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

Kevin Biestra

Members
  • Posts

    5,764
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    3

Everything posted by Kevin Biestra

  1. Odd how some of the guys I would have also thought had the makings of great coaches from their playing days didn't quite pan out though. Rick Ley, Dirk Graham, Steve Kasper. Orland Kurtenbach's run with the Canucks wasn't anything to write home about either. I'm not infallible with my predictions.
  2. I think he'll do well. As a player he always struck me as a guy who would make a good coach.
  3. We also lost Rick Lanz for the entire playoffs in 1982. That's like the 2011 team not having Edler and Bieksa for the entire playoffs. The Canucks would have at least won game 1 against the Islanders with those two in the lineup and you could argue that they were better than every Islanders defenseman except Potvin. I think there would have been a puncher's chance at a minimum against the Islanders with those two guys on the roster. They were both 50 point defensemen on the Canucks at a time when the team record for points by a forward was about 88 points. I think they would have been 65-70 point defensemen on the Islanders with Bossy and Trottier scoring 140, Potvin scoring 100, and the Canucks record being broken by Gillies, Tonelli, Brent Sutter and others.
  4. Might have. It would be one of the wackiest Conn Smythe wins of all time given that he melted down massively in two different series. But when he was on he was on. I think I said before he is like three parts Ken Dryden one part Dan Cloutier.
  5. I just remembered that Reggie Leach won the Conn Smythe in a losing effort for the Flyers. He's one of the guys I bring up as overlooked for the Hall of Fame. Also a member of the 60 goal club I think and would have had a Rocket Richard trophy if it had existed.
  6. Yeah I'm pretty sure you're right about the losing team Conn Smythe winners. Hextall was another one. McDavid might end up leading the whole league in playoff scoring after getting swept in round 3. Haven't seen that since 1986 I think. Both top scorers were out in the third round that year if I remember right. As for 94... It was a six horse race with Bure, Linden, McLean, Richter, Leetch and Messier. About as competitive as I've ever seen it for that award. And you know me...I think if the Canucks had won a single game against the Islanders, The King might have had a shot at the Conn Smythe. Still led the league with a better SPCT than Billy Smith even after the sweep. If the Canucks had won game 7 in 2011, I think Thomas might have still Hextalled us and won the Conn Smythe.
  7. Yeah it's kind of odd but I bet if someone counted it up, goalies win the Conn Smythe much more often than the Hart or Pearson. They're the MVP out of everyone in the playoffs but can't get that recognition for the season. I think 17 / 56 Conn Smythe wins are goalies. Pretty sure there's no way goalies win close to a third of Hart Trophies. Goalies are winning the Conn Smythe less as of late as well. Just one of the last nine.
  8. Defensemen and goalies always have to win the Hart by an extra 50% with their season to actually win it. Theodore excluded and maybe Pronger as well. Martin Brodeur played 12 seasons with at least 70 games. Zero Hart Trophies. Patricky Roy: zero Hart Trophies. Ray Bourque, Paul Coffey, Denis Potvin, Larry Robinson: zero Hart Trophies. Terry Sawchuk, Bernie Parent, Glenn Hall, Ken Dryden: zero Hart Trophies.
  9. Kind of sucks when your only vote comes from an insane person.
  10. Yeah as I pointed out a while back, Josi's points for a defenseman this year actually puts him in a much more exclusive club than Matthews' 60 goals. It's as exclusive as the 70 goal club. The last time anyone matched Josi's points from the blueline was Phil Housley 30 years ago. It has actually been about 30 years since anyone matched Makar or Hedman from this year, and Josi blew them out of the water.
  11. Mark's problems in Vancouver weren't physical. They were mental and motivational. He had fallen in love with his own legend. He still had the physical abilities of a 30 year old but his drive and willpower were some combination of a 90 year old who has had enough of life and a petulant teenager.
  12. Martin Brodeur's season that year was one of the most dominant seasons by a goalie in all of NHL history. Luongo just picked the wrong year to have his own best season, which was 99.5% as good. Lu would have won the Vezina almost any other year.
  13. May as well. Vas shouldn't be playing anyway and that kind of thing is meaningful at the end of a career when it's all said and done. I remember the Oilers made sure to sneak Pokey Reddick in for 2 minutes in 1990.
  14. Yeah the 1989 Canucks team was full of those kinds of old battle tested leaders in Linden's rookie year and first playoff appearance. Mel Bridgman, Smyl, Reinhart, Snepsts. I imagine it helped set the stage for 94.
  15. Brian Propp was the original Hossa. It used to be that you acquired him and you were going to the Final...Philly, Boston or Minnesota. Never quite won a Cup but had five appearances.
  16. Two of the five straight years the Islanders dynasty went to the final they didn't finish first in their division. Everyone still knew what was up.
  17. I think I would have to liken Bossy to Stamkos and Trottier to Kucherov just based on propensity for goals and assists. The Islanders didn't really have an old dog like Perry. Glenn Resch and Butch Goring were their oldest players I think.
  18. Tough to predict but it's worth pointing out just for history's sake that the Canucks in 82 actually gave the Islanders a better series than the Oilers did in 83. Put up a better fight in getting swept and took a game to OT.
  19. Also he has to be forgetting the Buffalo Bills. Didn't they lose four Superbowls in a row? Come on Frank, you do this for a living.
  20. I'm not sure I would agree with that. The Canucks had two division championships and then a run to the final in another year with McLean. In addition to the 89 Calgary series and making it to the second round three more times. Miller and the Sabres? Regular season division champions twice, two trips to the semifinals, lost in the first round twice and every other season missed the playoffs entirely. Miller playoff wins with Buffalo: 25. McLean playoff wins with Vancouver: 34.
  21. I'm certainly not opposed but I think Kirk McLean is a good comparable for a career with a team and there was little to no talk of that honor. Miller - One Vezina win, no other seasons of great note (though he did play 76 games one year), no substantial playoff success. McLean - Vezina finalist twice, another season where he led the league in games and minutes, run to Game 7 of the SCF as one of the primary heroes. Similar career totals with their primary teams.
  22. Hughes' big advantage is being four years younger. He's great but Draisaitl is a Hart and Art Ross winner. Hughes I think will probably be a Norris finalist a few times. Hughes is an exceptionally rare talent but I would say Draisaitl is even a bit more rare. Either way, neither is really replaceable. The Oilers are just lucky as hell they get so many top draft picks that they can fart away picks on Yakupov and Puljujarvi, and even trade away picks like Hall that do work out for nothing...and still end up with enough ridiculous top draft picks to have two more Hart and Art Ross winners and additional first overall picks in the lineup. Anyway I think they're both going into the Hall of Fame but Draisaitl is probably already there if he retires tomorrow. The Canucks get killed by blowing ~6th overall picks on Juolevi and Virtanen. Meanwhile the Oilers can completely tank first overall and top three picks in perpetuity and not even feel it.
×
×
  • Create New...