bullishfor2012

Really hoping that Kole Lind can be the reincarnation of Alex Burrows. That type of mouthy, agitating, hard-to-play against player with offensive touch and defensive awareness is something the Canucks can use more of. A fourth line of Roussel/Motte -- Beagle -- Lind would be a boon for the Canucks. I like having a team that everyone loves to hate...that "Us against the World" mentality galvanizes the team.

Looks more like Regina to me...

Hobart - I haven't been following Kole Lind's development at all. Is he a player that plays with edge? Would you say that he compares to a player like David Bolland who was driving us Canucks fans crazy with his agitating and aggressive style of hockey back in 2008 to 2011? Would you say he's got the makings of an Alex Burrows type player?

I don't mean to split hairs with you, but Luongo hadn't played a playoff game until he came to the Canucks. All his amazing stat records were from the regular season, though his regular season "eliteness" was over a longer period than Markstroms. As well, the only "big" game Luongo ever won was the 2010 Olympic Gold. He gave up the OT goal in the 1998 WJC to Russia...and his performance in Game 7 in 2011 cup finals left a lot to be desired. IMHO, Markstrom has been the primary reason why the Canucks sit second in the Pacific Division at this time. I can't predict the future, but Markstrom at the age of 30 doesn't have the "mileage" on his body that Luongo did at the same age. So, I believe (maybe hope is the better word) that Markstrom has several years left in him (and with the technical improvements he's made with Ian Clarke, he looks like his energy use is more efficient and economical, which would equate to less wear and tear, barring no serious injuries). I was in the "trade Markstrom" camp as recent as the beginning of this season, but watching the evolution of Markstrom's game, I think it would be a mistake to let him go by way of trade or free agency. I would sooner extract value out of Demko than Markstrom at this time and into the next 4-5 years, which now leads to the next question, which is, would Demko be willing to remain a back up for that period? Not likely.

At this point in time, I would take Hughes over Dahlin. Because of Hughes' outstanding skating skills, he covers as much ice, if not more than Dahlin. So despite being smaller, Hughes' defensive coverage through all zones of the ice is on par with Dahlin. I haven't seen much from Dahlin on the physical side of the game (if others have seen more of him, please say so), so I don't see any distinct advantage to Dahlin being bigger than Hughes. Hughes drives the play offensively more than Dahlin. I haven't studied the advanced stats, but the eye test says that Hughes drives offensive play better than even our own Elias Pettersson. Those are my reasons why I would take Hughes over Dahlin, even though I have a greater affinity for big and mobile d-men.

Agree whole-heartedly with your post. I'm a big fan of having a giant, bruising, mobile defence corps. The Flying Frenchmen were anchored by Serge Savard, Larry Robinson, Guy Lapointe (and supported by other big d-men like Pierre Bouchard, Gilles Lupien, Rick Chartraw, a young Rod Langway, etc.)...the Islanders dynasty had big players like Denis Potvin, Ken Morrow, Dave Langevin. If your small d-man doesn't have the skill set of Quinn Hughes, they need to be replaced with big bruisers who have adequate skating ability.

Disappointing effort by most of the team, especially when they're in such a tight playoff race...bound to happen with a young club. At the very least, Marky is going to enter the next game with a full week of rest. Gonna bet that Marky is going to be a monster for the final stretch coming up. Any takers on the bet?

Seems like a solid character kid...love those Harvard unis...Canucks colors (maybe more emphasis on the kelly green), CANUCKS where HARVARD is, with numbers on the front. Those would be epic third jerseys. IMHO.

I think you're right.

Whatever happened to the days when the nickname replaced the player's legal name? Chico Resch...Butch Goring...Rocket Richard...miss the days of nicknames like Jethro (Clarke Gillies), Hammer (Dave Schultz), Bulldog (Bob Kelly), Pocket Rocket (Henri Richard), the Roadrunner (Yvan Cournoyer)...Battlin' (Billy Smith)...The Axe (Gary Smith)...Elmo (Alex Mogilny)...The Great One...The Kid (oh wait, that's current)...the Bird (Larry Robinson)...Chief (Johnny Bucyk and George Armstrong)

I get the sense that isn't sitting right with you...if that's the case, what's wrong with each teammate standing up for each other, instead of depending one or two guys to stand up for the team?

Gotta love Motte's team-first attitude. I hope JB makes every attempt to keep Motte around beyond this year. The bottom six is better with Motte in the line up.

You were barely funny in the 1980s...now you're just pathetic with your lame attempts to revive your "Alfness".

You're pathetic...go to bed.

Markstrom...wow. Just wow. I got nothing else to say.