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

DownUndaCanuck

Members
  • Posts

    11,244
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    4

Everything posted by DownUndaCanuck

  1. So far looks like another home-run for JB, but of course this deal will only be considered a "win" if Toffoli re-signs. If he walks but we have a deep playoff run with him, I think it'd still be worth the cost for the young kids and for the city.
  2. The Pacific is so close, anything could happen, and based on how good the Canucks are at home, if they get home ice advantage I think the first two rounds could be a breeze. We might be facing two Pacific division teams in the first two rounds who are all hopeless on the road. Win 2, lose 1 then win 1 road game and we might be able to breeze through the first two rounds. There's an argument to say that whoever comes out into the WCF will get the crap beat out of them by each other (Colorado and St. Louis) and we have shown we can handle those teams as well, so if they're a bit banged up who knows? I think anything could happen this playoffs and JB senses it as well.
  3. This kid always comes up clutch in big games and he was amped up for the Bruins game. I liked Bieksa's comments in that Stecher is better defensively than Barrie and in all honesty, that's what we need from him in the playoffs. We've got the offence going, we need to be sound defensively and Stecher can provide that. Plus, his passion and clutch-play will come up huge in the playoffs whereas Barrie has struggled, and only really succeeded with Mackinnon. Keep Stecher, JB would be a fool to trade him, especially after two big games.
  4. Solid game against the Bruins, one of the best offences in the league and he shut them down nicely, IMO our best defensive-defenceman on the ice. Plays the body well, wins puck battles along the boards and makes the safe smart play to get the puck out of the zone. Wasn't sure where he'd fit in this team but he's becoming one of the best bottom pairing D-men in the league. Not many coaches would feel safe in playoff match ups sending out their 3rd pairing against a top line but I think Fantenberg can easily shut most team's top lines down.
  5. Got to hope that Toffoli is having fun in Vancouver and re-signs because he is easily going to be a 30-goal pace scorer on this team's top line. I don't see Boeser getting a look-in at the moment. It'd be nice to see Toffoli and Pearson play together but with Miller and Pettersson setting him up, you can't complain. He's getting 1st line ice-time on a playoff contender and 1st PP unit time, hopefully that's tempting enough to stay.
  6. It's really starting to look like the 1st line is Miller's line rather than Pettersson's, and that this is becoming his team. He looks like a leader out there, deserves an "A", and is controlling the play most of the time. Pettersson has really softened up down the stretch, a bit how he did in his rookie season, whereas Miller is just consistently getting better and better. Massive 3 assists against the Bruins, he's the guy out there on the forecheck causing turnovers and leading to A-grade scoring chances, and now he's got two trigger men to set up. So far he's taking over MVP rights in my opinion.
  7. Probably the best full team effort by the Canucks in what I would say years, maybe 3-4 years. Dismantled the best team in the league who were on a hot streak, best defence and goalies in the league. The Bruins looked tired, they came out to play but the Canucks just squashed them every time they got some momentum. 1) Firstly have to start with Miller. He is making this his team. Pettersson has slowed down a bit lately but Miller is really taking the Canucks top line by charge and IMO he's this team's MVP. He sets up all the opportunities, forces so many turnovers and takes faceoffs. This man deserves an "A" on his sweater for the playoffs and he's going to be one of those O'Rielly-type players for sure. Subtle but massive game by him tonight. 2) Toffoli and Pettersson did well tonight, I thought they struggled with chemistry early on but it's really starting to grow and the top line all of a sudden has racked up plenty of points in the 2 games they've been together against some very stingy defences and goaltenders. Nice to see Toffoli get a good point streak going and glad to see Pettersson back in the scoring too. 3) At the start of the game I was hoping Eriksson would get swapped for Motte but the 2nd line did a great job together. Eriksson, despite his goal, still whiffed on a lot of nice offensive chances but the trio do play a solid 200 foot game, so while we sacrifice some offence it's nice to see the guys gel together and score. Don't need to say much about Bo, he came out fired up for this one and really set the tempo which is what you want from your captain and character guy. 4) I thought Motte had a hell of a game as he usually does and really is one of the best bottom-6 players in the league. He set the tempo as well and kept it going, did a monster job on an important PK as well. Beagle had a strong game as well, both guys played a hard heavy game. Roussel was the only dark spot on the night, useless penalty to get the Bruins back into the game and really didn't do anything positive. 5) Our "4th line" is always a bit of a gamble, plenty of offence, much more than most bottom-6 lines with Gaudette and Virtanen, but they had some hairy moments defensively. As much as I love Gaudette, he is terrible in his own zone and coughs up pucks far too easily which lead to some glorious chances. He really has to get better defensively but offensively the kid is so skilled and has a knack for scoring big goals. At the moment, the Gaudette goal really burst the game open. I thought Virtanen had a quiet game but played with a good physical edge which is what we need to see more of and the easy goal at the end of the game was the icing on the top for this line. Sutter again had a strong, structured and safe game which is what we need from him playing with the two kids. 6) Defensively I thought we played a sound game. Edler was nice and quiet, good keep-ins and tight in his own zone. Stecher had a monster game, this kid always comes up big in big games and JB would be stupid to trade him. He might be a real X-factor in the playoffs, having a guy who can rack up 3 points on your bottom pairing with that much passion is a rarity. Fantenberg was brilliant tonight and IMO our best defenceman, he took the body well and won so many little battles along the board, and got the puck out of our zone with ease. Myers had a safe game as well, nice to see him throw his body and get a powerplay out of it. Of course, Hughes was brilliant tonight with his passing and a lovely assist. He's had some really scary defensive moments in games gone by but nothing at all tonight. Tanev again had some great puck battle wins and sticks in lanes. 7) Markstrom was solid again but didn't have to win the game for once. The Bruins really didn't generate much but when they did, with a couple of nice cross-ice passes, Markstrom made some lovely lateral saves. 8) I think you have to take your hat off to Green for this one. His aggressive two-man forecheck wore down the weary Bruins and exposed the best defence and goalies in the league, which not sacrificing our positioning defensively. I thought after the first Bruins goal we were going to get caught out all night long but they collapsed well when defending. Huge win, everyone played well from top to bottom. This is the sort of game we need to build from and remember. This Canucks team is one of the best at home, and if they can get home-ice for the playoffs they might go deep. I do really hope JB doesn't trade away any of the guys on the roster, especially after such a big win, and especially a passionate guy like Stecher.
  8. I don't see JB trading for Barrie but if he did, it would be something like Stecher + Juolevi/Rafferty + roster player (Baertschi? Roussel?). No thanks.
  9. I think Stecher is a perfectly capable bottom pairing defenceman, he's just being exposed a hell of a lot in Green's defensive system. If he goes to a more sound defensive team he might end up playing much better, but if he goes to a contender I think he'd sit most nights as their 7th guy. The only reason I'd trade Stecher is if we're putting in a package (including say Baertschi or Goldobin) for a calibre young defenceman with term. NJD is the first place that comes to mind.
  10. This game is massive, more than worth the 2 points. Boston coming off a big, exhausting come-from-behind win against Calgary and are at the end of a back-to-back, Canucks are well rested and hopefully well trained. We've got a chance to jump back to the top of the Pacific with a win, but it's more than just that. The Canucks have played terribly the last 8 games, even (especially) in the wins. Our defence needs to tighten up and we need to crack strong defences and goalies offensively and maintain sustained offensive pressure on all 4 lines. The Bruins pose the best challenge of the league, and this is two teams currently with very different forms. Lose in a close game and we maintain where we are at the moment. Lose badly like we did last time and this team will be completely deflated. Win in any way and this team will be boosted into another winning streak. This young team feeds off good and bad energy very quickly, which is why this game could be pivotal for the games to come. Hope Green studied the Calgary game and gets the boys ready for this one. This game will all come down to coaching, special teams and goaltending.
  11. He would be our leading scorer but would cost far too much. We'd have to give up something like a 1st/A-grade prospect (Podkolzin, Juolevi) + roster player + pick.
  12. An Erikssom for Simmonds deal would be interesting but we'd have to add something, hope Baertschi would be enough? Otherwise Juolevi + Eriksson for Simmonds + Butcher
  13. Agree with everything. For the next 20 games: Miller - Pettersson - Toffoli Pearson - Horvat - Gaudette Roussel - Sutter - Eriksson Motte - Beagle - Virtanen For Game 1 of the playoffs: Miller - Pettersson - Boeser Pearson - Horvat - Toffoli Roussel - Sutter - Gaudette Motte - Beagle - Virtanen Virtanen and Gaudette interchangeable
  14. I really hope JB doesn't trade any more of our future away. This is not the year we need to load up, we need to get into the playoffs but not make a deep run. That run is coming in 3 years or so, which is when we can burn the farm, but don't do it too soon. Only trade if there's a hockey trade to be made and to be honest I'd rather Myers over Barrie for the playoffs. Toronto will want Stecher + Gaudette and I wouldn't dare move Gaudette at this stage in his career.
  15. I'd be careful trading away an NHL defenceman for a pick going into the home stretch where we'll be one injury away from a few Utica call ups. Stecher has made mistakes but throwing Juolevi or Rafferty into tense games will not only break them but our bottom pairing. Don't trade away the defensive depth we've worked so hard to get.
  16. This run and gun style is how Green is going to live and die. We score goals but our defence is leaky. This is what the fans and JB wanted - an exciting team to watch, but with that comes frustrating defending. Personally I loved AV's safe style but it wasn't the most appealing and in today's NHL, where offence is really rewarded, I think these high tempo teams are the ones who succeed. When you look at Tampa, Boston, Colorado and Washington, they manage to score without sacrificing defence and can do so because of their elite forwards. Unfortunately our top-6 aren't as good as them and we rely on defence to jump up and a two man forecheck but that leads to all sorts of issues defensively. One day, hopefully in a couple of years, we will find that balance, but until then it's going to be more of this risky hockey.
  17. We've played terribly the last 5 or so games so need to start playing the right way again. Hopefully the trades a bit of a shakeup. 4-2 Canucks
  18. Ouch, big blow, but our season shouldn't rest on the shoulders of one top-6 forward. Toffoli instantly replaces Boeser and arguably then some. Let's hope we can sneak into the playoffs and get Leivo and Boeser back for some games during.
  19. The trade really rests on whether he resigns or not, if he does it's a big win and with Ferland on LTIR I think we should splash 4-5M on him at the very least. Toffoli's got 3 years left at least of 20-30 goal scoring and now he's playing with real playmakers too.
  20. You've got to think that if the Canucks miss the playoffs now, Green's job is in jeopardy. Maybe not in the offseason, but if they start slow the first 20 games next year I think he's gone. Boudreau would play this team very interestingly... Gutsy move by JB but you have to respect that he's doing everything in his power to get this team to win. Haven't had a GM like him in a while, probably since Burkie.
  21. Hopefully Boeser can be back for the last 10 games, lots of divisional games and the last 2 might decide the playoffs...hopefully "re-evaluate" means check if healthy to play.
  22. I think to start off Toffoli should be on our top line while Boeser's out, then in the last 10 games move him alongside Pearson and Bo for the ultimate playoff line. JB is building a team full of Miller/Pearson/Bo/Toffoli-type players and for good reason, they're the ones who get it done in the playoffs. You need big bodies but not just Kassians, big guys with skill who can score and hit. Out top-6 is going to be 4/6 these kinds of players and the only other way you get into our top-6 is wity elite Pettersson-level skill. This recipe has worked time and time again for Cup winners, JB sees that and is copying it. He's setting up this team to win now and in the future. The Bruins are a good example of a team who, since 2011 even, have never really tanked but constantly replaced older guys with young guys entering their prime, rebuilt on the fly and always stayed on the top of the league. That's what these Miller/Pearson/Toffoli trades do - bring in young guys with a good 3-5 years still while having kids come up through the ranks challenging. When the kids (eg. Virtanen, Gaudette) get good enough they can bump the big guys down to the 3rd line. In the meanwhile we keep rolling a solid top-6, a challenging 3rd line and keep winning. Seems gutsy by JB to trade a bit of youth and not have an early pick in this draft, but you have to pick your battles and spend when it seems worthwhile, and Miller and Toffoli are worth it. We can just hope Toffoli sticks, resigns and gets protected in the ED because he'd be a nice staple either with Pettersson or Bo for the next 3 years at least.
×
×
  • Create New...