dank.sinatra

The experienced guys that the young guys wanted on the team were the guys that JB let walk in the off-season lmfao

You're just flat out wrong. You should research player value a bit more instead of just taking Benning's word that his players are "real good." Myers is a replacement level defenseman. He has no business in the top four on a good team. Sucks to say, seems like a nice guy, but his career history doesn't lie. Only complain about Eriksson?? Are you kidding me. What about Baertschi?? Spooner?? Roussell?

you know who makes the best mentors? actual good hockey players. not overpaid, over the hill vets looking to cash in on one last big contract.

Yeah Edmonton got wrecked because they had no one to "lead" them, sure. This team has also been getting wrecked for years with their so called overpaid "leaders" What's your point?

Eriksson has always been dead weight. Roussell had one good year. Baertschi scored a few goals but is now the definition of dead weight. Beagle is replaceable by someone with a much cheaper contract. Virtanen's extension is quickly becoming dead weight. Myers' contract is bad now and will be dead weight by the time it's over... yes dead weight. The list of terrible contracts goes on and on. How can you not see that? The level of homerism on this board is freaking insane. Edit: Forgot to shout out my boy Brandon Sutter.

Better to be handcuffed by contracts to actual good players than complete dead weight.

No they don't. Not unless they play Ottawa ten times.

I agree the power play needs to find creative ways to generate new looks but other than that I think you're off. I'm not completely sold on Baumer but I'd like to see what he can do with a set of six NHL quality defensemen before I write him off. This roster has a handful of very good players. Yet this roster is not a good roster at all. Benn and Juolevi are not NHL quality defensemen. Myers has his moments but generally does more harm than good. Edler is a beast and I love him but ideally he's playing third pair minutes at this stage in his career. Hughes without Tanev is... not very good defensively, yet at least. Schmidt is adjusting to a new team in what is probably the hardest year ever to adjust to a new team and at times that has showed but overall I think he's performed admirably. The coaching staff was vocal about upgrading the d-core in the off-season. Instead it looks like they've been dealt an even worse hand than before. I wouldn't call it a systems issue. It's a roster issue.

Is this a real question?

Sounds like something a fan who has become accustomed to a never ending cycle of bad hockey teams would say. Rebuilding a team can and should have a timeline. Look at the Leafs. If there's no timeline you get what we are seeing with the Canucks, a very bad team for a very long time with no end in sight. And oh, btw, if you ask Benning, this team was still never rebuilding. The whole fact he failed to admit this team needed to be rebuilt and tried to pass off a "retool" on the fly will go down as one of the biggest blunders in Vancouver sports history. "Happy for promising progress" sounds a lot like accepting futility. Winners are never happy about progress.

Both Hughes and Pettersson need big boy contracts after this season...

THEY HAVEN'T BEEN COMPETITIVE FOR NEARLY A DECADE. THE REBUILD SHOULD BE DONE BY NOW. WAKE UP. The core is in it's prime right now. They don't have another couple years to stockpile picks. Look at the cap situation, they're not magically going to be able get a better roster anytime soon either. This is just the Canucks under Benning and it's ugly. Bo Horvat is 25. Brock Boeser 23. JT Miller 27. Yes Petey, Hughes and Hogs are a bit younger but it doesn't change the fact that this team should be competitive right now. I'm seriously going to feel bad for Horvat if he's in his late twenties/early thirties by the time this team has a real shot at competing for a cup. Which is a scenario that is looking more and more likely every minute Benning is at the helm.

#FireBenning is not a knee jerk reaction to the team underperforming this season. It's a reaction to almost seven years of his futile run as GM. You realize no other GM under Aquilini's ownership has been given this much rope right? No other GM has had their hockey ops team crumble around them and get to keep their job. Linden leaving was a major red flag. Personally I wish we could go back in time and not have hired Benning in the first place, but here we are so it's #FireBenning asap before he does anymore damage to this team. Edit: and yes myself and many others stillw wanted JB fired even after the bubble run last year. The fact is the team won a couple of series inspite of Benning, not because of him. Here's just a couple quick examples of #BeninngsBlunders because it seems so many here blindly support the man: Who would you rather have Stecher and Tanev or Tyler Myers? Now Myers scored a big goal tonight so don't let recency bias go to your heads. The fact is Myers is an all over the map defenseman with a generally neutral to negative value to the team. He's also grossly overpaid and only promises to get worse as he declines with age. Stecher meanwhile has been Detroit's best defenseman this year. He's a positive play driver and was for the majority of his time in Vancouver. We all know what Tanev can do as we just it tonight with the Flames. He also makes Hughes a million times better. Stecher and Tanev have a combined cap hit of $6.2 million. Myers is $6. You get what I'm saying. Hughes - Tanev Edler - Stecher Schmidt - Benn / Juolevi ... god that is so much better than the current d-core it almost hurts to type out Here's another good one for ya: Jay Beagle and Jake Virtanen or Tyler Toffoli? I love Beags, seems like a great guy, but getting paid $3 mil to be good at face offs and a mediocre penalty killer is inexcusable. How the Canucks have managed to not only hang on to Virtanen for this long but also sign him to a bad contract is just baffling. Virtanen has a cap hit slightly over $2.5 mil this year, and it's set to go up next year. That's over $5.5 in cap space for a role player and whatever the hell you would call Virtanen. Personally, I'd call him dead weight at this point. The guy's 24, he's not getting any better. Toff's cap hit is $4.25 mil. Had Benning moved on from Virtanen and avoided another bad contract in Beagle, the Canucks could have kept Toff and would be a much better team for it. Miller - Pete - Boes Pearson - Horvat - Toff Hogz - Sutter - Gaudette Rous - LITERALLY ANYONE SIGNED AS A FOURTH LINE C FOR LIKE $1 MIL - Big Mac / Loui Those lines are obviously not set in stone but there's just by having Toffoli and shedding some dead weight you open sooo many more options. It's only honestly sad to think about what this team should be. Those are just two examples of how JB's stubbornness (doubling down on Virtanen) and boneheaded contracts have completely killed this team becoming competitive for now and the the foreseeable future. The point is there is absolutely no reason for this team to be this bad at this stage. It all comes down to bad roster management which falls directly on Benning. It doesn't take a genius to see that Benning's inability to stay away from handing out awful contracts to questionable players has set this team back hellishly. If you can't see that you're either a massive homer unable to take an objective view of the team or you've become so accustomed to bad teams and losing that you're sadly willing to accept the lie that this is the best team it could possibly be.

Get where we are???? Get where we effing are??? You mean get where we are as in the worst team in Canada that's not a historically awful Ottawa team. As one of the worst teams in the entire league?? Because the Canucks, this year, are one of the worst teams in the league, end of story. Having Hughes and Pettersson on their ELC's and icing a roster of this quality is absolutely unacceptable. Benning has completely handcuffed this team with terrible, terrible contracts. Yes the pandemic hasn't helped. But even in a non-covid world this team would still be effed thanks to Benning's terrible ability to manage the salary cap and think long term. He's had some good draft picks, he's also made some bad ones. He's not some savant drafter, the team has just picked high under Jim because they've been bad. Ron Delorme had to convince to draft Petey. Hughes fell into their lap. And Judd Bracket was like responsible for most of the team's good picks anyway. And JB has made about two good trades. Almost every single FA he's signed has been an absolute disaster. You're absolutely brainwashed if you think Benning is a competent GM. But you are actually right, we do have him to thank for us being "here." It's just that here isn't where you think it is. Here is being a bad hockey team with absolutely no end in sight. Look at the Leafs. They started rebuilding at the exact same time JB took over. That's a good hockey that has been built from the ground up over the past seven years with an actual sense of direction and action plan. This team is going nowhere until JB is scrapped and a management team that actually knows what they're doing takes over. I just feel bad for the mess they're going to have to clean up.

Please give some examples of this so called journalism without accountability. Aquilini's jab at the media was tasteless and completely unfounded. That twitter thread is pure PR bullsht. If you can't see that I feel bad for you. This is Trump level baseless media bashing from Aquaman. If ownership actually made themselves available to media instead of putting out trash PR statements like this then maybe some progress could be made.

Petey 25g 37a 62p Hughes 8g 50a 58p Miller 24g 31a 55p Boes 29g 22a 51p Horvat 19g 25a 44p Pears 17g 19a 36p Schmidt 7g 29a 36p Hog 15g 15a 30p Canucks finish either first in the division or a close second behind Toronto. I know this post looks homer as hell but I honestly think this team is being very slept on ahead of the season and I pride myself on being a realist. They've actually taken a big step forward by making their defense A LOT better. Forward group essentially is the same if healthy as they rarely had both Boeser and Toffoli in the lineup together last year. And I think chemistry with the lotto line and natural progression among most of the group could make the top-six even more lethal than last year. Biggest weakness will be the bottom six but hopefully Gaudette can take a step forward and help in that regard. Rous also looks primed for a comeback and as always who knows what Jake will do. I think Demko and Holtby will be a solid tandem, probably won't give the team Makrstrom level goaltending but they won't have to as the defense has improved so much. This team is going to surprise a lot of people this year. Book it.

Completely crazy, left-field third line idea that I'd like to see tried: Baertschi - Gaudette - Virt Will never happen because TG will want more shutdown qualities and pk'ers lower in the lineup but man it would be fun have three lines that can score for once. By all accounts Sven has been working his azz off in camp. I hope he can at least make things interesting and make Green make some tough decisions.

I don't think Jake has the iq to pass sixth grade but eh apparently it happened.

Drafting 9/10 Trading 7/10 Signings 2/10 60 percent overall. Definitely not great.

1040 and it's not even close. Only reason 650 even exists is because they have the rights to Canucks games. Other than Satiar Shah and Auld the 650 cast is comprised of hacks and amateurs. Andrew Walker is the most despicable person in Vancouver sports media. Dude needs to be boycotted. The ratings also reflect this. 1040 absolutely dominates 650 in numbers. Like really, really dominates. That's saying something when you have the rights holders getting smoked that badly. 1040's frequent guests are just soooo much more knowledgeable too. JPat and Ferraro are great as they have been for years. And Thomas Drance has absolutely taken the Vancouver hockey media world by storm this year. His hits are can't miss. Hot-tip: Rink Wide with Andrew Wadden and JD Burke is the most entertaining hockey talk in the market right imo. Every Saturday from 11 - 3 on 1040. Check it out if you haven't already. It's become the only radio show I'll tune into religiously.

Link?

Season was paused March 12. It's rumored to return July 1. All of April, all of May and all of June plus a little more than half of March. By no means am I a math guy but I do believe that's about three and a half months.

Oh man this just made me think how fun a provincial championship tournament would be. I'd watch that over the Olympics any day. Although I'm assuming Ontario and Quebec would dominate but B.C. would have Price in net to who knows. Also I'd want the B.C. v Alberta games hooked directly into my veins please. Who would B.C.'s captain be? Shea Weber?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbssports.com/fantasy/hockey/news/canucks-josh-leivo-continuing-rehab/amp/ You don't like to read much do you? I explained why I think Beagle should start as a scratch. Leivo could very well return once play resumes, as per the article above. And as I said in my post, I'm unsure of Ferland's status but am doubtful of his return.

So, in all likelihood the Canucks will be facing the Minnesota Wild in a five game play-in series set to begin around July 1st. Say what you will about whether the NHL should be returning or not; the 24 team play-in scenario almost seems inevitable at this point (barring a massive surge in coronavirus outbreaks, of course). Safety concerns and politics aside, personally I can't wait to see NHL games again. The play-in series' will be absolutely insane, unpredictable, bizzare and extremely exciting. After three and a half months off the Canucks, and everyone else, will undoubtedly be rusty. But there is also the very unique fact that the Canucks will be able to ice a roster that is virtually 100 per cent healthy heading into the playoffs. When was the last time you could say that? To my knowledge, Michael Ferland is the only player who will be unavailable due to injury. Markstrom will be back and fully healed, Boeser will have recovered 100 per cent. Edler and Tanev should both have had enough time recover from the various tweaks, bruises and countless other battle wounds they are constantly fighting through. Josh Leivo, once believed to be out for the remainder of the season, should be back in action. Hell, even Brandon Sutter should have had enough time to figure out what in the world seems be endlessly nagging his groin. There is no doubt that I haven't mentioned nearly as many injuries, known to the public or not, that Canucks players should be recovered from. This, coupled with cap compliance going out the window in the playoffs, poses an interesting scenario when it comes to what kind of line-up the Canucks will ice in their first game back. With the AHL season cancelled, it's widely believed the Canucks will also be able to carry a handful of Utica Comets on their roster. There will be a dearth of bodies and endless options for Travis Green. So, with full man-power how do you think the Canucks should configure their roster for the first game back? Also, which AHL players would you like to see join the big club despite it being unlikely they see game action? Here's my ideal lineup: Miller - Pettersson - Toffoli Roussell - Horvat - Boeser Pearson - Gaudette - Leivo Motte - Sutter - Virtanen Press box: Beagle, MacEwan, Eriksson Reasoning: Top-six The first thing people are going to explode over is separating Pearson and Horvat. But that could prove to be a savvy move. Toffoli has forced Boeser off the top line. Moving Boeser to Horvat's wing with Roussell is more logical, imo, than keeping Pearson on the left side of that second line. Here's why: Toffoli on the top line combined with Pettersson's blossoming two-way game has allowed Green to match the Pettersson line against other teams top lines -- a role once reserved for Bo's line. With Pettersson going head to head with the league's best, Horvat's line will be freed up for a more offensive role. Obviously, Boeser is suited for this. Many forget this, but he and Horvat showed tremendous offensive chemistry before the arrival of that kid from Sweden with extraterrestrial talents. Pearson, on the other hand, has also meshed well with Horvat but solely in a shutdown role. His skills would now be better put to use by providing great depth on the third line. But why Roussell? The feisty Frenchman has struggled mightily this season, no doubt about it. But the extra time off is likely just what he needed to really fully recover from essentially having his whole knee rebuilt. I'd be willing to put money on Roussel coming out and quickly reminding fans why we all fell in love with him not too long ago. In the 2018-19 season Roussel was arguably Horvat's best winger, the two have proven chemistry. He has also shown he has extremely underrated playmaking and vision skills, something that I believe a scoring line with Boeser and Horvat would deeply need. Overall, I think that top-six could sneakily do some serious damage. Bottom six As for the bottom six, I imagine many will be unpleased to see Virtanen on the fourth line. To be honest, I think he does deserve third line ice-time. However, Virtanen falls victim to the fact that the Canucks have a pretty good problem at forward when fully healthy: great depth. If Leivo is able to return he is a no-brainer for Green on the third line right side. As a right handed shot, his wall work and puck retrieval skills (when done consistently) make him Green's ideal fit in that spot. Leivo's advanced stats also support his strong two-way value. As for Pearson on the left side, that's a pretty easy decision with Roussell taking his spot on Horvat's wing. He's basically a more experienced, proven and consistent version of Leivo except he shoots left, giving the third line two big wingers playing their preferred side who are both excellent at winning pucks; also known as Green's wet dream. Gaudette in the 3c spot is a bit risky. He's young, has defensive gaffs but is rounding out that side of his game in an admirable fashion. His offensive flair, however, makes him an easy choice over Sutter or Beagle. Pearson and Leivo on the wings should be able to mitigate some of the blown coverage, poor positioning and bad reads Gaudette sometimes shows on defense. I also wouldn't be surprised if Gaudette continues his two-way progression and these mistakes quickly become a thing of the past. All in all, to me, that third line looks like the kind that's necessary for playoff success. The fourth line was really tough. Trying to put together something that made sense really made me realize why the Canucks fourth line has, for the most part, struggled mightily all year. I originally had Virtanen - Sutter - MacEwan before realizing all three players shoot right. Not ideal for a fourth line whose main purpose is to win puck battles on the wall and keep the puck out of the defensive zone. By taking out MacEwan for Motte, that adds a left-hand shot who is decent on the boards and isn't afraid to through his body around despite not being the biggest guy. It also allows Virtanen to move to the right side, where Green trusts him much more defensively as a right handed shot. I am not a fan of Brandon Sutter. I do, however, believe when he's playing well he (debatably) adds more value than Beagle, so Sutter gets the nod at 4c, for now. The hardest decision on the fourth line was leaving out MacEwan. He deserves a roster spot. But unfortunately, due to the way the Canucks roster is constructed and the fact that he doesn't seem to be trusted at centre despite playing there in the past, he looks to be the odd man out. If MacEwan can take his game to another level at centre and really earn the coaches trust playing the middle, I would love to see Motte - MacEwan - Virtanen as a fourth line. But it doesn't appear MacEwan is ready for that yet. At the end of the day, the Canucks fourth line worries me most out of the forward group. Overpaid veterans like Beagle and Sutter often hurt more than they help and an overabundance of right hand shots makes it difficult to assemble a line where everyone is in their ideal spot. That said, Motte, MacEwan and Virtanen are all capable of providing quintessential fourth-line shifts and scoring the odd goal. While Sutter and Beagle can be liabilities at times, they still provide value on the PK and on face-offs, while Sutter has the potential to get hot offensively. There's been a lot worse fourth-lines in the history of fourth-lines. Overall, the fully healthy Canucks forward group provides a lot of reasons to be optimistic heading into what is bound to be a wild playoff ride. If somehow these lines are ever deployed, not only will I feel like a genius, I'll also be confident in the team's capability to dominate teams like the Wild up front. Note: I initially planned on doing this for the whole lineup but got more into it than I expected and ended up taking forever. It's late and I need to sleep but I will do the same for the defense and goaltending in the coming days. I also plan on detailing my picks to join the club from Utica and why. Just happy to be talking hockey again. Stay tuned *written on my phone, apologies for typos