TOMapleLaughs Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Not that we have much choice these days, but I can't help but notice that changing the strategy to have them being not as sheltered as before has backfired, as they are very much banged-up and struggling now. Just thinking that our friends in Chicago who we're facing tonight definitely protect their star players via cushy zone starts and qualcomp, (although they have more puck possession options on their bottom 6 as well.) Various privileged stars get the easier icetime treatment. Kane. Tavares. Staal. Toews. Parise. Lucic. (Lucic?) Sharp. Callahan. Hossa. Hartnell. Brad Richards. Mike Richards. Skinner. Iginla. Eriksson. Selanne. etc. I have a feeling that if we continue sending the Sedins to the trenches, they will be hammered, night in, night out. Not a great forecast for guys we want to continue to be stars for another 4 seasons. Don't get me wrong, the Sedins still get our lion's share of offensive zone starts, but it seems that AV's extreme method led to better, season-long results. A return to AV-style extreme zone starts? Or are we just going to run them into the ice? Or maybe the problem is just our lack of depth up front? If we didn't have to rely on the Sedins as much for offense, or maybe if guys like Burrows could score a freakin' goal, then perhaps this experiment to turn the Sedins into defensive specialists would be more fruitful. Bottom line is if our core players are still skilled puck possession guys like the Sedins, then we need to try to build our team more like Chicago, not LA or Anaheim, who have power guys who are able to take hard shifts all season long. Either that or we acquire more power guys to full our core group with. If we just locked up the Sedins to 4 more years, then aren't we still trying to win with them? Aren't we? Shouldn't we start protecting them more then as they're aging? The direction isn't clear anymore. Maybe the Canucks just don't know what they're doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 If Daniel is playing hurt, my advice is. REST. Might as well be in better shape for the Olympics and the rest of the season. I'd rather the team rotate some guys in and out of the farm and that way we an evaluate where we are in the offseason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOMapleLaughs Posted January 29, 2014 Author Share Posted January 29, 2014 Oh I have a feeling that all our Olympians are mailing it in until the games. Esp. the euros. They're treating these european-held Olympics as more important than the Stanley Cup and you can see all sorts of them league-wide, esp. the older ones, just packing it in. Even Chicago with their 10 Olympians have lost 4 in a row. We saw the same thing with Demitra, RIP. A ghost all 2010 season long, but then leads the Olympics in scoring? Yeah... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bd71 Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 I think the Sedins will definitely be ready to go for the Olympics. They will shine there as well and it's going to drive us all crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xereau Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 I think Torts is seeing what the whole team is made of in all situations. Plus, the Sedins take a BEATING in the offensive zone along the boards game in game out, and this hasn't been a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOMapleLaughs Posted January 29, 2014 Author Share Posted January 29, 2014 Plus, the Sedins take a BEATING in the offensive zone along the boards game in game out, and this hasn't been a problem. Well, yeah it has. But anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Oh I have a feeling that all our Olympians are mailing it in until the games. Esp. the euros. They're treating these european-held Olympics as more important than the Stanley Cup and you can see all sorts of them league-wide, esp. the older ones, just packing it in. Even Chicago with their 10 Olympians have lost 4 in a row. We saw the same thing with Demitra, RIP. A ghost all 2010 season long, but then leads the Olympics in scoring? Yeah... Sadly that can be a real possibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbdoubleu Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Their numbers might be down, but they are plus players on a team that's a minus-1, and they've scored the majority of their points at even-strength. I think it is a good thing that they want to become all situations players. It would be folly to continue to let them play "easy" minutes and only in situations that often don't exist during the playoffs. Whatever kind of season we're having as a team, they didn't re-sign for the money, and they didn't re-sign to get bounced in 4 games every year until they retire. I think the only thing on their mind at this stage in their careers is winning. I think they're becoming better players overall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronalds.Kenins41 Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 I am surprised more people don't see this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JelloIce Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Their numbers might be down, but they are plus players on a team that's a minus-1, and they've scored the majority of their points at even-strength. I think it is a good thing that they want to become all situations players. It would be folly to continue to let them play "easy" minutes and only in situations that often don't exist during the playoffs. Whatever kind of season we're having as a team, they didn't re-sign for the money, and they didn't re-sign to get bounced in 4 games every year until they retire. I think the only thing on their mind at this stage in their careers is winning. I think they're becoming better players overall. The only point that counters this argument is if the Sedins were complacent people, which I doubt is the case. I think the trouble is that the power and energy players are falling behind on this team. Kassian is playing with the jump in his stride that looks great, but we overstate his development because it's relative to the rest of the team which has instead gotten slower! But Kassian is one player who is still developing. The Sedins are finesse players. Yet they're missing the skill, role, and impact players like Burrows, Kesler, Edler, Booth, Higgins and Hansen. Schroeder was phenomenal in his return and it kinda makes you think that maybe the difference between the potential of this team and the reality of this team was made very clear by Schroeder's crisp play in comparison with the rest of the team. Santo is a good gap-filler between 2nd and 3rd line roles, but I do not believe he is a permanent solution to this team. The only people that are playing to their respective par are Dale Weise and Tom Sestito. Brad Richardson is going through a cold period but that's to be expected. The coaching staff's saying that they need "Their top players to be their top players every night" means that these prolonged cold spells shouldn't be so prominent in so many of our top guys. It's like we have a full team of Mason Raymonds now. Each equipped with unique ways to fall down and not produce consistently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igorwasgreat Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 The coaching staff's saying that they need "Their top players to be their top players every night" means that these prolonged cold spells shouldn't be so prominent in so many of our top guys. Who are our top players ? Sedin Sedin Kesler Luongo Edler Bieksa ? any others anyone would like to add. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyfall Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 I only came here because the OP used the word folly. I don't think any zone starts can help rectify the god-awful passing and shooting skills that this team has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 AV used them right and they were successful that way, Torts needs to stop doing his thing and let the Sedins be offensive players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillipBlunt Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Their numbers might be down, but they are plus players on a team that's a minus-1, and they've scored the majority of their points at even-strength. I think it is a good thing that they want to become all situations players. It would be folly to continue to let them play "easy" minutes and only in situations that often don't exist during the playoffs. Whatever kind of season we're having as a team, they didn't re-sign for the money, and they didn't re-sign to get bounced in 4 games every year until they retire. I think the only thing on their mind at this stage in their careers is winning. I think they're becoming better players overall. They're getting paid $7 M a season, and they didn't resign for the money. Are you high? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam13371337 Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 torts is one of my favorite coaches, and I have never criticized since he got here. the only thing about him that's baffling though is why would he use the sedins on the PK?? Does their presence on the PK justify the added injury risk/fatigue on their aging/declining bodies.. torts' lack of ability to see the bigger picture is his biggest weakness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Surfer Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Good OP thread TO. The same thought was right in my head. Looking even bigger picture; I've noticed a trend in out GM. On first arrival AV was directed at a more open and free flowing game. Since we've gone the direction of being stodgy and safe. Both in terms of play style, and player selection. For all the accolades regarding AV's offensive genius, we should all remember him as a swarming defense guy when he arrived. Also when in Montreal. Gillis brought in Sundin, Demitra, Samuelsson, then Erhof, drafted CoHo. AV was under instruction to make us part of the beautiful game. Speed and skill were tantamount. Since? Tanev, Garrison and Lack are amongst our signature acquisitions; enough said! Plus Torts has replaced the attacking defensive style with our current clog the lane and block shot style. No longer are Hansen, Raymond and Burrows using their speed pressuring the point in our end. Causing havoc, then free to burst up ice for transition opportunities on turnovers created. We've added grind it out in the corners and shot blocking fodder in Richardson and Santorelli instead of talents like Boyes or Gagne. We passed on an 18 year old 212 lb Russian Olympian, a scoring phenom for a Kesler defensive clone. We swapped a WJC scoring champ (yup Hodgson outscored Eberle and Tavares) for size and grunt. Torts's style is somewhat dictated by the GM's backflip. Fundamentally the truth in Torts game style reflects a situational slowing down of the pace of the game. The coach has to assess that our competition will roster more speed and skill than us. Which then dictates tactics to reduce possessions. We have gone bigger and stronger, but less skilled. You clog the lane and slow the game down, spend your time mucking in corners instead of dashing through the middle of the ice. That creates less overall shots and possessions. Less possessions = less chances all that extra skill the other team has will bury us. You smother their speed with size and a grinding style, count on goaltending, hope they make a mistake or two and try to capitalize with some ugly goals to win. That, in a nutshell is why we are who we are, and explains why the Twins are playing different roles as the OP suggests! Hey, as to a question that could be alluded under the surface in the OP thread; would having a pair of Twins capable of playing two way hockey help in the play off's? Is it in part preparation for more play off success? In the long term, undoubtedly. Right now adding some guys with puck moxy and speed is critical let us open our game back up! It's on Gillis. He has gone timid since banking that Booth's youth and athleticism could replace Samuelsson's puck moxy. Was Samuelsson becoming a dud? Sure, but replace his skills, same with Erhof's and Hodgsons. The bottom line is the Twins need help to play their game, and the coach needs more tools to to play the beautiful game! The coaching staff's saying that they need "Their top players to be their top players every night" means that these prolonged cold spells shouldn't be so prominent in so many of our top guys. Who are our top players ? Sedin Sedin Kesler Luongo Edler Bieksa ? any others anyone would like to add. Higgins has been a top player for us all year. Burrows should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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