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SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME

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Everything posted by SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME

  1. It would be almost salary neutral to swap Pearson (3.25M) for Kane at 50% (3.5M). Maybe even the Sharks add a pick, given how desperate they are, and how toxic an asset Kane is right now. (I’m not advocating for the move, just to be clear.)
  2. Yeah, Shaw seems like an obvious claim. He’s nothing special. Kind of a tweener AHL/NHL guy with limited talent/upside. And his stats aren’t anything to write home about. Just a veteran 4th line/depth grinder C/W. And a good ol’ Canadian boy from Glace Bay, Cape Breton. He works hard, plays a good defensive game, blocks shots, has good size, can PK, win faceoffs, and has character and leadership ability (he wore the “C” last year in the AHL). Beggers can’t be choosers. Shaw isn’t a guy who moves the needle for most teams, but the Canucks definitely aren’t most teams. Main thing is he’s a RH faceoff option who can win >50% of his draws. And he can be trusted to lineup for 5v5 D-zone and PK faceoffs. I’d swap him in as 4RW (with Chiasson taken out) and put him out to start PK’s (so he can take faceoffs against LH guys).
  3. Disappointing to see that Montreal will likely hire Jeff Gorton (possibly as soon as today) before the Canucks even start interviewing people for management/executive positions. (Gorton was my pick for Canucks PoHO.) Looks like he’ll be the next President of Hockey Ops for the Habs, unless something falls through late in the process (fingers crossed—maybe the fact he isn’t a francophone will scuttle things ). EDIT: and there it is GM Bergevin and AGM Timmins fired. Gorton becomes Montreal’s Executive VP of Hockey Ops. And the search begins for a bilingual GM.
  4. I think it’s more that the NU offence is built around “Dunzo” as the triggerman. I mean, I suppose he’s one dimensional in the sense that his shot is such a dangerous weapon, there’s nobody else on that team you’d rather have finishing plays. But he’s definitely capable of reading the play and making a good pass. He’s just more likely to shoot the puck, and I’d assume he’s coached to do so, and even the team’s systems are built around getting him the puck in shooting position. So maybe one dimensional by design? But in addition to his lethal shot, McDonough is a really good forechecker and has a high compete and battle level. Works hard for pucks and uses his size very well. And his two-way/off puck play has gotten quite solid as well. The skating was always the worry, but he seems to be making gains there too.
  5. Definitely in some good company with some of those names. I’m curious about Ethan Frank (NCAA goals leader). I can’t seem to dig up much about him, and I don’t really follow Western Michigan. He’s a fifth year player, undrafted, and 23 years old, but has some pretty respectable totals for his college career, before exploding for a goal a game this season. I might have to take in a game and see if this guy has more to his game than just his nose for the net. If he can skate and play decent defence, and put up those scoring numbers, maybe he’s a guy to look at in free agency? He’s also a RH centre (but looks like he plays mostly LW). (I haven’t done a deep dive, but my first searches on Frank are turning up basically nothing, which is surprising for a guy leading the nation in goals.) EDIT: Here’s a highlight pack for one of Frank’s games. Goals he scores remind me a lot of Gaudette in college. Can’t tell much about a player’s overall game from scoring highlights, but he did seem to have decent jump on that EN goal at the end (although the one Dman fell and the other defender kinda quit on the play.)
  6. Jeff Gorton? Yeah, he’s available, and he’s good. Highly underrated tenures, both in New York, and Boston, previously. I’ve actually been thinking lately about a building a dream team by hiring Gorton for Vancouver’s President of Hockey Ops, and then trying to poach Eric Tulsky from Carolina for Canucks GM. Here’s a recent article on Tulsky, for those unfamiliar: https://cardiaccane.com/2021/01/11/carolina-hurricanes-meteoric-rise-eric-tulsky/amp/ And an older article on Tulsky, getting into his background and education (he probably has the most impressive and unique CV you’ll ever see from someone working in hockey): “Tulsky holds a B.A. in chemistry and physics from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in chemistry from UC-Berkeley. His resume also includes a two-year, post-doctoral study at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C., and a 12-year career in nanotechnology” https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/inside-the-mind-of-eric-tulsky/c-777511 As for Gorton, here’s a piece on his work in Boston and how much his moves set up the next regime to compete for the Cup: https://thehockeywriters.com/bruins-2006-nhl-draft-trades-marchand-rask/ And here’s another article that gets into Gorton’s recent tenure with the Rangers: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/where-will-former-rangers-gm-jeff-gorton-land-next/amp/
  7. Imagine if Greener was behind leaking the rumours about a Miller/Horvat rift and rival factions forming in the room. If indeed it’s all fabricated BS, it’s kind of a heck of a way to give the players a chance to rally around each other, bring the room together, and create an “us against them” mood to get the guys going. I’m not saying that Green was behind it, just that it’d be kind of a brilliant move, if he actually was.
  8. I think the kids call it a #FitCheck I’m sure some people enjoy seeing what the players are wearing. And I suppose if I ever need tips on how to wear a suit with a toque, the Canucks social media team has me covered.
  9. I love the part where Sekeres says he was “told to read into it.” Like that guy needs any encouragement.
  10. Was just about to post the same. Sask (Babcock’s team) plays UBC tomorrow and Saturday.
  11. Not really. Although to be fair, Sammy Paulsson himself didn’t necessarily resemble “Sammy Pahlsson” until he was well into his mid-20’s. Karlsson right now doesn’t exactly give me Pahlsson vibes, as far as playing smothering defence, providing physical play, and offering clutch scoring while being an elite checker and shutdown player. However, I do see a pretty good foundation in his game that could be built upon. And I think his best chance at making the NHL is as a versatile two-way forward who can play bottom-six and special teams, and hopefully win faceoffs as a RH option. I suppose I’d just like to see him challenged more, to play defensive matchups, kill penalties, and take faceoffs at his natural centre position. Maybe he fails in such a role, but if he were to succeed, and further hone that side of his game, I think it would serve him well, as far as eventually cracking an NHL roster. Right now, he probably profiles more as an offensive player, and is getting most of his usage as such, in the SHL. But I think his offensive upside is somewhat limited, as far as it projects to the NHL, so he may have to re-make himself into more of a bottom of the lineup or 3rd line guy, should he wish to actually reach the NHL. That usually means playing a tighter checking style, and becoming more of a role-player. So, no, I’m not suggesting we have a Sammy Pahlsson type right now in Linus Karlsson. What I’m saying is I’d like to see him challenged to play more of a defensive role, and then assess his performance against men at the SHL level. I see signs of him having some untapped ability there, and if he can prove himself in those areas, and add that to his existing offensive game, he may be a useful player one day on an NHL third or fourth line. Especially if he can actually play as a two-way righthanded centre/faceoff option, which is definitely a team need right now, and probably always will be, just given how rare those guys seem to be. I think his offence is good enough for that kind of bottom-six role, as a guy who can chip in some timely scoring, while also holding down defensive responsibilities. I don’t think he’s quite skilled enough offensively to be a future top line scorer in the NHL, so I think he’ll have to continue to work on the other details of his game, if he hopes to advance to play at the highest level.
  12. Wish he was better on faceoffs, but honestly, he’s probably no worse than Dickinson or Lammikko, and at least offers a RH option. Wish he was a better fighter too, but whatever. I’d be happy with a claim. He skates well for a guy his size, works hard, plays physical, solid two-way, can line up at all three forward positions, and can kill penalties. What’s not to like? And waiver claim guys often will have a good first couple games, before regressing to the level of play that initially got them waived. We could use some new blood and a guy who’s happy for the opportunity. Maybe he clicks and it works out long term. Can’t hurt.
  13. I think even just for team identity purposes, setting expectations, and having culture of accountability and consequences, you can’t just continue to leave this current regime intact, both management and coaching, when you have this shocking a product on the ice. Regardless of whether or not Green is a “good coach” or Benning is a “good manager,” both of their jobs are ultimately judged by results. They are failing. Badly. Embarrassingly. Soul crushingly. It’s time for a change. (It’s actually been time for a while now.) Some of the very best coaches and GMs in the history of the NHL, Hall of Famers and absolute legends of this game, have rarely, if ever, been given this long a leash. Head Coach and GM aren’t lifetime positions in the NHL.
  14. Wonder why Skelleftea doesn’t try using Karlsson on more draws? He’s currently rocking an impressive 83% faceoff win percentage (15/18). I know they use him almost exclusively as a RW, but with his RH shot, and apparent ability to win faceoffs, I kinda wish they’d try him down the middle a little bit more. He has played centre in the past, and righthanded centreman who can win faceoffs are a valuable commodity (as we can see with the current Canucks). But I suppose righthanded RW’s who can win faceoffs are also valuable, especially on a line or PK pair with the lefthanded centre. Karlsson isn’t really used much on the PK. Despite Skelleftea not giving up any goals during his ~10 minutes of PK time this season, and him actually scoring a shorthanded goal and having a +1 goal differential on the PK. Wonder if this is an area where he should be seeing more usage? Karlsson has a solid 56% CF% and 55% close situations CF%. By my calculations, he’s 43.3 CA/60 (which is somewhere around -3 CA/60 Rel), so the defensive stats look decent. And his 12 blocked shots are 6th best on the team. He’s currently Skelleftea’s leading goal scorer, so I’m not sure how much they’re looking to develop him as a defensive player and penalty killer. But given that his pure talent level and ceiling are somewhat limited (by NHL standards), it may be things like winning faceoffs or killing penalties that could be his ticket to a bottom-six role one day, so hopefully he eventually sees more of that kind of usage, as he continues to develop in Sweden.
  15. Agree 100%. You can definitely see why the one thing the scouts have consistently said about McDonough is that his shot is “NHL level.” And I think it’s actually getting better. He’s becoming much harder for goalies to read, both in terms of when he’s going to shoot, and where he’s targeting. There are lots of clips where, even when you look at the slowed down replay, it’s very hard to get a read on his shot, as the release itself doesn’t telegraph the location, and the shot is so hard, it’s just a blur and then net ripple, often with the goalie frozen, or reacting well after the puck’s behind him. Sometimes you can hardly tell which corner he picked, or if he even went high, or actually shot low. I’d imagine it’s even tougher on the goalie. But that quick, powerful (and often deceptive) shot is such a weapon. Love watching this kid score goals. He’s a shoot first winger who can score from pretty much anywhere inside the offensive zone. And besides his scorer’s instincts and nose for the net, he’s big and powerful, can play a “heavy” game,,enjoys contact and chippy play, goes hard to the net and into the dirty areas, is really effective along the wall, wins a lot of physical battles, and is very strong on puck recoveries. He also has the reputation of being a popular teammate and a “glue guy” on his teams, as well as a leader (he’s wearing the “A” this year). He just needs to keep working on his foot speed (where he’s already made noticeable gains) and continue to refine his defensive game (especially if he’s going to play for Green, although most NHL coaches expect two-way competence and a detailed game, if a young player is going to step into a lineup and earn icetime), but there’s a ton to like with this kid. If he can maintain this current trajectory, keep improving, and reach his ceiling, he’s going to be such a welcome addition to the Canucks lineup. He may even step into a top-6 role as an ELC player, which would allow the team the option to trade one of their higher paid current core forwards, and apply those assets and cap space toward getting some help on the defence. One step at a time, of course, and we need to be patient, not get too excited, and not set our expectations too high (although I did enjoy the Messier comparison).
  16. There’s no defenceman on this team currently that’s anywhere near as proven or effective on the PK as the two guys we let go (Tanev, Edler). Edler is a career 10 GAR in shorthanded defence. Tanev is a career 8.8 GAR. Myers was good last year mostly because he was joined at the hip with Edler on the PK. That pairing played 124:46 shorthanded. The next most frequent PK pairing was Edler-Hamonic, at 31:16. Myers played 176:58 total shorthanded, so about 70% of the time, he was with Edler. The previous season, we had Edler-Tanev playing 160:04 shorthanded. The next most frequent pairing was Benn-Tanev at 50:48 (Edler missed 10 games that season). Guys like Myers and Hamonic are fine, when either paired with an elite PK guy like Edler, or playing behind an elite guy like Tanev. To be fair, Hamonic was an excellent PKer his last two years in Calgary, and he has a lot of experience killing penalties. But he’s actually below replacement in shorthanded defensive GAR for his career. And he’s been hot garbage, both 5v5 and PK, so far this season (although I’m hoping he’s going to get better with time, and given his late start, and inconsistent presence in the lineup, due to the vax issues). Here’s our current options (top six defensemen in PK TOI; stats are for shorthanded defensive GAR; sourced from Evolving Hockey): Myers: career -10.1 GAR OEL: career 0.4 GAR Poolman: career -1.2 GAR (and -1.6 GAR last year) Burroughs: career 0.1 GAR (and <20 minutes on an NHL PK for his career) Hamonic: career -0.4 GAR (and -1.9 GAR last year) Schenn: career -4.2 GAR So our 6 most frequent PK defensemen are a total of 15.4 goals below replacement (shorthanded defence) for their careers. The two guys we let go (Edler, Tanev) are a combined 18.8 goals above replacement for their careers. (And before anyone starts complaining about me using career stats, Edler was 1.6 GAR last season and Tanev was 2 GAR, when it comes to shorthanded defence. And so far this season, they’re both on pace for similar or better numbers. Both Edler and Tanev are still very good penalty killers, even this late in their careers.) We’ve basically downgraded the back end two years in a row, by letting our most talented PK defencemen walk. I’m not saying this explains everything. The numbers this season are way worse than you’d expect, just based off the player personnel and their stats. It’s been a perfect storm of many factors (on and off the ice IMO). But roster construction is definitely one of them. And I agree that coaching is most definitely another. (I’d do a similar breakdown of shorthanded faceoff percentage, but I don’t want to ruin anyone’s night.) EDIT: Just for some bonus content, Troy Stecher is actually a career 2.1 GAR for shorthanded defence, so even he’s statistically better than any of our current D, when it comes to his overall results on the PK.
  17. Forwards and PP should be near top-10 in league. Maybe just on the outside of the top-3rd in this league. Defence and PK, easily bottom-10 in the league, possibly bottom-5. That’s just personnel based. Maybe different coaching can tweak things a bit, but this roster is very weak on D and lacks the necessary players (RH faceoff man, good PK Dmen) to dependably kill penalties. The forwards underperforming is a big issue, because we should be able to outscore some of our problems, but we haven’t. It’s the one area I do expect things to improve, however, and without really needing to change/upgrade the personnel. The defence, as currently constructed, is something I expected would limit this team’s chances to compete for a playoff spot. And I don’t see much improvement on the horizon (other than Hamonic hopefully rounding into better form, as he’s been pretty terrible so far). The Canucks D still needs major work, but unfortunately, the team is capped out, and probably needs to “rob Peter to pay Paul,” if they hope to make any upgrades (ie: trade a core roster forward for defensive help). Overall, with good coaching, and some luck, this roster could be on the bubble for the playoffs. If Demko stands on his head, the forwards manage to produce as expected, and PP starts clicking, etc, it might be enough to cover up a weak defence and PK group. Better coaching and systems could also hide some weaknesses. But I don’t think any coach can make this defensive group “good.” Nor can they fix the personnel issues that plague the current PK. Barring an absolute Cinderella run, I don’t see this roster getting too far. Certainly we’re a long ways away from contending, with the team as currently constructed. There are still major roster holes/weaknesses, despite Benning spending to the cap, and having a pretty good young core in place. The Canucks should be doing better than they are. That much is true. But not so much better that they’d be ever considered a top tier team in this league, or a threat to compete for the Cup any time soon (without changes anyway).
  18. The development side. Not drafted by us, but Markstrom was getting dangerously close being to written off as a bust, before our goalie coaches got ahold of him. He’s now widely considered a top-10 goalie in this league. Markstrom was a development “win.” That said, our success with goalies has very little to do with our farm team and player development staff. It’s all Ian Clark and his department of goaltending, which is one of this team’s crown jewels, on the player development side, but operates mostly as a separate entity, within the organization. If only we had an Ian Clark type who could work the same kind of magic with skaters…
  19. Yeah, I wouldn’t say he’s mean, but he’s confident in his size, and definitely has no fear or shying away. He does agitate and look to frustrate opponents and can bully the play with his size, at least against NCAA competition. I think he plays better when he’s physical and he really seems to enjoy the contact. He’s not punishing opponents, but he does throw his weight around, and definitely uses his size and strength to protect the puck, and to bully his way into space. He’s also pretty nimble in tight areas, and sneaky in how he finds seams and slips into open space to get shots off. Really good instincts in the offensive zone.
  20. Definitely. I have liked his skating a lot more this season, but he needs to keep improving and building on his gains. First steps seem to be much more efficient and he looks both stronger and lighter on his skates. He’s also much more smooth, both in direct lines, and moving laterally. Not saying he’s a great skater, but it’s noticeable better. When he gets a jump, he seems able to maintain separation, in situations where in the past he’d have definitely gotten caught as defenders closed space on him. This is also showing up in his off puck movement and just getting up and down the ice quicker during game flow. Also seem to be seeing a lot more chances from him on the rush, which is a nice bonus. Of course, there’s a big step up from the NCAA to the pros, so he needs to continue to put in the work, when it comes to his skating.
  21. Late bloomer, late growth spurt (shot up from 5’8” to 6’2” over just a few years in prep school), no USDP exposure, wasn’t really on the radar for some scouts, and those who did watch him said (quite accurately) that his skating was pretty rough and needed a lot of work. The skating is still the limiting factor on his ceiling, but it’s vastly improved this year. And with that size, and the way he shoots the puck, he doesn’t really need good skating, but just “good enough” skating to make it as a pro.
  22. He’s playing about 10 minutes a game for Linkoping (SHL), alternating between LW and RW, starting on either the 3rd or 4th line, or as the 13th forward in the lineup. Made a nice play to pick up a 2nd assist in his most recent game: That’s a full value secondary assist. Side steps his check in the neutral zone, with the puck on his stick, to open a clear path and secure the controlled entry, passes off and heads for the net, engages physically to take away the low defenceman, which helps open up a backdoor play for the trailing man who scores off a nice setup. Costmar has 3 points (1G 2A), 19 shots, and 9 hits in 16 SHL games so far this season.
  23. Here’s the second goal from tonight:
  24. “The kid you didn’t want to have the puck.” Hopefully one day soon, we’ll be hearing that from opposition broadcast teams in the NHL.
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