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Nick Bonino playing himself out of the second line center position


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Kesler was a cancer in the dressing room (from the reports out there), but to suggest Bonino is better than Kesler in terms of talent is a joke.

Kesler has played in the Cup Finals and been a leader (although a bad one) at the Olympics. Bonino has.........................????............please fill in the blanks for me because until he got traded here I didn't even know who he was.

Can't say I knew too much about him until I saw him play this year but he's proven enough to me.

He's 4 years younger. He's saves us 3.1 million dollars in cap space. He's played against tough opposition. He isn't riding getzlaf and Perry for power play points like kesler has. He's been the primary anchor on our second line without help from the twins and has been phenomenal 5 on 5. He's leading our team in takeaways and even during this slump, he's still managed to keep his plus minus higher than Kesler.

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The entire top 6 is in a slump, as far as I'm concerned.

What is apparent to me is that we have a good lineup that saw a nice spurt to start the season, but that is now coming back down to earth.

Changing the lineup around at this point is risky as it sends a signal to the team that they are in trouble. However, the right shuffle could make all the difference.

Personally, I think Daniel and Hank could benefit from the space making talents of Burrows, their longtime and most successful right winger in history. This type of change would not signal trouble as it is not change to something never done before, but a return of the jedi, if you will.

Then, Vrbata goes on the wing with Bonino, who is Bonino's type of player: north-south, quick transition, pass-shoot, bang-bang. The Sedins cycle, and that is not Vrbata's strength. It certainly is Burrows' strength.

With Vrbata on the 2nd line right side, all you need is a somewhat skilled/fast forechecker/body crasher on the left side of the 2nd line. That remains the team's gap at this point. If they can find the right power forward for this role, they could be a force. There would be no issues with the resulting bottom six.

Personally, I'd trade Kassian today for that 2nd line left side role to fill. Kassian's limitations on this club make him an asset we can parlay for a roster player today. There is enough forward depth in our prospect pool to pull the trigger on shipping out Kassian, who never seemed to find a groove in Vancouver anyway.

Sedin Sedin Burrows

(Kassian Trade) Bonino Vrbata

Higgins Richardson Hansen

Matthias Horvat Dorsett

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I've said from the day Vancouver got Bonino that they had a good 3rd line centre with some scoring ability and nothing more. HIs early success seems to have fooled too many people, including Minor League Willie, that Bonino is a 2nd liner. He's not big enough to give the Canucks a shot at handling the other centres in this conference.

While Bonino gets treated like royalty and left on the 2nd line, guys like Burrows and Kassian are being completely wasted by Desjardins. The media was up in arms about Tortorella being bad for playing the top players too much but this guy is completely wasting some of the most skilled players on the team by either burying them on the 4th line or scratching them. Even worse, he's showing favourtism to guys he coached in junior (Vey, Dorsett).

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You can't compare Bonino with Kesler. The comparision you have to make is Bonino+Sbisa+McCann vs Kesler, then the value adds up IMO. People who thought Bonino would be as good as Kesler have no clue. Kesler brings a lot more to the game than points.

Sadly, the only thing besides the points that myself & many others remember about RK is his trade demand. I'll admit it whether it is logical or not, I'd rather watch & root for a team of guys that want to be here with a positive attitude rather than welcome entitled players who forget that being in the league is a privilege.

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I was going to suggest the same thing with a Burrows and Vrbada swap. Seems like a logical thing to try. I think Vrbada would do quit well with Bonnino and Burrows we know can play with the Sedins. The first line might be slightly less dangerous but the second would be considerably more dangerous IMO. Really not sure why this move hasn't been made yet.

I'm sure if WD explained to Vrbada it wasn't a demotion but more of a move to make the overall team better he would understand, he doesn't strike me as a premadonna at all.

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The problem with our 2nd line has been the wingers. For several years now.

Bonino is a play maker, as a C should be. When you pair him with guys who can't consistently score you get what you get. Higgins doesn't belong on the 2nd line. He's the type of guy that gets his points from a handful of great games while being stale between them.

Burrows should be up there but honestly, I like him with Horvat. Bo needs to play on a line with some skill. Not taking anything away from Dorsett and Hansen, but they just aren't the same caliber.

I'd be interested to see if Kassian and Vey could wing it. Pun intended.

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Nevermind what we got for Kesler, as just the loss of Kesler made the Canucks a better team. I like Bonino's quick shot, but he appears to be a painfully slow skater. Hopefully he's just working thru an injury, and his skating, and puck luck will eventually improve.

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In what universe is Bonino's potential greater than Kelser. Regardless of what you think of Kelser, he is still one of the best shutdown centres in the league and I doubt Bonino will ever score more goals or have more points than Kelser. That's not even a discussion.

His +/- is distorted due to his quick start. In the last 13 games he is a -7. What some people on here do NOT get is he has NEVER PROVEN HIMSELF a #2 centre, and certainly isn't doing it now. If we are honest he looks like a decent 3rd line centre [although needs to be better on the dot], playing with 3rd line wingers. What we need is a whole new 2nd line. None of them are 2nd line players. They are good 3rd liners with the ability to move up on a temporary basis, and Bonino is no different.

[excluding Vey, who has shown some talent, but has not yet proven himself - still a rookie]

Let it go dude. Only an idiot thinks Bonino is a bonafide 2nd llne center. Not on an actual contender anyways. He was a 4th round draft pick or 7th or something like that. Benning bought high on the guy.

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Let it go dude. Only an idiot thinks Bonino is a bonafide 2nd llne center. Not on an actual contender anyways. He was a 4th round draft pick or 7th or something like that. Benning bought high on the guy.

Benning didn't "buy high on the guy". We basically took what we could get in a handcuffed situation. A borderline 2C, a 5-6 D with potential and 24th overall pick really isn't so bad...

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IDK. The Canucks have been really good at shutting down the opposing top line. I used to think a huge part of that was Kesler but I think they might be even better at it this year. So in that respect, I think Bonino is doing great filling that gap.

Offense should come. He had 22 last season. 7 on the PP. Obviously need more time to see.

Bonino had 68 goals in 24 games in 2004! Kesler only had like 30 goals in 78 games. Stats FTW! :bigblush:

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This is Bonino's first year in the top 6. He has shown that he has an above average shot. He holds his own defensively and is running a +4 at this point. Not a disaster and not showing that he doesn't belong.

I'm not sure whether Bonino's drop in production and limited opportunities offensively are due to foot speed or by getting leaned on by big bodies or a little of both. At any rate, word is out that he has a wicked release and is being given no time in the offensive zone.

He would certainly do better with some true 2nd line help. Someone who is an actual threat to score on a regular basis would be a start and take some of the attention away from Bonino. Failing that, a big body who can create some space wouldn't hurt.

I'm sure that within a year, "In Benning We Trust" will come up with someone.

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People still seem to have unrealistic expectations of second line centers. Even in this slump Boninos pace overall is still average 2nd line production more or less.

Also, Apollo is the best thing about CDC

LOL thanks man!

I think Bonino is doing ok considering the Canucks has 1 first line and 3 third lines

I don't completely agree with you, but let's say we have a 1st and two 3rd lines... That's not too bad. You should be able to compete for a cup with that kind of forward group. Off course you need the defense and goaltending to go with it.

In my opinion we have

Great first line

Average second line

Above average 3rd line

And the 4th line is 3rd line quality on most teams.

I have no doubt about the forwards on this team or the goaltending. The defense is what worries me a little. But you have to be patient under a new coach and let the dman find their way.

I've said this enough times in this thread and I'll say it again. Bonino is going to be a staple on this teams second line for years to come. when we beat the ducks in the playoffs this year; everyone WILL call it the Bonino trade.

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