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Provost

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Everything posted by Provost

  1. I think everyone hopes for him to have success. it is frustrating for everyone, including the player, when they are too good for one league and not good enough for the next one. He won’t be able to complain about his opportunity, he is getting another shot that he earned with his Utica play. He has a few games before we are completely healthy to push someone down in the lineup and take a top six role. There is every possibility that he just isn’t good enough and is a KHL level player... but I hope not.
  2. Well it looks like the rubber really hits the road in the next week to ten days. Sutter, Ferland, and Roussel all scheduled to return in that time frame. Pearson-Petterson-Boeser Ferland-Horvat-Miller Roussel-Gaudette-Sutter Leivo-Beagle-Virtanen Schaller (lines subject to adjustment as always) Who stays for the final forward spot? Baertschi, Eriksson, MacEwan, Graovac? Can they even fit a 23 man roster under the cap (it doesn’t seem so) or will they only carry 22 to save the extra million... and have to send all these extras down? Maybe we see Baertschi moved out this week to help accommodate it.
  3. I don't think either has much to do with the other. Tryamkin and Benn can both play both sides so it wouldn't be like we would have to have guys on their off sides. I think it is more likely we will only sign one of Stecher or Tanev in the offseason if Tryamkin comes back. Barrie's price tag might be too high cap-wise. If we are confident we can get him then Stecher as an RFA is a decent trade chip, or you let Tanev walk and go try to find a big last contract. Edler-Barrie Hughes-Myers Benn-Tryamkin Stecher Three small guys, but plenty of size overall. Benn and Stecher can swap in an out if we were ever lucky enough to be actually healthy on the back end.
  4. 9 pages of people discussing begs to differ there champ... Discussing things is literally the entire purpose of this forum. Riddle me how that can possibly be a tough concept to understand. fo·rum /ˈfôrəm/ Learn to pronounce noun 1. a place, meeting, or medium where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged. "it will be a forum for consumers to exchange their views on medical research"
  5. It is really too bad that you don't have an option not to click on threads you don't care about. I am so sorry you are being forced, upon pain of death, to read and participate and not just scroll by. It is so great that you are adding posts of such thought and substance to the conversation....
  6. ... and this would be a great object lesson for the kids about how hard you have to work and keep working to get to and stay in the NHL. “See that old dude over there doing bag skates and filling our water bottles? He used to be in the NHL and now he can’t even crack the farm team roster.”
  7. Well literally none of your post is true, which is a pretty hard thing to accomplish. I am not upset, I am discussing a part of our team that can have significant consequences on the ice and with cap space. It is not the 23rd spot... it is the 13th forward spot. Literally everyone (Well apparently except one) knows and talks about it in those terms. It would be dumb to mix forwards and defence when talking about depth. It is pretty rare and only in emergencies that the two distinct pools of players play the other side. We carry either 13-14 forwards depending on whether we are carrying 7-8 D. Those extra bodies are used for last minute illnesses, practice tweaks, and injuries. They get used ALL THE TIME. It is especially important for a team like Vancouver that has their farm team on the other side of the continent and several flight connections away.
  8. As has been said repeatedly...just because Eriksson is sent to Utica, it doesn’t mean he plays there. It puts pressure on him to decide if he wants to spend three years riding busses away from his family and just practicing and working out without getting many minutes. The chance of getting $6 million off our cap isn’t a small thing. There is no reason the team shouldn’t play hardball with him at least to test the waters. Your list about the other options is just plain wrong on pretty much every line. Baertschi - Actually very solid defensively, better option than LE at this point. Can and has played anywhere in the top 9. Leivo - quite possibly not in the top 12 on a healthy team, fighting with several other veterans Motte - almost certainly not in the top 12 on a healthier team Goldobin - We get injuries in the top six and he is certainly better than Eriksson by a huge margin in that role Graovac - better option as a veteran 13th forward by far than Eriksson. Has provided more impact and offence in a one game call up than Eriksson has the entire season to date. Schaller - probably not in a healthy top 12. Pearson-Petterson-Boeser Miller-Horvat-Virtanen Roussel-Gaudette-Sutter Ferland-Beagle-Leivo Schaller- Motte Which two guys deserve to be waived in place of Eriksson on that roster? Baertschi, Graovac, MacEwan, Goldobin... which NHL level experienced guy in the minors doesn’t deserve the injury call up and will be more impactful than Eriksson? Add in all the other guys on the farm that could use a look and a short term stint as an injury call up who won’t get a chance because of a floating waste of roster spot player who has exhausted more opportunities than most players get.
  9. Except we have a ton of veterans for that 13th spot who are simply better. Baertschi, Leivo, Motte, Goldobin, Graovac, Schaller, etc so it isn't young prospects sitting there and stagnating. Sending him down isn't spite, it is merit and valuable roster spots.
  10. Well if you look at that depth chart... that 13th spot isn't just one of the kids in a slightly healthier lineup, it is one or more of the 10 guys Leivo, Motte, Gaudette, MacEwan, Ferland, Schaller, Graovac, Baertschi, Virtanen, or Goldobin competing for those final 5 non-locked spots on the roster (assuming Boeser, Petterson, Horvat, Miller, Roussel, Sutter, Pearson, and Beagle aren't getting sat in pretty much any circumstance). Lots of veterans to hang in the 13-14th spots and lots of opportunity for a kid to take one of the top 12 spots and actually get playing time. You can actually get nice surprises when playing your depth guys. I would argue that if we hit a huge rash of injuries, that 13th spot for a short term call up stint IS valuable to a kid... getting a sniff at the big club and a reward for effort on the farm is a huge deal.
  11. It is just wearing thin... there have been so many opportunities where a more effective player goes down and LE stays up. The minimal positive effect he had last year isn't even there anymore. It is why I really though today would be a day we could see him finally go down... maybe we have to wait until another body gets healthy and off IR, but if anyone else gets on the roster gets sent down before him.... it just makes no sense at all, at least from a hockey perspective. We also have a few younger guys in our depth chart that could use a quick look on the club in case of injuries Our depth chart ahead of LE: Pearson-Petterson-Boeser Miller-Horvat-Virtanen Roussel-Sutter-Leivo Schaller-Beagle-Motte Ferland-Gaudette-MacEwan Baertschi-Graovac-Goldobin Maybe you put LE in a tier tied for 19th on the depth chart with Boucher, Lind, Perron, and Jasek IF you are being generous at this point. That would require at least 7 and as many as 11 injuries for him to hit the ice based on performance. If we get down to that level, we are pretty hooped and could probably find better alternatives on the waiver wire or picked up in trade for free/swap of another minor league player.
  12. You don’t have to play him down there. Just make him practice and ride the busses until he quits. As for what damage he is doing sitting in the press box up here... I would argue he is doing damage by being here. 1. It puts a lie to the “if you earn a spot we will make room for you”. He hasn’t earned his spot and other players have. 2. Motivation for our young guys in Utica. All those guys care about is a shot to be in the Bigs, waiting for a call up. There are a handful of guys that should have that short term call up as a carrot for performance... Goldobin, Boucher, Lind, MacEwan, Gaudette, Graovac, Baertschi, Perron, Jasek, Bailey, etc. Even if it is just a few days to practice with the big club and get a taste. Eriksson is a block to that.
  13. That is nonsense... we have a long list of depth players who could get called up at this point and be more effective. Heck, you could play a D at forward for that 6 minutes a game and be further ahead. Beyond that, you can demote Eriksson and he isn’t going to be picked up and would still be available in the case of 2/3rds of our forward group being injured at the same time and getting to him on the depth chart. Heck, if Graovac has another good game you would be more worried about him being claimed on the way down and reducing our depth more than Eriksson... he is literally the least likely of our depth to get claimed. Your argument is just empirically wrong
  14. I fully expected to see Eriksson on waivers today and sent to the farm. I am not sure honestly what any argument against it could be at this point. He isn’t penalty killing, he isn’t good defensively, he isn’t doing “the little things” right, he isn’t putting in the effort, he isn’t an option to fill in the top six during injuries, he no longer has the trust of his coach (look at his minutes when he is in the lineup). When you are outplayed by a fringe guy like Graovac... you are done. Maybe he retires rather than reporting to Utica, maybe not... but it should be tried. It is startling how different the success of the entire team hinges on all four lines pushing the pace. When we have lost that from our 4th line, suddenly the top two lines start faltering as well... maybe because they are focussed on more. Sorry for a bit of a rant, but to me it is really inconceivable that the team hasn’t played hardball yet with this player. Does anyone have an argument FOR Eriksson remaining now? Mentoring Petterson doesn’t fly for me to keep a valuable roster spot... especially with the impending return of Roussel
  15. If we had a veteran laden team I would be more likely to think Babcock would be a good fit. I think he is too old school dinosaur to lead our young team of kids. I am not sure Green is the answer, but he is o ot a few games into having even a slightly decent roster... so it is too early to tell. For me, Green gets at least until this point next year. If we miss the playoffs this year and are at the bottom of the standings 20 games in next year I can see either Benning or Green being turfed.
  16. We are probably best off at this point trying to unload Eriksson and the cap space... then seeing what is available later on. We have prospects that are likely surplus to requirements like Lockwood, Palmu, Gadjovich that can be moved out. Hoglander, Podkolzin, Lind, and Madden are pretty solid prospects in the pipeline plus any dark horses that come out. We do need another top six winger (or two). We currently have Petterson, Boeser, Horvat, and Miller as legit top six guys... everyone else would be better off on the 3rd line for a team hoping to do damage in the playoffs.
  17. Ya, so how is the NHL behind the times? They got $5.2 billion dollars for those exclusive Canadian rights and Rogers only paid that because it was exclusive. Why would they devalue their rights so folks had choices of provider?
  18. They aren’t going to add costs and reduce TV viewership (with more time zone issues). it just isn’t in the cards or reasonable at all. Gillis and Gilman were very proactive to work with the league and minimize travel issues to even things out a lot more
  19. You premise is completely flawed. We were struggling before Sutter went out. We are 1-1 with him out of the lineup (including the game where he got hurt when he just played a couple shifts) which is a lot better than we were the several games prior to his injury when we lost 4 in a row. So, it doesn't seem like the Sutter injury is at the heart of our recent woes at all. I am not against trying Miller as the 3rd line centre for a while, but that may also affect our ability to score by removing him and not having any top six wingers who have been effective as of yet up there. We just have to rely on our solid defensive corps and our great goaltending to help us win games, rather than trying to use all our forwards to lock down the game and hopefully eke out a 1-0 win because we aren't trying to score.
  20. If the NHL was interested in fairness, they would have both Luongo and the Panthers make statements under oath whether they had discussions about him joining the team before he made the decisions to (non-medically) retire. If the answer is yes, and I have no reason to believe that Luongo would lie and potentially face legal jeopardy... that should absolutely constitute cap circumvention and the Canucks should be let off the hook and the Panthers face sanctions about it. Otherwise why not just agree to mutually terminate Eriksson's contract and give him a 20 year contract as a Euro scout or player development guy? I am sure you can come up with some set of duties where the "market rate" roughly equals his lost salary. This sort of shenanigans opens a lot of doors for cap abuse.
  21. Yep... he could have medically retired, but this way he gets to make his money anyways and save Florida cap space and LTIR concerns... and shafts us extra hard in the process.
  22. As with every bad contract that comes up... you have to consider the idea of swapping Eriksson for the player. In this case he has an extra year so that would be tough to swallow as we will need that money in the last couple years for Petterson and Hughes. We would be far better to find a bad contract with just two years left and add a sweetener for the other team taking the extra year.
  23. I never said solely... He slowed down his line and made it significantly less effective. That also has a ripple effect on the rest of the lineup as it affects the pace of how the team plays and how the opposition has to defend.
  24. .600 hockey without him .444 hickey with him. A crap ton of goals without him in the lineup, goal depicts with him. The description of the way our team was playing was “relentless” with all four lines coming at you. When you reduce that to three lines coming at you and being able to rest when the 4th one plays has an impact.
  25. Eriksson needs to not only be pushed out of the lineup, he should be demoted at this point. He has gotten more shots than anyone can reasonably expect... we should be calling up our depth guys to cover injuries and not him. Look at our record with him on the ice... suddenly we don’t get to push the pace with all our lines. Maybe he even retires, knowing he used up his last chance.
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