oldnews
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Similar symptoms. In my eye, the principal problem at this point is that the team is essentially cheating - and failing as a result. By cheating I mean, they are not moving the puck as units - they are endlessly hoping/attempting to stretch the ice - they are not supporting the puck - and it's leaving them in repeated situations where they are giving the puck away and facing odd man rushes. I think things probably come too easily to this group at times, and they're suffering from undersimplifying the game - which is precisely not the way to get out of these kind of funks. Not just EP (who I think has to get back to his game without the puck, which is what will revitalize him, not breaking out of scoring struggles - which can be half the solution, but leaving the fundamental lack of killer instinct at all times over 200ft behind. Hughes - is too predictable = and the team is relying on him too much to carry the puck and to force transition when it just may not be there. One of the things I love about Schmidt's game - is his first pass - and sometimes that is just a quick 10ft pass under pressure which creates that crack of space for the breakout/exit/transition. That also requires puck support though - and it just seems (from a television viewpoint - which is hard to see the ice, but) it appears as though there is far too much leaking up ice looking to take too much repeatedly in transition. Part of the reason the Beagle Motte line are looking like the team's best night in night out is because they take what is given, generally in small bites - they take care of exits before the rush - they generally don't cheat, on a hope or prayer that they're going to get space they havent' worked for (not sure how else to put that). Part of me thinks it starts with the captain. Horvat is not a pretty player - but he's committing 'soft' errors - like failing to get pucks in deep at the blueline - things you don't like to see out of a captain. I still think he's probably too young a captain to handle situations like the present - he's not elevating his own game (by example) - and he's looking far too invisible when the team needs someone to step up. At the same time Miller has not looked himself - so there's a dual effect in the top 6 - while I think Pearson has also been spotty at best. For me the only two top 6 who are consitently playing 'the right way' are Boeser and Hoglander (and ironically, these are the guys that the supposed Toffoli 'solution' would have addressed). And since we're not singling people out here, let's not leave out Roussel who has been downright hard to watch despite the odd moment - not just the braincramp penalties, but doesn't seem to have that sense necessary when it comes to moving the puck - whenever he doesn't simplify, it doesn't tend to turn out well (for me the additional irony is that people constantly question Virtanen's hockey intelligence, but he'd be nowhere near the first guy's 'hockey intelligence' that I'd question. Don't think the team can afford Roussel's inconsistency at the same time as Gaudette appears to be regressing closer to where he was last year as opposed to the opening nights of the season. The team really needs two bottom six lines rolling right now in order to compete - imo Beagle's is, but Sutter's is suffering from highly inconsistent wing play - for me, MacEwen would be the mainstay relative to those two - and I don't like the team's chances of handling a couple lines like the Leafs have, with Sutter's line at a fraction. Top line is vulnerable, second line needs more from Horvat (and Pearson), and the third line, Sutter needs more continuity on the wing. Similar perhaps to the later stages of the playoffs - where they essentially had one - the 4th - line 'rolling' - and the team otherwise, overall, lacked intent moving the puck. The blueline just isn't solid enough in present form - particularly with 7th/8th D in the lineup, to ground the rest of the team.... Benn has been good (but needless to say, he isn't a Tanev) and Chatfield has been very good. Perhaps the most promising thing defensively is how well Chatfield is performing in spite of it being in the context of a fire drill (yet another likeness to Tanev). Even the intermissions were awful. I mean - Patrick Johnson = simply can't listen to the guy. He doesn't believe himself - for good reason - so why would I believe in his perspective? Pretty sure I heard Murph and him ask the question what the problem is -and then suggest that the personnel are 'the same'.... funny market this is. One minute it's ermagerd, the team is lost without Markstrom, Tanev, Toffoli...the next the team's problems are inexplicable because the systems and the rosters are the same. Half the blueline / half of every pairing - are new or replacement D....Their starting goaltender moved on (captain obvious point). Another rookie in the top 6 (and line blender in effect because the team's best players - are not, in the present....). Anyhow if the choice is between Patrick Johnson and Satiar Shah, I think I'd have to take the latter - at least he appears to be making an effort to move from smarm towards thoughtul perspective. Last point here - what an amateur performance by Pollock. Typical, 'unpredictable' NHL zebras - they've been trigger happy thus far this year - and then tonight - complete 180, borderline threw the whistle away at times - htf is anyone supposed to know what to expect of these guys? Bush league (there were a couple straight out of the 80s moments with Bogosian in particular running oldtime interference/clutch and grab on forecheckers....just had to laugh. I'm critical of Roussel, but at the same time, all is fair where he's concerned, so it's not shocking he does stupid things in frustration -and in fairness to him, the one thing that annoyed me the most were his between the whistles antics, which he's largely eliminated and is simply playing the game (still need better decision making out of him, though - and if he's on one of Sutter's wings, I think the other winger needs to be the steadier element (which Gaudette is not). (Make) better luck (for yourselves) next time, guys
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13 games in 21 days is nuts under the best of circumstances. sprinkle in 18 players 25 years and under on the roster - 13 of them having been in the lineup, next to no camp/preseason, lost games to veterans like Miller, Edler, Hamonic... and I'll take the 6 and 7 start. that can be recovered from. if anything, the biggest problem has been all the outlier braincramps - giving the puck away (and some stupid penalties) - which are characteristic indicators of rust and/or exhaustion.
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I'm curious - did Malhotra run the powerplay here? Has losing Malhotra resulted in losing faceoffs? Looks to me like the Canucks still dominate in the faceoff circle. Beagle 57.9% as usual (actually, tends to start slower and build as the season progresses - he's already at an 'elite' level.) Horvat 55.4% Sutter 52.5% Miller 50.8% is the only guy who would be 'expected' to be higher - and he missed games, it's early - and I'm pretty certain will 'return to mean'. I love Malhotra - and did when he was a player here - but people move on to new challenges - and sometimes, back/close to home (he's from Mississauga). The idea that the team needs Malhotra in order to be successful - sounds like a tangent / excuse to me.
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So was/did St Louis' bottom six. You win with 4 lines in the NHL - now more than ever. Not all teams do it like the Leafs - with 40+ million in 4 forwards, filling out the rest of their lineup hoping Jumbos will come home and take 700k to help them try to bump their drought. A lot of people assuming the Leafs will run away with the North - but they are the prototypical early season team - that fades - and they haven't really 'righted' that with more depth or balance. If they win - it will depend on being very healthy, and they'll have to outscore their problems - which tends to become more and more difficult as season's progress. Maybe this bizarre, compacted/shortened season will be conducive to their build - who knows - but I'm not yet convinced they're Stanley Cup favorites any more than I have been the past number of seasons they've failed to win a single playoff round.
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[Rumour] Victor Mete requests trade
oldnews replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
He was pretty bad, actually. Played on highly tilted ice - and managed pretty poor results, including a -2 in a game they won 6-2. Not much better the next night. Granted he was stepping into his first games - but aside from being a superb skater, there's lots to improve in his game. -
Rolls eyes. If you know so much about every team in the league - it should be no mystery to you the kind of money that has been in the bottom six of other highly competitive teams - even Stanley Cup Champion rosters. I've posted this numerous times before, so it becomes annoying to repeat - but... St Louis had Bozak (5 million), Steen (6 million), Sundqvist (2.75 million) in their bottom six when they won the Cup - and they did not have a young top 6 than needed 'foundation'. The Isles went to the Conference Finals last year with Ladd making 5.5 x 3 more years of term (their LE) ...Clutterbuck 2x3.5, Cizikas 3.35, and Komarov 2x3 = all in their bottom six (3 x 4th line)....Martin was also in that group making 2.5 million last year....(re-signed at 4 x 1.5). People here tend to see out of a fishbowl.
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The team has always been playing the long game. Which is the right game imo. Guys like EP, Hughes, Boeser, etc - are still years away from their prime - as is Demko - as are the next wave of players (Hoglander, Juolevi, Podkolzin, pick your favorites...). The Markstrom decision was essentially dictated by expansion. The Toffoli one - by Covid. People can whine and argue that the Eriksson signing cost the team these players - but that's myopic and ignorant. LE will be gone (so will a number of other veterans) - when those players (terms) remain with their present teams.... Anyhow - there's a contagion of crybaby culture that I don't believe in enabling - so I'll continue to counterpoint these narratives, even if I have my own differences with some of the decisions the franchise has made (anyone would). The bottom line - the team's trajectory remains on those of their young core. If they need a Tyler Toffoli for their Cup run in the future, they can rent him again after the Habs window has closed lol.
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the answer to your somewhat obtuse question is in the lines that followed - if you read them. Young players struggling is 'normal' at the NHL level, particularly guys that come into the league at 20. That hasn't happened - in fact a group with an exceptionally young core - knocked off Minny, and then the defending Champions before bowing out in 7 games (with a M.A.S.H. / harm reduction lineup). People here are seeing their first signs of mortality from Pettersson, Hughes et al - the young core has struggled early this year - and the results have reflected that. They've gotten buried in the possession game - combined with not finishing at their regular clip - and making uncharacteristic mistakes - even showing signs of being 'absent' at times. They've been outstanding early in their careers - and people appear to have been 'spoiled' by it - expecting that every night out of them. Which is not to 'blame' the losses on them - veterans like Roussel, Pearson, Hamonic have had some uninspiring games as well - and the group as a whole has taken their turns - but the "4th line" has been the team's best - when most highlight reel fans expect 20 year olds to carry the team. The string of Calder candidates playing like veterans evidently wasn't enough (which don't include Demko, or Hoglander to this point) - but carry on with "lols" - maybe even follow that up with the patented feeling sorry for ourselves as a 'poor Canucks fans'.
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No shortage of irony in the fact that there are countless complaints in here about going with the younger players. Demko - Hoglander - as opposed to re-signing Marky and Toffoli. Make no mistake - regardless of cap - these would have been difficult decisions regardless - and as much as I love Markstrom and always have - I agree with the decision they made - and I think it was a domino one. I'm never keen to rent players, but I suspect that was not the intention - and when cap reality changed for every team in the league, so did the market - and priorities. A lot of the noise from the same whiner contingent that never shuts up about signing veterans in a transition stage where they had no real youth push to fill roster spots... Now they do - and the smarm ride the contradiction. Anyhow - people here have been spoiled rotten that past couple seasons. Young players came in - and were uncharacteristically playing borderline flawless, error-free hockey. That cannot be separated from either Green and his handle on players and systems, or the stabilizing veterans / foundation, they were playing with. Evidently people here got used to those and formed expectations of them. The reality right now is a bizarre set of circumstances that aren't particularly conducive to young teams. At the same time, the bubble playoff format was - so take the 'good' with the 'bad'. Now we're seeing some mortality out of players like EP, Hughes - and the team is struggling some nights. 'Foundation' guys like Beagle are centering the team's best line - and still people remain oblivious to the value of players like him - and the stability they have brought the past few years. Sutter likewise. Whine on about LE (or Baertschi....) But without guys like Beagle, Sutter, Edler early this season - this team gets killed night in night out. Instead, they've idled/alternated at 6-7 - and remain in reasonable striking distance. Like Cheech said during one of the off nights vs the Habs - there's been some contagion from the braincramps. The same can be made of playing solid, simplified hockey - the type we've seen plenty of out of this team last year, and in intervals this, aside from a handful of bizarre, almost comedic outings vs the Habs.
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bring back the "wat?"
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your claim is incorrect. the best Canucks on the ice were Beagle and Motte. They had team high corsi 60.0% and 66.7% they had 18 of the team's 51 shot attempts. They also had the lowest ozone starts on the team 16.7% Both had a point, both were +1 (the only two plus players), Motte added 7 hits. Virtanen played well - but wasn't the best Canuck on the ice. Where I'd agree with you - I'd prefer him over Roussel or Gaudette in the lineup.
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you can question them all you want. but peewee braincramp giveaways and stupid penalties by veterans like Roussel - isn't "systems". I think you can expect the NHL as a whole to be sloppier this year - at the start because of lack of preparation time - and throughout because of a ridiculous/exhausting schedule. but if you want to question systems - it might help to be able to identify them to start with. most people here have absolutely no clue - so the cue to question systems will lead to the usual slough of pointless one-liners.
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Travis Green’s future (& coaching system)
oldnews replied to ‘ce$co Aquilini's topic in Canucks Talk
knows nothing about systems makes a thread about it. welcome to CDC - this is the place for that. -
[Proposal] Jake Virtanen For Sam Bennett
oldnews replied to wildcam's topic in Proposals and Armchair GM'ing
I think you make a lot of assumptions. My first question would be why you believe/assume that Bennett could become a long term Sutter replacement? Sutter is highly under-rated around here - an extremely solid defensive center and high end penalty killer. Bennett killed 4 seconds of penalties a game last year and has not shown anything resembling Sutter's trajectory. Bennett's career to this point pales - extremely - by comparison to Sutter's early career: look at Sutter's early career - as a legitimate 3C / principal shutdown center - two time Selke candidate - and produced 20 goal seasons in the process - not exactly playing with the kind of linemates Bennett has. Backlund is an outstanding two way center - which leads to my second question - which is 'what is so difficult about playing LW?' - particularly relative to handling center duties. That ought to be a relatively easy transition -where he doesn't have to handle the down low battles and responsibilities of a center in his own zone - has a veteran like Backlund to do so. Sounds like excuse material to me. Not only is it less challenging, but he ought to be able to produce more from the wing (which he isn't). I'd also ask why you assume he's a better defensive forward than Virtanen - what do you base that on? Likewise with Gaudette - similar question - if a guy like him can't handle center responsibilities at the NHL level - the next, obvious option is as a winger conversion - at least until they grow into the center role - if they do. If a young center can't handle winger duties - I suspect they were never really cut out to be a center in the first place - if they lack the intelligence/adaptability they probably can't step up at center, either. -
Yes, exactly. Not a big McDavid fan - not going to bother naming why - but I am warming a bit. I saw him the other night - postgame after a loss - he was asked what's about their penalty kill. To paraphrase - he said it's not really his place to comment because he doesn't kill penalties, but went on to say what a difficult job it is, how hard the players work at it, his respect for them, and that he believes in those guys/they aren't the cause of their losses. Probably the most impressed I've been with McDavid - sounded like a maturing captain.