Jump to content
The Official Site of the Vancouver Canucks
Canucks Community

Is higgins a top 6 forward?


Cucumber

Recommended Posts

Who do you suggest the Canucks make a move for?

There are some good players rumoured to be available, and Canucks have assets (Corrado, Jensen, 1st).

It's upto Gillis if he thinks adding that player will make this team a legit contender, or does he want to wait to have Shinkaruk + Horvat making an impact on their ELC's + the core intact.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well if each team has 3 first liners, that would make the top 90 in scoring first liners. Looking at injuries etc, lets make the cut off 75 for first liners and 150 for second liners. I'll have to go back a couple years to get a full season:

2011-2012

75. Dustin Brown 82 games 54 points (Kris Versteeg, Ryan Callahan, David Backes)

150. Dave Bolland 76 games 37 points (David Jones, Todd Bertuzzi)

Hansen was ranked 141, Higgins 129

So Hansen and Higgins would be considered low end second line players. 40-55 points over a full healthy season seems to be the number.

The problem with this ranking is that Higgins and Hansen were the 3rd line wingers in 2011/12, centered by Hodgson and Pahlsson.

The second line was Kesler, Booth/Samuelsson and Raymond.

Higgins and Hansen produced 43 and 39 points and were 129th and 141st as you mentioned, but they did that as third liners, with third line minutes (and 40/46% offensive zone starts), so if you take that into consideration and play them with a legitimate second line center (not a sheltered rookie who couldn't handle hard 3rd line minutes) and their production isn't really "low end second line" - it's better.

Also, here's a breakdown over three years of the median production of all lines:

http://www.pensionpl...t-forward-score

42 points for a second line winger was in the "good" range - as in 5th or 6th at that position....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Higgins 21 points would have him be:

4th in scoring on LA

5th in scoring on Pittsburgh

9th in scoring on Chicago

4th in scoring on Boston

6th in scoring on San Jose

8th in scoring on St. Louis

He is putting up 2nd line stats on a lot of good teams right now.

Especially when you consider in the 2 cases where he isn't in the top 6 for scoring, those teams have 2 D-men each, in their top 6.

Edit: He would be leading the Florida Panthers.

This is a great post,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are some good players rumoured to be available, and Canucks have assets (Corrado, Jensen, 1st).

It's upto Gillis if he thinks adding that player will make this team a legit contender, or does he want to wait to have Shinkaruk + Horvat making an impact on their ELC's + the core intact.

Well Corrado, Jensen, and 1st isn't going to land us Pacioretty, or Kane. Who does that leave us with, Erat or Ruutu, neither of which are guaranteed to put up the numbers that you're looking for, especially not Ruutu. So it's Erat or wait. How much of an upgrade is Erat either really? Even if he out scored Higgins by 0.10ppg or so he is going to be knocking Kassian into a fourth line role which will hinder his development and any scoring that he is currently providing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think he's just with the right fit of players but he is a 7th forward. With how kesler and Santorelli have been playing he seems to be the right piece to fit in with that line.

He's good a long the boards and can get pucks out from the corner into the slot.

I would not say that he is a true bona-fide on any team top 6 winger.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok at the beginning of the season I was thinking that higgins is just a fringe top6 forward. Although this is a popular belief his numbers just don't lie.

currently he is on pace for

23 goals tieing his 2nd best of his career

49points which would be his 2nd best of his career

usanlly a top 6player is expected to get a 50-60 points season minimum. Higgins is one point behind the 50 point margin. so at the moment i would say yes he is one.

Under Tortorella, Higgins is indeed a T6F.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chris Higgins is a very versatile player. He will do a good job on any line.

However, if everyone was healthy and Zack Kassian was put on the 1st line,

Higgins, in my books, would be on the 3rd line. Not because he isn't good enough

on the 2nd line but because Alex Burrows would be back.

Thank God for players like Chris that can fill in when needed. Zack Kassian should be on the

1st line. I mean, come on what has Hanson brought to the table that is so special. I like Hansen

he is a good player but he does not complement the twins. Kassian would. He already had

before being yanked last year. He is better now. Ready to learn from the twins.

This is how I would have it in my perfect world....

Sedin-Sedin-Kassian

Santorelli-Kesler-Burrows

Higgins-Richardson-Booth

Weise-Schroeder-Hansen

In a good head space, with time to form chemistry, this line-up could pull it off.......all the way

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^Looks nice, but Burrows & Santorelli switch wings. If Schroeder's pencilled in, should he & Richardson swap lines? JS would look speedy/slick with them two wingers.(actually, another AMEX line).. Also think Welsh plays decent 4th line C. Then there's Dac Zalpe...

Who would be your two extras? (Welsh can go down, no waivers)..Sestito & Zalpe?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think he is a 3rd liner that can fill in if a top 6 is injured.

He seems to miss too much opportunities, top 6 guys got to bury those chances

One less goal than Daniel Sedin tells me he's doing just fine in a top 6 role.

Hansen and Burrows have missed a ton of glorious opportunities as well, so I don't think it's just Higgins.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...