What Would Be Your Offseason "philosophy" On How To Improve The Canucks?

[Master Mind]

Getting the team to play their best every game is the biggest thing to improve on IMO.

[Glov10]

This is something I have been thinking about for the last few weeks (since our early playoff exit). GMMG has a lot of work to do and a lot of questions to answer before next season. Some of the questions I can think of are:

1. Are any of the "kids" from the farm ready to make the big jump? As bluesman60 mentions above if we want a big contract (like Weber, Suter or Parise) then we NEED to have at least one of the kids step in and play a role on the team. Hope AV has the patience to make that happen.

2. What to do about our 3rd line C position. As TOML mentions above Gillis needs to determine whether Manny can step in and become the player he was pre-injury after a full off-season of training. I love having him on the team but in a cap world it is too tough to have a 2.5M guy playing on the 4th line (even with all of the other leadership assets he brings). If Manny can't be that player again I think Gillis has to go out and get a 3rd line guy that can play in both ends of the rink, win face offs and can add size and grit. This is even more important with Kesler being out for the first month or so of the season and i don't believe we can start the year with Lapierre as our 2nd line C.

3. The Keith Ballard situation. Who knows what GMMG has planned, but he has to know that a 4.2M dollar 3rd line pairing D man isn't acceptable. If he doesn't think that KB4 can step into a top 4 role then he has to be moved. If this happens then we need to find someone to play a top 4 role. Do we TRY to get a legit #1 D in Weber (I know it is far fetched) or do we get someone like Garrison who is more of a 3rd or 4th guy.

4. The goalie situation. The good news is that this will probably be the first domino to fall and should have some sort of an idea on how this will play out by the draft. Who goes (i think it will be Lu) and what the return is will likely answer some of the questions above. The thought on what return we will get if it is Lu that is traded varies, but i think we should be able to get some valuable pieces that can contribute next year.

In my opinion I would like to see Gillis make a bold move for someone like Weber. It would mean moving Edler + another piece, but it would be worth it to have a Norris calibre D man who can log big minutes and play all situations. Some people may think that this is far fetched, but I don't think it is out of the realm of realistic possibilities. If that happens hopefully Kassian, Schroeder and/or Jensen can step in and play on the 2nd/3rd line.

It is going to be really interesting to see how things play out this summer

[Burrows91]

not sure why i keep seeing Luke Schenn's name being thrown around, personally i think hes quite overrated and would rather not trade Luongo for him

[Avicii]

Should go back in time and sign Raffi Torres instead of getting Marco Sturm... Who then eventually turned into David "Can't Pass" Booth.. Did i also mention we lost Samuelsson, one of our only snipers?

Snipers and scoring off the rush is the new way to play the game. Possession teams can't win anymore, it's all about scoring off the rush. Isn't that our main weakness?

[DownUndaCanuck]

Our forwards are fine the way they are.

Our goalies are the best tandem in the league.

But our defence is down-right disgusting. Bieksa is, has been and always will be brutal in his own zone. Salo is old, sluggish and not fast enough defensively any more. Tanev is still young and can look lost in his own zone. Ballard is often caught in poor position defensively. Edler has been exposed this playoffs for his bad pinches and positioning.

Our only good defenceman in his own zone has been Hamhuis, which is not good enough. Just look at this season, and even last season's cup winners. The team with the best defensive defence wins the Cup. It won one against us last season, it beat us out this season and it will win a Cup this year as well.

Boston had 1 offensive defenceman in Chara, the rest of their D-men scored well under 40 points. They were instead all big, strong physical guys who played great in front of Thomas, denied second opportunities and really paved a way in front of the net to prevent any traffic from forming in front of him because of their size.

Now look at the dominant Kings. They have 1 scoring defenceman in Doughty, and the rest barely scraped the 30 point mark. However, guys like Mitchell, Greene and co. are all big, physical and strong defencemen who play safe defence, never gamble offensively and make Quick's job a lot easier.

Then look over at New York. They have some scoring defencemen in McDonaugh, Del Zotto and Girardi, but more importantly all 3 of them are solid physically and great positionally in their own zone. They play the right way for a defenceman - hard nosed and gritty, which is what we lack.

Now look at the joke of a Canucks defence. Our coaching style is to play offence from our defence which is the exact reason we've been ousted in the last 2 playoffs - our defence gambles at the wrong times and leaves us vulnerable, which good teams have been able to exploit with odd-man rushes. Boston ripped us apart whenever guys like Ehrhoff or Edler would pinch, and the Kings big forwards crushed our defencemen, then took advantage of all the opportunities they were given. The tradeoff is just not worth it.

What we need to do is get rid of small, offensive defencemen like Bieksa, Ballard and maybe even Tanev for bigger, more physical defencemen. They don't have to be big scorers at all like Weber or Suter, just play solid defence. Basically, this team needs a lot more Hamhuis-like players and a lot less Bieksa-like players. We do actually have guys like these in Rome and Alberts, but for whatever reason AV opted for the mobile Tanev and Ballard who were embarassed in the playoffs.

It starts with coaching - MG and AV need to decide on a direction with their defence, and it shouldn't be to play strong offence. Defence should focus on defending, leave the scoring to our forwards and start from our goalies out.

[Blömqvist]

More skill = more scoring. More scoring = more winning. I mean, it is kinda hard to win when a team puts an egg on the board.

[Burnsey]

1. top 6 forward that will show up in the playoffs

2. top 4 d-man to play with Edler

3. young 4th line that can bring some energy (like LA's 4th line - who did incredibly well against us) that AV will actually use.

[Bodee]

- bring in two big, tough bottom 6 players (can be from the organization)

- bring in one shutdown defencemen (via free agency or trade)

- playmaking top 6 forward who has size (via free agency or trade)

[Bodee]

Our forwards are fine the way they are.

Our goalies are the best tandem in the league.

But our defence is down-right disgusting. Bieksa is, has been and always will be brutal in his own zone. Salo is old, sluggish and not fast enough defensively any more. Tanev is still young and can look lost in his own zone. Ballard is often caught in poor position defensively. Edler has been exposed this playoffs for his bad pinches and positioning.

Our only good defenceman in his own zone has been Hamhuis, which is not good enough. Just look at this season, and even last season's cup winners. The team with the best defensive defence wins the Cup. It won one against us last season, it beat us out this season and it will win a Cup this year as well.

Boston had 1 offensive defenceman in Chara, the rest of their D-men scored well under 40 points. They were instead all big, strong physical guys who played great in front of Thomas, denied second opportunities and really paved a way in front of the net to prevent any traffic from forming in front of him because of their size.

Now look at the dominant Kings. They have 1 scoring defenceman in Doughty, and the rest barely scraped the 30 point mark. However, guys like Mitchell, Greene and co. are all big, physical and strong defencemen who play safe defence, never gamble offensively and make Quick's job a lot easier.

Then look over at New York. They have some scoring defencemen in McDonaugh, Del Zotto and Girardi, but more importantly all 3 of them are solid physically and great positionally in their own zone. They play the right way for a defenceman - hard nosed and gritty, which is what we lack.

Now look at the joke of a Canucks defence. Our coaching style is to play offence from our defence which is the exact reason we've been ousted in the last 2 playoffs - our defence gambles at the wrong times and leaves us vulnerable, which good teams have been able to exploit with odd-man rushes. Boston ripped us apart whenever guys like Ehrhoff or Edler would pinch, and the Kings big forwards crushed our defencemen, then took advantage of all the opportunities they were given. The tradeoff is just not worth it.

What we need to do is get rid of small, offensive defencemen like Bieksa, Ballard and maybe even Tanev for bigger, more physical defencemen. They don't have to be big scorers at all like Weber or Suter, just play solid defence. Basically, this team needs a lot more Hamhuis-like players and a lot less Bieksa-like players. We do actually have guys like these in Rome and Alberts, but for whatever reason AV opted for the mobile Tanev and Ballard who were embarassed in the playoffs.

It starts with coaching - MG and AV need to decide on a direction with their defence, and it shouldn't be to play strong offence. Defence should focus on defending, leave the scoring to our forwards and start from our goalies out.

[Sedinery22]

Our forwards are fine the way they are.

Our goalies are the best tandem in the league.

But our defence is down-right disgusting. Bieksa is, has been and always will be brutal in his own zone. Salo is old, sluggish and not fast enough defensively any more. Tanev is still young and can look lost in his own zone. Ballard is often caught in poor position defensively. Edler has been exposed this playoffs for his bad pinches and positioning.

Our only good defenceman in his own zone has been Hamhuis, which is not good enough. Just look at this season, and even last season's cup winners. The team with the best defensive defence wins the Cup. It won one against us last season, it beat us out this season and it will win a Cup this year as well.

Boston had 1 offensive defenceman in Chara, the rest of their D-men scored well under 40 points. They were instead all big, strong physical guys who played great in front of Thomas, denied second opportunities and really paved a way in front of the net to prevent any traffic from forming in front of him because of their size.

Now look at the dominant Kings. They have 1 scoring defenceman in Doughty, and the rest barely scraped the 30 point mark. However, guys like Mitchell, Greene and co. are all big, physical and strong defencemen who play safe defence, never gamble offensively and make Quick's job a lot easier.

Then look over at New York. They have some scoring defencemen in McDonaugh, Del Zotto and Girardi, but more importantly all 3 of them are solid physically and great positionally in their own zone. They play the right way for a defenceman - hard nosed and gritty, which is what we lack.

Now look at the joke of a Canucks defence. Our coaching style is to play offence from our defence which is the exact reason we've been ousted in the last 2 playoffs - our defence gambles at the wrong times and leaves us vulnerable, which good teams have been able to exploit with odd-man rushes. Boston ripped us apart whenever guys like Ehrhoff or Edler would pinch, and the Kings big forwards crushed our defencemen, then took advantage of all the opportunities they were given. The tradeoff is just not worth it.

What we need to do is get rid of small, offensive defencemen like Bieksa, Ballard and maybe even Tanev for bigger, more physical defencemen. They don't have to be big scorers at all like Weber or Suter, just play solid defence. Basically, this team needs a lot more Hamhuis-like players and a lot less Bieksa-like players. We do actually have guys like these in Rome and Alberts, but for whatever reason AV opted for the mobile Tanev and Ballard who were embarassed in the playoffs.

It starts with coaching - MG and AV need to decide on a direction with their defence, and it shouldn't be to play strong offence. Defence should focus on defending, leave the scoring to our forwards and start from our goalies out.

[canuckelhead70]

we complain because we care!!!

[Guest BuckFoston]

Bieksa ain't that small and and last time i checked he is a shut-down defenseman and has been one of our most consistent defenders for the past 2 seasons, he a plays hard, physical game, he will step-in to drop the gloves for his teammates, so obviously you don't know what your talking about...Tanev is still young too..and should be better next year

[nucks4sure]

Get rid of AV.If anything it is being shown that hockey is going back to the dead puck era fast.The Canucks coach has a system that is counter productive to this.Get the puck,throw it in behind the net,push it to the boards,slide it to the defense only to find all the lanes and the front of the net clogged and there is nothing to do but try and shoot it thru.Rinse,repeat and recycle.Even if the team carries it in,the damn puck inevitively some how ended up as a point shot.Either way it will fail under the new(old) way the game is going.

[blueliner1955]

wat ever happen to finding a goal scorer heh these other guys either hurt or cant score or wont score unless some 1 else is hurt and if evry 1 gets hurt who scores

[billabong]

Did you ever think if you keep complaining the players are not going to care to play here?

[riffraff]

Our forwards are fine the way they are.

Our goalies are the best tandem in the league.

But our defence is down-right disgusting. Bieksa is, has been and always will be brutal in his own zone. Salo is old, sluggish and not fast enough defensively any more. Tanev is still young and can look lost in his own zone. Ballard is often caught in poor position defensively. Edler has been exposed this playoffs for his bad pinches and positioning.

Our only good defenceman in his own zone has been Hamhuis, which is not good enough. Just look at this season, and even last season's cup winners. The team with the best defensive defence wins the Cup. It won one against us last season, it beat us out this season and it will win a Cup this year as well.

Boston had 1 offensive defenceman in Chara, the rest of their D-men scored well under 40 points. They were instead all big, strong physical guys who played great in front of Thomas, denied second opportunities and really paved a way in front of the net to prevent any traffic from forming in front of him because of their size.

Now look at the dominant Kings. They have 1 scoring defenceman in Doughty, and the rest barely scraped the 30 point mark. However, guys like Mitchell, Greene and co. are all big, physical and strong defencemen who play safe defence, never gamble offensively and make Quick's job a lot easier.

Then look over at New York. They have some scoring defencemen in McDonaugh, Del Zotto and Girardi, but more importantly all 3 of them are solid physically and great positionally in their own zone. They play the right way for a defenceman - hard nosed and gritty, which is what we lack.

Now look at the joke of a Canucks defence. Our coaching style is to play offence from our defence which is the exact reason we've been ousted in the last 2 playoffs - our defence gambles at the wrong times and leaves us vulnerable, which good teams have been able to exploit with odd-man rushes. Boston ripped us apart whenever guys like Ehrhoff or Edler would pinch, and the Kings big forwards crushed our defencemen, then took advantage of all the opportunities they were given. The tradeoff is just not worth it.

What we need to do is get rid of small, offensive defencemen like Bieksa, Ballard and maybe even Tanev for bigger, more physical defencemen. They don't have to be big scorers at all like Weber or Suter, just play solid defence. Basically, this team needs a lot more Hamhuis-like players and a lot less Bieksa-like players. We do actually have guys like these in Rome and Alberts, but for whatever reason AV opted for the mobile Tanev and Ballard who were embarassed in the playoffs.

It starts with coaching - MG and AV need to decide on a direction with their defence, and it shouldn't be to play strong offence. Defence should focus on defending, leave the scoring to our forwards and start from our goalies out.

[Conscience]

Steve Ott

Bobby Ryan

Ryan Suter

[sting]

1. Size and grit on top 6 needed.

2. Defensive defenseman with size for Edler to play with.

3. Solidify 3rd and 4th lines.

4. Push from young guns.

Two Presidents Trophies is proof that we have the talent necessary to win. The loss to Boston was a result of loosing too many key players....not because we were not tough enough or talented enough.

The 11/12 season we regressed .......Kesler could not perform to elite levels, D.Sedin got injured at the worst time and Raymond was ineffective all too often. Our pp without Ehrhoff levelled the playing field and we never got the size and truculence that we needed to be able to disrupt hot Goalies like Quick and Thomas. LA had gelled while we were in disarray.

[canuckelhead70]

if you cant take the heat, stay out of the kitchen....players are gonna get this anywhere in canada so if they wanna play in a canadian city and in vancouver particularly they are just gonna haft to get past it...it comes with the territory, all players who cant take the abuse we give our players are in playing in the south

[komodo1970]

1. The second line needs to be re-tooled to maximize offense. I see a rookie, in Jensen, on the right side and a free agent on the left.

2. A big top 4 dman for Edler.

3. I do think more North American talent is needed on the team. The playoffs are a different beast. Hits get harder, play gets rougher and the over all intensity goes up. Dirty, desperate goals become more important. Most European players play more of an open, end to end game, looking for an open ice shot. In the playoffs, getting the puck to the net and going for the greasy goal becomes the strategy. Europeans have problems adapting to this. Not all but, I think, most don't like this game and get intimidated when it gets rough.

4. The goalie controversy needs to be resolved. They won't admit it, but it is a distraction. If both are kept, both will be demanding max ice time. They play different styles between the pipes and adapting to each will become tiresome. Pick one and go with him. If it's Lou, a higher emphasis on defense will be needed. If it's Schneids, I think he can be relied on more to make the big saves. My pick would be Schneids, only because he's younger.