Demko as expendable just based on the expansion draft coming up. If he thinks he has an alternate plan, then I could absolutely see him using another B level prospect as a sweetener instead.
  23. I don't see that happening. We need Jake - at least until we have a suitable replacement, and I just don't see a player that continues to get better and we spent so much time grooming as that sweetener. If we add a sweetener from the current roster I see it being Demko. Of course, that is assuming we re-sign Marky.
×
×
  • Create New...