The Bookie Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Nothing. Post your opinion, I just did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeremyCuddles Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 The fans, always the fans. Not all fans but some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kethnus Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 I have to agree with consistency. There are some game we should be doing a lot better in, they fought well against the Ducks last night, but by the 3rd they were looking dead. Sadly i have to agree the core is past it. But what can we do if we want the Sedins to retire Canucks? I never hoped to be shooting for play-offs this season so won't be bummed if we miss/get blown out in the 1st round if we do make it. Faith, things will get better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Sestito Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Pace doesn't matter for shit with this team. Odds are we finish closer to 90 points. Not the 104 projected like you said. Our starts through the first 33 games have been virtually identical the past 5 years. 42 points three times, 41 and 45 once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-AJ- Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Yeah, but he still had to have some sort of elevated ability to play with them. Guys like Pyatt weren't able to cut it long term, and he had figured it out. For whatever reason that disappeared too. He definitely has brains that other guys didn't have, I agree. However, I'd say that if Burr was given extended time with the twins, we'd seem him back up to a 20+ goal pace. EDIT: As it turns out, he's about on pace for 20 goals as it is, so perhaps he'd be on pace for 25+ or something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tystick Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 I'll rebut some of your points: (Just playing devils advocate) 1) The Sedins They are great players don't get me wrong. We were one of the luckiest teams for 10 years. The way they play the game. The way they find each other But man its so frustrating to watch them against playoff teams. They are no where to be found. They get pushed around and can't get anything going offensively and its just as painful to watch them play in the defensive zone, as I always feel like we are about to get scored on. Playoffs teams are just that for a reason. Every playoff team will have an excellent shutdown line that's COMPLETELY focused on only getting the puck away from the top players on the opposing team. It's not that the Sedins aren't producing because they're too slow or aging, it's hard to produce when you can't move or handle the puck for more than a couple seconds. Look at San Jose, Pittsburgh, hell even Anaheims top line got shut down by us yesterday. EVERY teams top line gets shut down, only the exceptional (like Crosby, Malkin for example) have the potential to get past the other teams defensive lines regularly. Have faith in the Sedins, they'll return to form. We have a lot of games coming up and I feel like they'll get on a hot streak 2) Bieska He was part of the core but that has come and gone. I will always like him for his leadership and how he leaves everything out on the ice but man If anyone thought Edler was bad defensively Bieksa takes that to a whole new level. If I were Benning id trade him to Toronto (One of the few places he'd maybe waive but i doubt it). I know Bieksa wants to believe in this team but he makes so many bonehead plays now he is holding this team back. He is not worth 4.6 people. I don't care how much you may like him and what he means to this team but its time. We could use the cap space. Bieksa is a veteran leader on this team, and even if he's slowed down, he's still very valuable in helping develop the prospects and keeping the team motivated. Is he worth 4.6? As of now no. With that being said, I'm not giving up on him. If you want to compare Bieksa to the Edler from last year, remember that Edler was considered useless last year, and look where he is today. A massive improvement. Sometimes things aren't always what they seem, I bet there are many reasons he's under performing. 3) Our top 6 Probably one of the weaker in the league Sedin-Sedin-Vrbata (all top six players but are past prime) Higgins-Bonino-Burrows/Hansen/Dorsett ( Are all bottom 6 players, except maybe Bonino but needs to get better on face-offs.) Against playoffs teams like I said in the Sedin part, our top 6 goes know where. Its our bottom 6 that is scoring and winning us the game, I think our bottom 6 is top 5 in the league. But the problem is we have 3 bottom six lines. Are top 6 just gets pushed around by these big playoff teams. ( California teams , CHI, STL) Past their prime? I wouldn't say so. Sure they were faster when they were 28, but they've still got the same skills and work ethic today as they did then. The Sedins perform during the playoffs, but they definitely can't do it all anymore. Looking back at the series vs LA and vs San Jose, the Sedins were the only ones putting up points (although it wasn't many). Most of the time your top line is going to get shut down, that's why depth will win you a cup in the long run. 4) Not having a PMD, i can't stand this one. Our PP was best in the league in 2010-2011 because we actually had someone that could rush the puck up the ice. Edler can't. he gets to centre and then leaves it to Hank. All good teams have a PMD. La - Doughty, MTL - Subban. We need one so bad. We might not even have a 25 point d-man this year. our d must be bottom 3 in the league in scoring ( G + A) Although it is important, that ideal PMD is missing from many teams. Why? because they are very rare. And if you can get lucky like LA and draft a stud in the second round, great. But we work with what we have, and although Edler isn't perfect, I definitely disagree with you. He has been doing an excellent job this year. I see him spring players in stride all the time. We also really miss Hammer. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Overall, the Canucks aren't perfect, but they can clearly compete with playoff teams. No we can't dominate them, but which teams can? Just relax man, we are in the process of building a new core, just be happy we're doing as well as we are right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rink on Renfrew Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 It seems like some nights the Sedins set our pace. When they have shifts with extremely slow breakouts, the pace gets set. The third period tonight was a good example of that. Played scared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthNinja Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Paying Daniel Sedin $7mil per. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaSwede Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 What did people really expect out of this season? I have been thoroughly entertained so far this season. I never expected the Canucks to be in a playoff position like they are now with the same amount of points as the Kings and Sharks with 2 less games played. I think the Canucks have over achieved and I think there have been more positives than negatives this season. I was expecting a way worse team than the Canucks are icing right now. I have to say I agree with the top 6, that is an issue. Another issue is that we don't have the youth to fill spots on the 2nd line. The trade deadline will be very interesting this year I think. I don't think the Canucks will be buyers even if they are leading the league in points but if they drop out of the playoff spots I can see players being unloaded. It is interesting that you bring up the leafs as I think they could be a good trade partner for a little shake-up. This could come in the offseason however but the Leafs need to shed cap space and they have some players the Canucks could really use. Targets: Cody Franson - Likely won't be signing with the Leafs Joffrey Lupul - makes the most sense to move for them Both Franson and Lupul would look good in Canuck uniforms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJDDawg Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 What's most frustrating? Fans who think that the rebuild of a decaying team would be accomplished in one summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brick Tamland Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 I'll do my top three. 1) Lack of speed. 2) Defense sucks 3) Miller Oh my... I am speechless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyhee Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 I've found the team to be anything but frustrating-and I tend to be a glass is half empty type. Perhaps it's a matter of expectations. -I expect the Sedins to play like they're 34 years old, still good but not in their primes any more -I expect Bieksa and Burrows to be 33 years old and Hamhuis 32 -prior to the season there were posts galore on this forum about this team not having scoring, people were concerned about whether Bonino could play 2nd line center and whether he'd need to be sheltered, people were down on Burrows and Higgins-in fact, the team has scored better than expected so far this year and the top 6 has performed about as well overall as should have been anticipated -the makeup of the defence was known before the season and it was a concern coming in, so isn't a surprise -while there are of course mistakes, my opinion of how Bieksa, Weber, Higgins, Burrows and Kassian have played is higher than many -I was well aware going into the season that the players one would normally see moving up didn't exist because the team had developed essentially nobody from the 2007-2010 drafts, so there being a lack of players moving up from the farm isn't a big surprise. (For me, Jensen not making it was a bit of a surprise, but it wasn't frustrating.) -Having watched coaches not put many kids into the NHL lineup fresh out of Junior, I didn't expect that WD would rush kids from jr into the NHL. Having them move to the next step-the AHL-until they were better than the vets was not much of a surprise, even if I misjudged slightly who would make it. If it isn't surprising, it isn't frustrating. Whether I'm right or wrong in that thinking, it means that when the young prospects aren't played, it is neither surprising nor frustrating. -my reaction if WD has a choice of lines that seems surprising is to consider why he's doing it and wonder why he figures it is best, rather than assuming he's missing something. His lineup choices have been logical. -I don't kid myself, when watching on TV, that I can tell in a more than superficial way how individual players are doing defensively, and place sound defensive play ahead of offensive play 5 on 5-so when Richardson, HIggins or Hansen don't handle the puck as if they were 2011-vintage Sedins, I don't think they're useless or inconsistent players because of it. -as for expectations this season, my expectation was that they'd not be as bad as last year overall, but weren't good enough to expect a lengthy playoff run. They've been a little better than I expected, so far from being frustrating, the team has been really enjoyable. -after many years of watching the Canucks, I'm used to a mid-season letdown, probably as the travel fatigue, , followed many years by a bit of a bounce back late in the season. (I didn't expect a bounce-back last season because of expecting fatigue in the core group.) If that happens this year, there's no reason to think the sky is falling, nor to find it frustrating. -Since it is normal for goalies to undergo an adjustment period when first working with Melanson, Miller's inconsistency wasn't a surprise and the team managing to win despite it was a pleasant surprise. Watching the situations Lack has been in, I have been impressed with how he's handled it. I'm optimistic about the Canucks' goaltending going forward and think both goalies are playing well these days. Nothing frustrating there. The Vancouver media is often frustrating. CDC is often frustrating, but then that's to be expected. It is a forum to express divergent views. It will always be frustrating to argue with those that have a different viewpoint, but then it is also valuable to step back and see things from a different perspective. But the team, frustrating? Nope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brick Tamland Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 What's most frustrating? Fans who think that the rebuild of a decaying team would be accomplished in one summer. Subsequently due to one overtime loss to the top team in the conference in December in a 2-1 game. Finding a way to get points will go a long ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ice orca Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 What did people really expect out of this season? I have been thoroughly entertained so far this season. I never expected the Canucks to be in a playoff position like they are now with the same amount of points as the Kings and Sharks with 2 less games played. I think the Canucks have over achieved and I think there have been more positives than negatives this season. I was expecting a way worse team than the Canucks are icing right now. I have to say I agree with the top 6, that is an issue. Another issue is that we don't have the youth to fill spots on the 2nd line. The trade deadline will be very interesting this year I think. I don't think the Canucks will be buyers even if they are leading the league in points but if they drop out of the playoff spots I can see players being unloaded. It is interesting that you bring up the leafs as I think they could be a good trade partner for a little shake-up. This could come in the offseason however but the Leafs need to shed cap space and they have some players the Canucks could really use. Targets: Cody Franson - Likely won't be signing with the Leafs Joffrey Lupul - makes the most sense to move for them Both Franson and Lupul would look good in Canuck uniforms. Joffrey the glass man? waste of cap space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deus.ex.makina Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 -Higgins, kassian, sbisa have to go and clear some space. -Burrows is overpayed, but still effective on 3rd/4th Line, i say keep him unless a good return that help us now. -Miller could be traded i can live with lack and markstrom. -Hansen, matthias, vey bring so much needed speed they are a lock ni my book. -I can trade asset such as Jensen, Gaunce, and draft pick but not our first (only if Taylor Hall-like is include in any package). Right now se need a real second Line sniper (iginla type) to take the pressure of the... Wait a minute, isn't the same thing over and over those last 5-6 years? That s why were barely a true contender years in years out. This hole has to be addressed this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPizzle Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Sedins are looking old and tired Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombieksa Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 The fans. "Hey. We lost to the top standing team in the league 2-1 in OT after the Christmas holiday break on the road. What the hell is wrong with this team!?" If you need any indication that a team may be sluggish the first game back after the break on the road, check out the game Anaheim played the night before the game. At least they had a chance to get a game in and get their legs under them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boudrias Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 The new Canuck timeline cannot focus on the Twins to lead them back to serious CUP contention. They can still be a part of a successful team. I feel sorry for Vrbata as he is not getting the puck on his stick anywhere near what he was earlier in the season. The second line has dried up and that hurts the 1st line as well. The issue with the Twins is how long can you pay a CAP hit of $7 mil for players who struggle on the 'd' side of the puck and are not putting up big numbers anymore. What is laughable is criticism of Burrows. If fans are prepared to ignore the Twin's CAP then do the same for Burrows. His game is far more adaptable than the Twins IMO. The only goal last night was a result of Burrows. I said at the beginning of the season that Bennings challenge is converting the Van vets into players for tomorrow. There is not a vet on the Canucks that should be exempt from that process. Obviously not all these vets will be moved. Some will have a role as mentors. I actually see Burrows filling that role better than the Twins. It is all about what comes back in any deal. Positives: Hanson: great game last night and a great comeback from last year. Speed and physical. Vey: Creative with the puck. Improving as the season goes on. He could be good. Dorsett: I cringed when I first heard this deal but wow. He is a heart and soul guy. 100% every shift. Horvat:As he gains experience he is making more moves. Physically he can handle the play and positionally he is solid. Thought he played well in the ANA game. Canucks might not be serious CUP contenders but the transition to the new core is underway. IMO the most important part is coaching and management and Vancouver has that. What is going on in Utica is flying under the radar somewhat. There has been more movement of players up to Van than there has been in years. Yes they do not see the ice a lot but the NHL environment has to impact these players approach to their games. A great development process and great for morale. 2015 will be a big year for the Canucks. More so from Jim Benning's office than what happens on the ice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wren223 Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 It's frustrating to see people getting down on this team. Seasons are long and we are in a transition/rebuild/retool or whatever you want to call it so I'm happy with how well we've been doing. Not frustrated with people giving opinions and their ideas but more with the fools talking about tanking and how the crap team has shown up and how garbage everything is. Other than that, I'm happy to watch them play. To see what's developing from new/young players and just where this team might go. Linden/Benning/Willie are smart and patient. If a move is made it'll be to better the team and I'm pleased with that. Real discussion = yes. Trolls = no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollumpus Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 1.) The team needs more small, fast, skilled forwards who are all over 6' tall and weight 200+ lbs. and who play a physical game, can go to the dirty areas to score, and can dominate along the boards. They should also be able to drop the gloves and fight like Odjick, but we don't want them to be goons because there's no place for that in the NHL these days. 2.) We need an experienced, world class #1 goalie, but we also want our up and coming goalie prospects to each play 82 games at the NHL level. 3.) The guys on defense should each be able to score 20+ goals, be a PMD, be able to QB the PP, have a great shot from the point, and be able to be physical and deliver punishing hits. Having size is not a requirement, but they should to be Chara-sized at a minimum. 4.) The team should only draft guys who don't age. Having all these guys who are 30+ is getting old. 5.) On the subject of drafting, the team should also get a new scouting staff, and only draft guys who the fans want. I think that "take-backsies" should also be allowed on Canucks' picks. 6.) The team should also only get guys (drafted or UFA signings) who are loyal to the team and "bleed blue", which includes (but is not restricted to) them taking a hometown discount on their contracts. They should also happily leave town and go play on bottom feeder teams when the fanbase decide that they no longer wanted... this week. 7.) The owner, GM and coach should do what we want, because we're footing the bill for all this, right? I believe that if these changes are implemented then we will get the team that we deserve.... regards, G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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