Kevin Bieksa you are really...

[Buttock]

Well, since you didn't bother qualifying the use of this particular statistic in light of the proper context surrounding it, I assumed it wasn't obvious to you. Perhaps you just failed to mention it at the time...who knows?

One the point of Mitchell....he on many, many, many occasions got his jock strap wrapped around his helmet by the league's top players, blowing past him or simply out maneuvering him. He looked terrible on many nights and would take holding or hooking penalties or other varities of penalties when playing against top players from the league...and that's more evident during playoffs. Infact Mitchell took more penalties than Bieksa in the playoffs....but they both faced top performers from the opposing team. What does that say?

I dunno, what does it say? Absent context it doesn't say much. But as far as defensive ability, we don't seem to be remembering the same Willie Mitchell. You might be interested to check out his stats at behindthenet.ca, especially CORSI relative to QualComp...or Luongo's stats before and after Mitchell's injury.

What are you talking about?? Hamhuis has been personally quoted as saying that Kevin is a real vocal person on the ice with him, something that he didn't have before in Nashville, and that it makes Kevin an easy person to play with.

Your perception and the reality are quite stunningly disparate.

Hamhuis says that Kevin is vocal, and this is supposed to be a refutation of the statement that on that particular goal there didn't seem to be much communication?? It's pretty obvious if you watch the replay, there was at the very least a miscommunication.

[CANUCKLELION]

What are you talking about?? Hamhuis has been personally quoted as saying that Kevin is a real vocal person on the ice with him, something that he didn't have before in Nashville, and that it makes Kevin an easy person to play with.

Your perception and the reality are quite stunningly disparate.

What are you talking about? Vocal or not, we /you do not know. Anyhoo someone didn't get the message if they were being vocal because Hammy + KB did not react as if they had communicated on that play.

He didn't have a mic on but Bieksa was likely saying .."Oohhhh frack, where's my jock strap" as Kopitar blew by him..

[Sharpshooter]

What are you talking about? Vocal or not, we /you do not know. Anyhoo someone didn't get the message if they were being vocal because Hammy + KB did not react as if they had communicated on that play.

He didn't have a mic on but Bieksa was likely saying .."Oohhhh frack, where's my jock strap" as Kopitar blew by him..

If you look at the replay...you'll see that there firstly, wasn't a need for a verbal exchange between the two of them as they knew who their assignments were...and they both stayed with their assignments and didn't need to switch off, it looks to me as Bieksa stays with whoever is the puck carrier, on that play and they both seemed to understand that, without need to verbalise it.....secondly, Kopitar did not 'blow' past Bieksa. Kopitar and Brown's cross gave them a step on the reacting Canuck dmen. Bieksa managed to recover and quickly take away any scoring chance, from Kopitar, by quickly angling him away from the net by using his speed to do that. Kopitar had no options left but to pass the puck because of Bieksa's defensive coverage. And so with only one option left, he passed the puck near the top of the crease, to a wide open Brown. Look again at Hamhuis;s shift and tell me again who looked solid and who didn't, who looked scrambly, and who didn't, who looked to be the calmer of the two? And on whose shoulders should that goal and its accountability be really placed?

[malHOEtra]

Wow, were the forwards ever lackadaisical out there. How about a back check? Its not like its Westgarth and Brad Richardson going the other way. Its mah-f'ing Brown and Kopitarz! Its not like they were going in with a whole lot of speed.

[shazzam]

If you look at the replay...you'll see that there firstly, wasn't a need for a verbal exchange between the two of them as they knew who their assignments were...and they both stayed with their assignments and didn't need to switch off.....secondly, Kopitar did not 'blow' past Bieksa. Kopitar and Brown's cross gave them a step on the reacting Canuck dmen. Bieksa managed to recover and quickly take away any scoring chance, from Kopitar, by quickly angling him away from the net by using his speed to do that. Kopitar had no options left but to pass the puck because of Bieksa's defensive coverage. And so with only one option left, he passed the puck near the top of the crease, to a wide open Brown. Look again at Hamhuis;s shift and tell me again who looked solid and who didn't, who looked scrambly, and who didn't, who looked to be the calmer of the two? And on whose shoulders should that goal and its accountability be really placed?

this was just a good offensive play but kopitar and brown

kopitar with a quick drive wide and brown forced his way to the front of the net

but your quite bias with your breakdown

bieksa was not in position to block a possible shot or pass

hamhuis stumpled his way back to the front of the net because of brown and was not able to recover

2 guys beat the other 2

[Sharpshooter]

this was just a good offensive play but kopitar and brown

kopitar with a quick drive wide and brown forced his way to the front of the net

but your quite bias with your breakdown

bieksa was not in position to block a possible shot or pass

hamhuis stumpled his way back to the front of the net because of brown and was not able to recover

2 guys beat the other 2

Wow...even with video evidence, some people just keep on criticizing. It's like a tick.

Watching that video, a normal person can clearly see that Bieksa close the gap between himself and Kopitar, thus not allowing Kopitar from going from his backhand to forehand for the shot, that you say Bieksa wasn't in position to block. He didn't have to block any shots and there wasn't a danger of getting a quality forehand shot available to Kopitar, again, because of Bieksa'a angling of him and keeping him to the outside with his body and his stick.

How is that biased? I'm recognizing the play for what it is and you're talking about hypothetical scenarios of a possible shot. And btw, passes get through all the time....that's hockey. Passes are attempted and made all the time during a shift. The role and goal of a defender in Hamhuis's situation is to not allow the passee to receive the puck from the passer, if the pass does arrive. Bieksa's job was to make sure the forward didn't get a shot off or a lane to the net....which again, the video clearly shows, being accomplished.

Give credit where credit is due and assign blame and fault where it is also rightfully due,

Also, i find it hilarious that when the goal is a result of Hamhuis's blown tire or whatever the hell he was doing.....it's "2 guys beat the other two" and if Bieksa blows a tire or does something vile, like have a puck deflect off of him, or some other blunder, then it's all "it's Bieksa's fault", "he's bringing Hamhuis down" blah blah blah.

Outstanding.

[tomn8r]

i haven't even watched a single pre-season or regular season game yet this year! (some of you may remember me as being the 35 year fan who decided to boycott watching canuck games until bieksa was gone). well, it is going quite well. the 12 hours of viewing time i saved so far went to other projects and i have been sorta okay without watching my home team. i don't know how long i can go, or whether i'll even get to see a game this year because of my decision, but so far so good.the main reason i won't watch the games is because i consider myself deserving of a successful team. i have watched almost every game since the canucks came into being, and after all that watching, my experiences are telling me that bieksa is a jinx that will cancer the entire team til he is gone. the rest of the guys you can win the cup with, but if you add the ingredient of a jinx - everything goes to s***.so having recognized the bieksa jinx, i have decided not to be disappointed by him anymore. his game-changing, tsn turning points (against) will not cause me anymore grief. 3 hours saved every game i don't watch. it's team canada and the candian national juniours for my big screen - not the canucks - who will never win the cup with bieksa jinxing the way.

[c0medyClub]

this was just a good offensive play but kopitar and brown

kopitar with a quick drive wide and brown forced his way to the front of the net

but your quite bias with your breakdown

bieksa was not in position to block a possible shot or pass

hamhuis stumpled his way back to the front of the net because of brown and was not able to recover

2 guys beat the other 2

This entire thread is full of bias for or against Kevin. Of course, I've told it like it is therefore there has been no bias from me. But I've got to the point where it's a complete waste of time arguing with these idiots. They think they're experts. They're not. They think they know what they're talking about, and some do to an extent, but majority of the time, they're wrong. Kevin is an asset, he's not going anywhere. He's here to stay and that's that. Also, it's completely ridiculous but to no surprise people are actually blaming Kevin for the goal that went off his skate. First of all, it wasn't his fault in any way and secondly, it wasn't his fault. Stupidity and bias has clouded people's judgment so much around here it's unbelievable.

[Sharpshooter]

i haven't even watched a single pre-season or regular season game yet this year! (some of you may remember me as being the 35 year fan who decided to boycott watching canuck games until bieksa was gone). well, it is going quite well. the 12 hours of viewing time i saved so far went to other projects and i have been sorta okay without watching my home team. i don't know how long i can go, or whether i'll even get to see a game this year because of my decision, but so far so good.the main reason i won't watch the games is because i consider myself deserving of a successful team. i have watched almost every game since the canucks came into being, and after all that watching, my experiences are telling me that bieksa is a jinx that will cancer the entire team til he is gone. the rest of the guys you can win the cup with, but if you add the ingredient of a jinx - everything goes to s***.so having recognized the bieksa jinx, i have decided not to be disappointed by him anymore. his game-changing, tsn turning points (against) will not cause me anymore grief. 3 hours saved every game i don't watch. it's team canada and the candian national juniours for my big screen - not the canucks - who will never win the cup with bieksa jinxing the way.

[sQuish]

Everyone needs to relax, it's 4 games in. They'll come back with a strong one against Carolina. No, Bieksa didn't play very well, but neither did the rest of the team. Why is everyone overlooking the fact that Kesler at 5 million has 0 points in 4 games? Bieksa sure takes a lot of flack on these boards. He's no superstar, but he doesn't deserve to be the scapegoat. The team was just plain aweful last night, Luongo included.

[tomn8r]

sir, i would say that is stupidity that has clouded YOUR judgement. you come on here calling the bieksa-bashers stupid? uninformed? without knowledge of the game? what an epic flail. bieksa has caused so many games to go into the toilet that it must be a clouded mind indeed that cannot see the very very obvious. duh. why do you think there are so many bieksa bashers out there? more bieksa bashing has gone on in the last two years than the rest of the bad-canuck bashing in history combined. why? because we are stupid and can't read it right? uh - sure. whatever mr. armchair einstein.

[Number One]

We just need some time to start firing right. Still love watching though. Win or lose.

[Sharpshooter]

sir, i would say that is stupidity that has clouded YOUR judgement. you come on here calling the bieksa-bashers stupid? uninformed? without knowledge of the game? what an epic flail. bieksa has caused so many games to go into the toilet that it must be a clouded mind indeed that cannot see the very very obvious. duh. why do you think there are so many bieksa bashers out there? more bieksa bashing has gone on in the last two years than the rest of the bad-canuck bashing in history combined. why? because we are stupid and can't read it right? uh - sure. whatever mr. armchair einstein.

I don't know if you intended that on purpose or not, and I generally never laugh at spelling mistakes, because I have them more often than not while typing and not looking at the keyboard, but...

....god damn, that's f***ing funny!

Thank you for that.

[tomn8r]

squish (hot cutie pie by the way) - of course now is the time to panic. bieksa wasn't traded in the off-season. it's time to panic alright, because millions of canuck fans are about to have to endure yet ANOTHER season with this jinx on board. believe me, when a fan as loyal as i have been jumps ship, it's time to panic. i've endured them all, from babyich to snepts. i know a jinx when i see one now.<br /><br />you will all waste your time this year if you are hoping for a shot at the cup. it only takes 1 player to screw a team. 1 player making the wrong move at the wrong time - that sir, is kevin bieksa.

[Sanford]

squish (hot cutie pie by the way) - of course now is the time to panic. bieksa wasn't readed in the off-season. it's time to panic alright, because millions of canuck fans are about to have to endure yet ANOTHER season with this jinx on board. believe me, when a fan as loyal as i have been jumps ship, it's time to panic. i've endured them all, from babyich to snepts. i know a jinx when i see one now.

you will all waste your time this year if you are hoping for a shot at the cup. it only takes 1 player to screw a team. 1 player making the wrong move at the wrong time - that sir, is kevin bieksa.

None of us is jumping ship. Everyone is just pissed that this abomination (Bieksa)is still here.

[Number One]

We may need to pick it up physically to create some chances. And be able to pinch in with some speed. Been doing good in some ways though.

[tomn8r]

nope, meant epic flail - as in flailing like an idiot. one day i should compile a video of bieksa flailings. can you remember all of them? like when he falls down and the forward proceeds unobstructed to the net? or the penalties he gets at the worst time resulting in a goal against resulting in a lost game? oh and there are many many others. he is a joke. sometimes he plays so so, but at the worst time - oops, another bone-headed giveway/penalty/play/mistake/misplay etc etc etc by bieksa. no wonder larscheid quit.

[Sharpshooter]

nope, meant epic flail - as in flailing like an idiot. one day i should compile a video of bieksa flailings. can you remember all of them? like when he falls down and the forward proceeds unobstructed to the net? or the penalties he gets at the worst time resulting in a goal against resulting in a lost game? oh and there are many many others. he is a joke. sometimes he plays so so, but at the worst time - oops, another bone-headed giveway/penalty/play/mistake/misplay etc etc etc by bieksa. no wonder larscheid quit.

You mean like how Hamhuis did, before that energy sapping goal?

Tommy didn't quit....he got canned.

You're just full of flail today huh?

[CANUCKLELION]

Wow...even with video evidence, some people just keep on criticizing. It's like a tick.

Watching that video, a normal person can clearly see that Bieksa close the gap between himself and Kopitar, thus not allowing Kopitar from going from his backhand to forehand for the shot, that you say Bieksa wasn't in position to block. He didn't have to block any shots and there wasn't a danger of getting a quality forehand shot available to Kopitar, again, because of Bieksa'a angling of him and keeping him to the outside with his body and his stick.

How is that biased? I'm recognizing the play for what it is and you're talking about hypothetical scenarios of a possible shot. And btw, passes get through all the time....that's hockey. Passes are attempted and made all the time during a shift. The role and goal of a defender in Hamhuis's situation is to not allow the passee to receive the puck from the passer, if the pass does arrive. Bieksa's job was to make sure the forward didn't get a shot off or a lane to the net....which again, the video clearly shows, being accomplished.

Give credit where credit is due and assign blame and fault where it is also rightfully due,

Also, i find it hilarious that when the goal is a result of Hamhuis's blown tire or whatever the hell he was doing.....it's "2 guys beat the other two" and if Bieksa blows a tire or does something vile, like have a puck deflect off of him, or some other blunder, then it's all "it's Bieksa's fault", "he's bringing Hamhuis down" blah blah blah.

Outstanding.

The only video evidence I see is Bieksa giving Kopitar way too much TIME and SPACE. It all starts with the gap, and not closing it soon enough.

Of course if you give a skilled guy like Kopitar that much time and space he is going to make the perfect play EVERY TIME. Quite simply KB is a minor league defender, there I said it, he simply does not have the defensive skills or awareness to be allowed any where near the teams top 4. Alberts would likely have defended that play better, no matter though, what is done is done and there is nothing we can do about it.

Hopefully AV will feel the same way and end his ridiculous experiment of placing Bieksa in the top pairing. Bury him on the 3rd pairing and not put him in a position to fail again.

[tomn8r]

i'm assuming only the young and inexpeienced are hopeful. i too was hopeful for many many years; all through high school, then into university. then through years in the service. then after the service and into a civvy life. now at that civvy life for 20 years. nope nope and nope. i've endured, believe me. longer than most. but now i have seen the pattern. the jinxedness of it all, from snepts coughing up the puck in game 1 against the islanders in the early 80's, or the stupidity of the cam neely fiasko. to the bure shy-away from his check in game 7 against the rangers to the bieksa cough ups against the blackhaws. the goal post breakaway by smyl to the lockout when we the hottest team. yeah, i know a jinx when i see one and this decade's installemnt is bieksa. trust a wise old hockey yoda. watch another team/sport til he's gone.