alfstonker Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 On paper its pretty tough to make a case against Chicago, Anaheim and LA in the playoffs. Sure we're doing great, but if 2011's team wasn't deep enough come injuries, this team isn't - and shouldn't - be done trying to improve before the big show. By the time of the playoffs, our guys in Utica will have come on a great deal and these boys are not the plugs we had on offer from the Wolves. They are much better than that. So yes maybe we will have the depth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfstonker Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Dan Hamhuis may not require surgery, but he is still not expected to return for at least six weeks. And Benning admitted there’s a chance it could be longer, depending on how Hamhuis’s injury, believed to be a groin tear, heals. Hamhuis is a load-bearing wall. You can get away with taking one out of your home, but you’d better be very, very careful. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you’ll seriously compromise the structural integrity of your house. Can the Canucks, as they’re built, survive long-term without their top shutdown defenceman? Benning is betting they can. He may have made some inquiries about finding possible replacements just after the Nov. 20 injury, but this week he leaned on three words that should submerge any hope the Canucks are about to trade their way out of this. “Next man up,” Benning said. “That’s how it will have to be.” The general manager said he has no plans to spend assets to bring in another defenceman to weather this. “I believe we have eight NHL defencemen on this roster. This is going to provide an opportunity for guys to step up in the lineup. “We still have seven good defencemen.” None of this would be remotely possible if not for Alex Edler’s resurgence. Edler has been the Canucks’ most consistent blueliner, leading the defence in traditional statistics (a plus-5 rating and eight points) as well as the underlying advanced analytics (like his 53.9-per-cent Corsi-for percentage and his 8.9 Corsi-relative). He’s been physical. And he has not been mistake prone, something that dogged him last year, a season in which he infamously had the worst plus-minus in the NHL. Part of it is that this coaching staff plays him on his natural left side. It’s helped he’s not playing with Kevin Bieksa regularly. The two have less chemistry than snow and downtown Vancouver. All of that has helped his confidence. “A lot of his game is confidence,” Benning said. “When a coach has confidence in a player and that player then has confidence in himself, it can take you a long way. “I think from Day 1, Doug Lidster has worked with him and done a really good job helping him regain his confidence. “It’s helping him get back to where he was a couple of years ago.” If Edler maintains this level of play, it’s a massive coup for the coaching staff. If Lidster never accomplishes another thing as an assistant, that alone could get him consideration if there is ever a coaches ring of honour in Rogers Arena. Without Hamhuis, it will now be on Edler and Chris Tanev to be the load-bearing walls of this blueline. The Kevin Bieksa and Luca Sbisa pairing struggled plenty on Sunday in Detroit. It’s a safe bet there will be a few more games like that during the next six weeks. It’s up to Edler and Tanev to ensure it doesn’t bring the house down. The Province White Towel It's chilling, just how many on here wanted to get rid of Edler. It was also rumoured that the Wings were looking to acquire him. Thank goodness the damage Tortorella did has been reversed by good coaching and encouragement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canorth Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 It's chilling, just how many on here wanted to get rid of Edler. It was also rumoured that the Wings were looking to acquire him. Thank goodness the damage Tortorella did has been reversed by good coaching and encouragement. Agreed, Hopefully we can learn something from this and give Kassian the same latitude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Steal something from the oilers in a trade. Go for blood that team is in serious trouble. Hard to steal a solid d-man from a team that has no defence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thad Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I really don't see a way to make a serious upgrade without making a major splash. Your basically just pushing out Stanton or weber and those 2 have been solid third pairing guys. Both plus players who aren't really the problem. Any other third pairing guy is going to be just as prone to mistakes they might make. Games like we had against Detroit are going to happen even if you have shea weber back there. These games are still pretty few and far between for us so I see no need to push the panic button yet and make a lateral trade at best. If we want to get better than we are today it has to come from the boys in the room. I'm talking about bearing down on the draws and getting that power play going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maniwaki Canuck Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 ^^ I think you've nailed it here: our bottom pairing has been fine, as has our top pairing. Sbisa and Bieksa have been pretty good, but less consistent. The cost of changing anything in the middle pairing is probably going to be too high, so I don't expect any movement. One more move for a D prospect like Pedan who is a year or two away from NHL-ready is the most we are likely to see. Benning knows where to find value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo1970 Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 benning won't make a move that doesn't make sense....he knows what the team needs better than we do and knows how to make effective trades...when the right one comes around, he'll act on it... Agreed. JB is not one to panic. I don t see anything happening. I think this is the team we have until the offseason where he ll make moves or sign players. But mostly, I see him making solid draft picks and keeping the cupboards full. He's all about the draft and promoting from within, which is the way it should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I see no need to push the panic button yet and make a lateral trade at best. Who says it has to be a lateral trade? A combination of the following should net a pretty decent younger d-man in return: -Bottom 6 winger -Weber (replace with Sanguinetti) -Lack or Markstrom -"B" prospect Change that "B" prospect to one of our somewhat redundant "A" centre prospects and you could get a future top pairing D-man IMO. It's probably unlikely to happen now but later this season....maybe... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kloubek Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Even WITH Hammer back, I see a need for another solid blueliner. Given that we are seriously lacking points from our blueline, I'm thinking someone who is a specialist at either moving or shooting the puck. Or both. Such defensemen don't come cheap though, and I don't see many assets we would be willing to move to acquire such a player. To try to offset the price, I imagine acquiring a player who is in the last year of his contract seems to make sense. Not necessarily for a rental, but someone who isn't likely to sign with his current team again, someone who may re-sign with us, and therefore someone who we can afford given next year's cap situation. Keep in mind as well that our team is performing well beyond expectations, and that's largely due to the feeling in the room and the chemistry of the team. Any adjustment you make has a chance of reducing that feeling and chemistry, so Benning would have to be really careful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesB Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Hello On the cycle, Just thought I would let you know there are threads open to answer this very question. Here is a link to the first one i found. http://forum.canucks.com/topic/365310-next-gm-test-for-benning-another-d/?hl=defence But I do not think any trade will be made in the near future. I really think that Mr. Benning will leave the team as is for now and make due with call ups. If he makes a move i think it will be closer to the deadline as it will give our middle 6 time to prove their worth and maybe have a higher value. Just my two cents. :-) I agree. In fact I think JB has already said pretty much the same thing. Before any move is made the current group will get a longer look and then Corrado will get a shot. Possibly Sanguinetti or Andersson will be brought up from Utica as well. JB has been clear that he does not want to trade away future assets (prospects and draft picks) for a current band-aid. I disagree with the OP than any quality Ds will available cheap. And the Canucks do not have much cap room anyway. The can go over the cap with Hamhuis is on LTIR, of course, but there will be a problem when he comes back if they bring in anyone for a significant salary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thad Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Who says it has to be a lateral trade? A combination of the following should net a pretty decent younger d-man in return: -Bottom 6 winger -Weber (replace with Sanguinetti) -Lack or Markstrom -"B" prospect Change that "B" prospect to one of our somewhat redundant "A" centre prospects and you could get a future top pairing D-man IMO. It's probably unlikely to happen now but later this season....maybe... I say lateral because we're still hanging around at the top of the league. I'd be all for a move like u say but everyone is looking for the next top defender. It's not easy. Rolling the dice when were as good as we are might take us a step back instead of forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I say lateral because we're still hanging around at the top of the league. I'd be all for a move like u say but everyone is looking for the next top defender. It's not easy. Rolling the dice when were as good as we are might take us a step back instead of forward. I'd wager that in my above "proposal", giving up the "B" prospect gets us a good, defensive, big, mean, physical #4 guy (maybe #3) who can play in our top 4 with Hamhuis out and make a hell of a good 3rd pairing guy when we're healthy (or bump Bieksa to the 3rd pairing). Change that to an "A" prospect and all of a sudden we have a future 1st pairing/offensive guy coming in. I'd hardly call either lateral. The first would help immensely with our goals against, the latter our goals for (and lpossibly against as well). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benchsplinters Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Carle would be very cheap but he has a high cap hit. Then why would you mention him. You may as well have mention Shea Weber or Duncan Keith. Stick with what is real, possible and common sense rather than just throw out a name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckylager Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Dan Hamhuis may not require surgery, but he is still not expected to return for at least six weeks. And Benning admitted there’s a chance it could be longer, depending on how Hamhuis’s injury, believed to be a groin tear, heals. Hamhuis is a load-bearing wall. You can get away with taking one out of your home, but you’d better be very, very careful. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you’ll seriously compromise the structural integrity of your house. Can the Canucks, as they’re built, survive long-term without their top shutdown defenceman? Benning is betting they can. He may have made some inquiries about finding possible replacements just after the Nov. 20 injury, but this week he leaned on three words that should submerge any hope the Canucks are about to trade their way out of this. “Next man up,” Benning said. “That’s how it will have to be.” The general manager said he has no plans to spend assets to bring in another defenceman to weather this. “I believe we have eight NHL defencemen on this roster. This is going to provide an opportunity for guys to step up in the lineup. “We still have seven good defencemen.” None of this would be remotely possible if not for Alex Edler’s resurgence. Edler has been the Canucks’ most consistent blueliner, leading the defence in traditional statistics (a plus-5 rating and eight points) as well as the underlying advanced analytics (like his 53.9-per-cent Corsi-for percentage and his 8.9 Corsi-relative). He’s been physical. And he has not been mistake prone, something that dogged him last year, a season in which he infamously had the worst plus-minus in the NHL. Part of it is that this coaching staff plays him on his natural left side. It’s helped he’s not playing with Kevin Bieksa regularly. The two have less chemistry than snow and downtown Vancouver. All of that has helped his confidence. “A lot of his game is confidence,” Benning said. “When a coach has confidence in a player and that player then has confidence in himself, it can take you a long way. “I think from Day 1, Doug Lidster has worked with him and done a really good job helping him regain his confidence. “It’s helping him get back to where he was a couple of years ago.” If Edler maintains this level of play, it’s a massive coup for the coaching staff. If Lidster never accomplishes another thing as an assistant, that alone could get him consideration if there is ever a coaches ring of honour in Rogers Arena. Without Hamhuis, it will now be on Edler and Chris Tanev to be the load-bearing walls of this blueline. The Kevin Bieksa and Luca Sbisa pairing struggled plenty on Sunday in Detroit. It’s a safe bet there will be a few more games like that during the next six weeks. It’s up to Edler and Tanev to ensure it doesn’t bring the house down. The Province White Towel Solid post^ Benning's not worried, we're winning, why panic? Unless the Canucks are being over-paid in an absolute fleecing of a team in dire need of a bottom 6 forward, nothings gonna happen. Maybe at the deadline, maybe, and even then: deadline trades usually require picks / solid prospects; Benning has said he won't be trading the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwijibo Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Who says it has to be a lateral trade? A combination of the following should net a pretty decent younger d-man in return: -Bottom 6 winger -Weber (replace with Sanguinetti) -Lack or Markstrom -"B" prospect Change that "B" prospect to one of our somewhat redundant "A" centre prospects and you could get a future top pairing D-man IMO. It's probably unlikely to happen now but later this season....maybe... Ah yes, the good old "quantity for quality" trade idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B53 Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 STUDS (high priced): Myers Pouliot Larsson Carlsson Gudas Oleksiak BOTTOM PAIRING (future 2nd pairing): Pulock Clendinning Donovan Gormley Tinordi Merrill Morrow Doumulin Despres Orlov Carrick Erixon Gryba Murphy VETS (high salaries): Carle Meszaros Campbell Tyutin Sekera B.Smith Smid Gorges J.Schultz Michalek Hainsey FA's: Salo Morris Holos Tollefson I.White Marchenko Jovanovski Rome MOVEABLE ASSETS: Jensen McCann Corrado Gaunce Richardson Weber Andersson Subban Tommernes Cederholm Grenier Markstrom Eriksson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Ah yes, the good old "quantity for quality" trade idea. Not really. I'm not suggesting moving all of that, simply some combination that fits another team's needs. Either Lack or Markstrom are both "quality" but goalies aren't worth as much in trade even if a team desperately needs one. Hence you add. My guess is Benning waits for a team to have a goalie injury/crisis on their hands and pounces. And/or a team in cap trouble next season. A lot of the rest is nothing to sneeze at either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwijibo Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Not really. I'm not suggesting moving all of that, simply some combination that fits another team's needs. Either Lack or Markstrom are both "quality" but goalies aren't worth as much in trade even if a team desperately needs one. Hence you add. My guess is Benning waits for a team to have a goalie injury/crisis on their hands and pounces. And/or a team in cap trouble next season. A lot of the rest is nothing to sneeze at either. To date, both Lack and Markstrom have terrible numbers at the NHL level. They might end up eventually being starters, or they could end up career back-ups. There are plenty of cheap back-up options available out there. Weber is a 6/7 defenceman, so next to zero value. That leaves a bottom 6 winger and a B prospect for you to use. Those aren't the kind of assets that will land "a future top pairing guy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 To date, both Lack and Markstrom have terrible numbers at the NHL level. They might end up eventually being starters, or they could end up career back-ups. There are plenty of cheap back-up options available out there. Weber is a 6/7 defenceman, so next to zero value. That leaves a bottom 6 winger and a B prospect for you to use. Those aren't the kind of assets that will land "a future top pairing guy" Nope, the future top pairing guy would cost us an "A" prospect precisely as I wrote. Perhaps you should work on your reading comprehension before jumping down other posters throats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwijibo Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Nope, the future top pairing guy would cost us an "A" prospect precisely as I wrote. Perhaps you should work on your reading comprehension before jumping down other posters throats My bad, I missed your addendum about changeing it to an A prospect to get a top pairing guy. I'll stand by my arguement that a combination of the rest of the assets you suggested won't bring much of a return. a 4/5 guy at best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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