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Dixon Ward

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Everything posted by Dixon Ward

  1. I am sad to see it go and disappointed in the team. I was always impressed that they, collectively, had the maturity and security to allow real fans to say whatever they thought. It seemed very "high road" and big picture thinking. Something you wouldn't expect from anything with an Aquilini at the head.
  2. Petey is and will be the better all around player, but both are superstar centers. Luke Hughes looks like a top pairing dman and sooner than later. I think you'd have to change Hoglander to Willander and the 2nd to a 1st to get them to bite. The problem is Luke is a puck mover like Quinn and Hronek. There wouldn't be enough pucks and pp time to go around. I would leave this alone and stay the course.
  3. I hope Olli does well and earns a spot. Injuries and high expectations (and maybe a bit of poor conditioning) killed his career. I don't wish him any ill will. He is a young guy with a dream like all of them.
  4. Gives some depth and allows Raty to figure it out in the AHL without the pressure of having to deliver in the show. Kudos PA
  5. I find the fans and media very frustrating. Everyone agrees the Canucks need to fix the D. The right side is very weak and the left needs work. They said you have to do whatever it takes to improve it. They make a bold move and get Hronek, a caliber of defenseman that is very hard to get in his prime. Most people crap on this. They say you need to build through the draft and not spend picks. They draft Willander, a smart, skilled, high iq rhd with size who is an excellent skater, and many bitch that they wanted Benson a small, skilled forward at a time when they all want to trade Garland for D. They say we need grit and more defensive-minded D as Hughes and Hronek will take care of the offense. Enter Soucy and Cole on very acceptable contracts, and the media says we've cornered the market on 5/6 dmen and we should be bolder. This after crapping on the Hronek deal and with very limited cap space. This GM has brought in: Bear (due to unfortunate circumstance gone), Soucy, Hronek, Cole, Wolanin, Johanssen, Hirose, Willander, Brzustewicz, Hirose, McWard. Developed much better: Brisebois, Juulsen, Woo Even if Myers is still here we have a much more balanced, bigger, experienced d for the start of the season and a much more promising group of prospects and AHLers. With a good structure and Demko getting off to a hot start, I think things are looking up! Go Canucks Go!
  6. I am not arguing, as I admit to not having really focused on Dumba during many games, but he played over 21 min per night and more than Trouba, Weegar, Mayfield, Marino, and just below Ekholm and Theodore. Is his coach an idiot? Are the Wild defence just that bad that they have to play him? If he is so bad why do you think he will command so much?
  7. I thought I was clear, if Myers money is gone and we still have the LTIR amount from Poolman.
  8. If there is a deal in place to move Myers and Poolman will for sure be on LTIR, I think we should sign Dumba. He gets a bad wrap, but he plays a lot of minutes and is a legit top 4.
  9. Wolanin's better, but if Meyers is still there, I think we need a more defensive guy.
  10. Cole, Soucy at those numbers is perfect. Hughes Cole Soucy Hronek Brisebois Myers Coe and Soucy allow Hughes and Hronek will tear the league up with those guys riding shotgun. Wolanin, Woo, Johansson, Juulsen, Rathbone, Hirose(autocorrected to Hiroshima, not ideal), McWard can all have another year to fight for a spot Going forward. I think they will still try to move Myers and Garland and I wouldn't be surprised if they sign Cal Foote today.
  11. Watching these highlights and listening to what people say about him, why the heck was he still around in the 3rd? He looks fantastic
  12. In terms of long term potential to be a top 4 defenseman in the NHL, I think it goes like this: Willander Johansson DPetey Hirose Rathbone Woo Kudryavtsev Jurmo
  13. Woo was on his way out and played his way into this contract. With Hronek and if we still have Myers and sign Bear, Woo will be fighting with Poolman, Johansson, Burroughs(unsigned) and Juulsen(unsigned), and maybe McWard for the scraps of RHD minutes. I think it will be interesting to see if they sign both Burroughs and Juulsen now that Woo is signed. Hughes Bear OEL Hronek Wolanin Myers Dermott Johannson Brisebois Juulsen Hirose Burroughs Rathbone Poolman Interestng to see if we re-sign Dermott. A bit sad how far Rathbone has fallen, but he is a talented kid and we have seen Woo have an upswing, here's hoping the same for Rathbone.
  14. I am happy with the Hronek trade. I am getting a little tired of talking about the salary cap. I know it plays a huge role. But at the end of the day, I am a hockey fan and I want to watch the most talented players possible entertain me and, hopefully, win. I think Hronek will be one of the best rhd we have had and I look forward to watching him. It is boring when any time someone talks about a player, all of these armchair gm's chime in with how he has "negative value" because of his contract. I agree with some of it, but it still takes a lot of the fun out of hockey talk. People have said both Brock Boeser and Connor Garland have "negative value", and these are Canucks "fans" btw. Both players got limited pp time this year and finished 19th and 28th in even strength points for RW in the nhl. That's right, of the 32 top, aka "1st line", RW in the league, they were 2 of them on a bad team. They are the 17th and 43rd highest paid RW in the nhl. So this leaves them with "negative value?" I am not a gm, but this math doesn't add up to me. While they may be a bit overpaid by some metrics, it seems they are about right by Even Strength points. I am a Canucks fan and I am very excited about the team next year. You can find negatives, but there are many things to be pumped about. Go Canucks Go!
  15. A player with JL's skills will tend to play better with better players. He has the speed, shot and vision to play SHL and contribute.
  16. This kid was rated 7-10 on every board and we took him at 15. It was kind of a no brainer. All the hand wringing on cdc about him is over the top. I am really happy to see he has found his stride. He is so young and has a bright future. Reminds me of Naslund, great shot and hockey sense.
  17. I am disappointed in the team and the media not making a bigger deal about the seasons that EP and Hughes have had. After all of the crap this year with Boudreau and Horvat, it would be nice to celebrate these two much more than we have. EP has had the 7th best season ever by a Canuck, and on a bad team. When Bure, Henrik and Naslund put up more, they were on much better teams. Hughes had scored 10 pts more than any Canuck d ever, other than himself. He was also the fastest defenseman in NHL history to get to 200 assists. Petey passed 100 pts last night and there is nothing on the Canucks page?
  18. It seems like adding this guy, Hirose, Sasson, Johansson, Raty, Aman, Bloom, Tolopilo, Kravtsov, has really helped re-stock the cupboards.
  19. I have to shake my head every time I hear the "experts" talk about Boeser or Garland as not being worth their money. I know this is simplistic, but it is still valid. Boeser is 24th in RW scoring in the league and is 3 pts away from being 15th. He is the 17th highest paid RW. Garland is tied for 31st in RW scoring and is the 45th highest paid RW. In a down year, Boeser is only 8 pts behind Timo Meier who NJ paid a huge amount to get. There is no question Boeser had an off year, but has been very solid in the 2nd half. Garland gives it all every shift and scores as the worst 1st liners or best 2nd liner RW in the league. I am not saying these guys shouldn't be traded, but they are clearly worth more than some media and fans seem to think.
  20. Holy crap, what a bunch of whining. They shut him down because they want him to be fully healthy next season and this season doesn't matter. We all would make the same decision. He will be a great player. Go Canucks Go!
  21. I agree, he is known for being very fit, and he was very good for us last year. I think he'll be fine next year as our #2 lhd playing more defensively with Hronek.
  22. Fair enough, but all we have to go on is what we have to go on. Those 3 have looked very good and have years of AHL experience honing their skills. We always say we need to let players develop in the AHL, especially dmen, but then when they are there for a while we say they aren't legit NHL players. In the time they have played they have looked really good/solid and I hope that continues. I would say Bear has shown pretty well and could be counted on for top 4 minutes as well.
  23. I think that it takes the right kind of player to play with Hughes and Juulsen seems to be doing very well. I am not saying he is the next Chris Pronger, nor that he will be the long term partner, just that he has a shot. Alex Burrows was a star with the Sedins but not without them. I don't believe I am waaaay overvalueing anything when I say that we will have a "much better nhl d". I didn't say it made us a contender. I think anyone watching the last 10 games or so would say that Wolanin, Juulsen, and Brisebois are solid 5-7th dmen. They have paid their dues. In the last 10 games without Hronek, OEL, Poolman, Schenn, Bear for much of it, we went 8 and 2. We had nights where Hughes and Myers were the only dmen who started the season in the nhl. We beat the Leafs with 4, 7-10 dmen as you call them, on HNC. The negative "experts" on this site don't make sense to me. I was just pointing out that I saw some meaningful improvement. For some reason certain "fans" feel the need to bury every positive statement with their negative spin.
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