5 decades and no cup

That's my point. Read the trash talk on JT before he signed.

Sounds similar to the BS talk during the Miller contract negotiations.

Especially if your value was $6m eh?

Agents and GMs play this game all the time. Meanwhile, Canuck management are comparing Bo to RNH ($5.1x8). Nuge gave up salary to stay with the Oilers. He's 2yrs older than Bo and doesn't play C very often. I think a better comparable would be Brayden Schenn (6.5x8m). Bo doesn't play as physical as Brayden, but he is 4yrs younger.

I think JT's ceiling was considered to be a solid 2C/LW, but playing on a stacked team like Tampa pushed him down to the 3rd line. When he came to Vancouver, he started playing alongside Pete and Brock, which vaulted him into a 1st line player. I believe his success with the Canucks is having high end linemates, but even more so, due to his competitive personality and passion for the game. Miller can score a lot of goals, but we can not underestimate his value as a playmaker. I really don't see any reason to compare him to Bo. Bo had a very good season last year and has improved his offensive and defensive game since Boudreau joined the team. I think Bo will continue to improve his game, but it will not be the elite style that JT went through. Instead he will become a more complete player who will be a significant player on most teams in the league. I don't agree with those that consider him 'an average 2C'. Looking at the 2Cs on other teams, Bo is easily in the top 10 The only reason the Canucks would move Bo is due to the salary cap issues. I think this is a likely scenario, but I have no doubt his contributions to the team will be several missed.

Can't bring myself to wade through this PGT, but I did stumble across a post that very simply and realistically encapsulates the game last night. Up until the final 10 minutes of the game, our team played better than they have in a long while and everyone in the GDT were making very positive comments; even the 4th line were receiving the love. If they had managed to eek out a win, the comments and incredible page count would look very different. The last 10mins looked like a lot of games played by teams coming out of a rebuild. Pretty much every rebuilding team in the past +8 years have struggled hard to climb into a playoff position and most haven't even come close to competing beyond the first round. Most reasonable fans thought that the team would make the playoffs, but beyond that, very few thought they'd make it past the 1st round. If we had known that Boeser and Markstrom would be injured, I doubt the predictions would have been as positive. Yes, it was a heartbreaking loss for all of us and especially for the players, management and owners. This team has had great success at home and they could very well string together some wins and can usually pick up points on SoCal road trips. Confidence restored; Marky's return: they still have a good chance of getting into the playoffs. That's all we really wanted, isn't it?

Pearson projects to be +36pts in his 5 seasons in the NHL. Points aside, he has a better physical game and appears to have great chemistry with Bo. Tanner has played +79 games in his past 3 seasons. Leips takes a lot of flack around here, but he does put up some decent numbers, but just hasn't been consistent enough to play a full season as of yet.

...maybe he was confusing the data for the male sex drive? Regarding intelligence... IQ is supposed to be the ability to learn, but we all know that there are many factors that can effect a person's IQ results. It is true, that generally speaking a person's IQ results stay in the same range for much of their life (if things like learning disorders are not rectified). Hockey sense or 'IQ' is not a measurement of intelligence per se. A person with an average IQ may have fantastic hockey sense, while the opposite could be true as well. Teaching situational hockey can enhance a players 'hockey sense', understanding of the game and team systems. Jake likely has at least an average ability to learn, which means (if he has low hockey sense) he can learn to adapt his game into what works the best for him and his team. I think that the management know exactly what kind of player they want Jake to be and will help him to achieve it.

They already know he's a top 6 sniper. I think they just wanted to see how he handles being up against NHL players and put him with linemates that could protect him. Shink was knocked around quite a bit and still needs to bulk up. The league is getting younger, faster and bigger every year. The smaller players have to be strong, fast and have high hockey IQ to survive. Gaunce, on the other hand, is NHL ready and should be on the team right now.

So very true...

Hutton - what a nice surprise for the team. Seems like Nuck luck is turning around.

Seem to recall Horvat riding the pine during games last year as well. Like Bo, Virt will earn WD's trust as his game develops. No need to be in a hurry.

Yeah I could see that. The guy can play any position on the team and play it well.

I did too. 859 NHL games is nothing to scoff at. I think Taylor got a lot of flack because he was such a high draft pick. I also think the tragic death of his fiance may have set him back.

Four years younger and already putting up similar #s. I think he'll be quite the sniper for TO. I'm not so confident that Baer will be as good as some seem to think. I hope I'm wrong.

Can't agree with you here, Alf. Gaunce's skating is fine and his amazing hockey IQ gets him to the puck quicker than most. He is exeptional along the boards and is very hard to push him off the puck. He also appears to have the 'intangibles' as a leader and is a very consistent and responsible hockey player. He reminds me of Taylor Pyatt, but with a greater hockey sense. A career 3rd liner, who is solid defensively and can chip in a few goals when needed. He was sent down so that McCann and Virtanen could get in a few more games. JB really likes Gaunces 'meat and potatoes' game and I fully expect him to be on the team when the others are sent back to jrs.

Far better.

LOL Priceless!

This is a factor that people are overlooking. College and Jr players usually have a hard time adjusting to the much longer and tougher NHL season schedule. That's why the AHL is used as a stepping stone. The guys in Utica will get plenty of opportunities to join the Canucks during the season.

I agree that Gaunce is/and will continue to be, the better player, but he doesn't have the physical/energy game of Kennins. They may end up sharing the Higgins spot, which imo, is not the greatest situation for either of them.

I agree completely. It seems that the power forward type players take a little longer to find their 'complete' game. Most folks are realizing that Jake needs more time and is not quite ready for the NHL, but don't think his Jr team provides the kind of coaching for him to develop properly. I wonder if a trip abroad to Finland would be better for him (he has duel citizenship). Jake would have a chance to continue playing against men in a leaque that is considered to be very good and the Fins seem to play a 'Canadian like' game. With the 'big ice' he would be forced to work on other aspects of his game.

So they can add another 14M to their cap for a pair of 2nd liners?

If he is NHL ready, why wouldn't the team bring him over and give him a try? He is an asset if he can play the NHL game. Whether or not he 'fits' with the Canucks, he can still be useful in a trade to another team.

His skating has really improved, as seen at the prospect games. Like the Sedins, he has massive hockey IQ, so he's one of the first guys on the ice that knows where to go to be in postition. I don't think his speed is going to be a problem in the NHL. He seems to have some similar characteristics to Bo. Very smart player that works hard and is invested in learing to be the best he can be.

A. So you don't think Shinks was a good pick. B. Vey is not a small player and has worked on strengthening all offseason. C. Virt is not a sure thing. If he pans out as a 3rd liner, most people will see that as a huge disappointment. As a 6th overall draft pick, he needs to have NHL level offence along with his other skills.