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Everything posted by Crabcakes
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There's more to it than points obviously. These numbers are just a range for illustrative purposes. The caveats are in my post. I thought i explained well enough. The numbers were much lower than I expected.
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Last years stats from NHL.com Centre: top 30: 55-85 points 31-60: 42-54 points 70+ points: 8, Crosby, Thornton, Pavelski, Kuznetsov, Kopitar, Seguin, Tavares, Backstrom Left Wing: top 30: 43-89 points 31-60: 28-43 points 70+ points: 4, Benn, Gaudreau, Panarin, Ovechkin Right Wing: top 30: 41-106 points 31-60: 24-40 points 70+ points: 3, Kane, Wheeler, Tarasenko 15 out of the top 90 scorers achieved 70 or more points. Now I haven't gone through the list and identified who is actually 1st or 2nd line. I'm sure there are some 3rd line players in these groups, just as there are some top 6 players who didn't score enough to make the top 90. When I looked at the stats some months ago, I was surprised at the actual numbers.
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Willie has his systems. He has the team playing a certain way. But he also has them playing with a certain attitude. It is clear that most nights they are outmatched talent wise but they can usually hang in there for at least 2 periods. Some time in the 3rd, the more talented team takes over and wins. What ever problem people have with Willie, you have to like that attitude. I think I know how he gets his players to play that way but it'll take some explaining. Suffice to say, that it is not by giving kids a chance to play when they haven't worked their a$$es off to earn it. There are no participation ribbons at Willie's sports day. No trophies handed out at the team dinner that say "I tried" Now Willie has a problem. His system works but he has to be consistent and cannot waver from it. Big Jim has traded away some of his favorites and is forcing Willie to play young guys before he wants to. Injuries further frustrate his method. Willie had been using guys like Megna rather than get away from his development system. So, ya, what happens in the final few games could be important. I just hope that all his good work doesn't get undone. At least there are still guys around who he doesn't care about like Shore who he can shove into a top line in place of Boucher when he needs to be taught a lesson.
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As I recall, the talk at the time was that neither would benefit from returning to junior and they weren't eligible for the AHL. If it was ownership then that's stepping over the line and on the toes of management. I'd really like to think that that wasn't true.
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Given Jim Benning's personal history, as a player promoted to the NHL at 18, before he was ready, I was always puzzled by his promoting Virtanen and McCann as teenagers. Virtanen was physically able to handle the jump but in hindsight, he wasn't mature enough mentally. McCann was full of piss and vinegar but was a bit light for the NHL. He had the IQ to do it but not the physical strength. Now this came the year after Bo Horvat's successful introduction to the NHL at 19. Even he may have benefited from another year before coming to the NHL but you could argue he wasn't challenged enough in junior and he wasn't eligible for the AHL. So there has been speculation as to why this all happened. I haven't heard any good explanation from an inside or reliable source.
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He's talking about the hit. Not the fight. This is all about a young guy playing consistently (or not). He needs to learn when to be physical and when not to be. One step forward put Benn on his butt. Why not with Marchand? The situation was similar.
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I think he weighed in at 207 for his first Canucks camp in 2015-16
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Management wants the prospects to out perform the fringe plugs that Benning has brought in. They represent the minimum standard of play for the NHL. With these players on the roster, no young guys will be playing on the team before they are ready. It's about internal competition and development and is a good thing. Rodin had a year long try out. Unfortunately, it looks like his knee/tendon injury may have ended a promising career. Gudbranson is an important member of the team moving forward. I would like to think that we haven't seen the real Guddy yet. Early on, he was adjusting to a new system, then he tried to play through his wrist injury. The other players represent the bar that young players must jump over to play in the NHL. Gaunce is just over it imo.
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Disagree, but in a good way. Your comment is fair. However, I think they like Baertschi, Horvat, Granlund, and on D Stecher, Tryamkin, Hutton and Guddy all for the long term. This is frankly a bonus because as Linden said 2 years ago, the real growth of this team is coming from the draft. This is still true but Benning has been able to find some keepers from the place holders that I think were expected. Obviously, some of these guys were drafted by the Canucks. These guys will be the middle 6 or bottom 4 of the new team. None of them besides Horvat (and maybe a surprise or 2 from the others) are going to be top line or top pair. And the good news is that they didn't cost much, the Canucks didn't have much to pay when these guys were acquired.
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I think he knew there were scouts from the Habs at the game and put on a vintage performance. I hope he wins a cup. He'll always be our Alex
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Baer turned 24 in October. If you look forward a couple of years, the Sedin's will have lesser roles, Hansen will be off his peak (last year).....who is going to be top 6 when the Sedins retire? Hint, it's not going to be Megna. I see a free agent signing, but there are players on this roster who will be in their prime. Baer Horvat Eriksson F/A Sutter Granlund I'm not counting on Boeser yet (although it is possible)
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By exposing a soon to be 31 year old Jannik Hansen
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You don't think they protect both Baer and Granlund?
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Agreed. Growing up a bit. It's great that he would honour his friend like that. He's looking fit.
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Why should we believe you? Surely you can find up something to back this up. People think that Benning was so hot to trot to get rid of Seguin. Why Eriksson in return? Was that Benning's idea?
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Boucher is lucky to get another shot so soon. He admitted that he didn't play well in an interview between periods in his first game. He knows very well that it is time for him to show his stuff. It's not all bad for him on the 4th line because Skille especially, can make things happen. If he can show some finish, he may find a home. On a side note, I would like to see Horvat and Eriksson together. They would bring complimentary skill sets (which is probably why Willie has them apart). But don't Hansen and Burrows bring the same skill set?
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Benning casts his net wide. I would love to see the difference in the amount spent on drafting between the Benning regime and the Gillis regime. Gillis concentrated on the OHL.
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They called him Ox in junior
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He's not focused on size because he has brought in guys like Baertschi, Rodin, Stecher and Granlund and drafted Lockwood, Briesbois. Benning understands that you also need size and physicality: Tryamkin, Virtanen, Sbisa, Pedan, Gudbranson. He wants a physical presence on every D pair and on every line up front. It doesn't have to be everybody. The team being built will have balance in terms of size and tenacity and skill. I'm worried about Virtanen as well. I don't think he's got what it takes between the ears. I said the same about Kassian. Hope I'm wrong.
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It's going to do Virtanen good when he realizes that he's not going to play on the Canucks if he shows up to camp. It's not a given. I tell you, Willie sure likes Megna and he's starting to look like an NHL player. Jake is going to have to look like a better option than Burrows, Dorsett, Gaunce, Chaput, Megna, Boucher, Grenier, Rodin and will we see Boeser at camp next year? It's wake up time Jakeie boy. You're in tough.
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They can protect 8 skaters, or 7 forwards and 3 D. I can't see many teams protecting 8 so they can protect 4 D because that would mean protecting 2 fewer players. Are you saying you think they might leave Hansen unprotected over Granlund? If Hansen or Sbisa were available, I think they would go
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This is an assumption and is why Benning and Co are going through the exercise of making a mock Expansion Draft. The questions to answer are: Which players are going to be available to draft league wide? And when it comes time to select a Canuck, are they vulnerable to lose a forward or a defenseman? That could dictate whether they attempt to trade a defenseman or not. I still don't see them protecting more than 3 D.
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I'd like to run this out there.......Don't you think the window for tanking is closing? There are a lot of young players developing and showing competitiveness in their own right. It's nice to have veterans on the top line and top pair still but they are definitely no longer necessary for secondary support. The Canucks appear to have bottomed out and are on the upswing. Tanking now would prolong the down period and waste good and productive years for players like Horvat, Baertschi, Granlund, Stecher, Hutton, and Tryamkin.
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So you think they shouldn't trade him then?
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Just looking at Jake's stats. 4-4-8 -4 in 28 games. Nobody has commented on his shooting % 6.5