Biggest Surprises This Year (Positive and Negative)

[*Buzzsaw*]

Positive Surprises:

Edler... Huge turnaround, best defenseman on the team this year

Horvat... Playing like Rookie of the Year candidate in 2nd half

Miller... Was expecting a good goalie in his final years... got an inspired player who won games by himself and who was a big part of Canuck's success up to his injury

Vrbata... Should have known from looking at his Arizona stats... but this guy is the free agent steal of the year.

Lack... Huge turnaround from last season... sometimes his technique is not the best, but his enthusiasm and 'never quit' attitude has won games we should have lost

Hansen... Continues to improve... I thought he might be on a downward curve this year, but he has gotten better

Kenins... Good solid addition to the 4th line with some decent skills and good energy

Negative Surprises:

Hamhuis... but he had to recover from a serious injury midseason... so not unexpected.

Bonino... little bit of a disappointment, but generally a solid 200 ft player

Who is performing as expected:

Burrows: I knew he was going to bounce back... too much pride and smarts to let himself and the team down. Contributing every game, even when he doesn't score.

[Outsiders]

Positives

Horvat - kid is unreal

Kenins - plays with so much heart ( but he is trying to do to much with the puck as of late , stick handling instead of what he is good at. Which is dump and chase, crash and bang )

Hansen - honey badger doing what he does best

Sbisa ( lately totally see what Benning was saying in June when he acquired Sbisa )

Vrbata ( didn't know much about him but man he is a great player

Edler ( +12 nuff said )

Miller ( wins = me happy )

Burrows - eats crap game in game out yet still battles

Dorsett - beauty

Negatives

Hamhuis ( Horrible last half of season )

Bieksa ( older, injury prone, only like him b/c of personally and leaves everything out on ice,tough only d-man that plays with emotion)

Vey ( at times )

Matthais ( i wouldn't say negative but VERY INCONSISTENT, looks great for 10 games puts up a lot of points and then goes missing for 20 games , also he is the biggest forward we have at 6'4 220 and he doesn't lay the fracking body which drives me nuts ( if i was that big i would hit everything that moves ) overall he works hard and stuff and i like what he brings he just needs to hit more and be more physically involved )

[JamesB]

Winning percentage in hockey is as meaningful as pitcher wins in baseball. If you give up 5 goals and your team scores 6, you get the win, yet it was a win in spite of your performance, not because of it.

The best way to compare goalies is the simplest. Save %, and GAA. Miller's stats in those two salient categories don't remotely befit a goalie eating up 6 mil a year in cap space. Lack has played better, and at a fraction of the cost.

This is pretty much how I see it too. (And thanks for getting the word "salient" into CDC. I also like "befit".)

[wai_lai416]

Positives

-Horvat

-Vrbata

-Miller being good, and then Lack playing great filling in while Miller is down

-Sedins decent bounce back numbers although still invisible at times

-Edler much better than last year

-Kenins providing a nice spark

-Dorsett is good at what he does and provides some timely scoring once in a while

-Matthias providing some secondary scoring

Negatives

-Amount of injuries

-Bonino not able to fill in at least some of the void left by Kesler

-Powerplay looks terrible all year

-Losing to almost every single team that's fighting for McDavid

-Home record sucks

Well Positives outweighs negative.. so therefore this is a good season regardless of getting out of the 1st round or not

[wai_lai416]

Winning percentage in hockey is as meaningful as pitcher wins in baseball. If you give up 5 goals and your team scores 6, you get the win, yet it was a win in spite of your performance, not because of it.

The best way to compare goalies is the simplest. Save %, and GAA. Miller's stats in those two salient categories don't remotely befit a goalie eating up 6 mil a year in cap space. Lack has played better, and at a fraction of the cost.

gimme a break.. save % and GAA isn't the only goalie stats out there.. if that's the case a lot of goalies we play against is the reincarnation of George Vezina.. Look at all the shots we had against Quick last night and Smith tonight? they were playing decent but weren't great.. but stats tells you otherwise they were standing on their head and their team sucked for not coming out with 2 points.. Lack is great this year.. but he still needs to work on consistency and not decides to play your best against the best out there and then come back with mediocre performance vs crap teams like buffalo NJ Columbus etc. He's still young and i'm sure he'll eventually have those games in lock down mode. Goalies objective is to keep your team in the game and win in any means necessary.. i can really care less if he wins the game 10-9 or 1-0 at the end of the day you just need to keep the puck out of the net 1 more than the guy across the rink from you

[GreyHatnDart]

Positives

Horvat - kid is unreal

Kenins - plays with so much heart ( but he is trying to do to much with the puck as of late , stick handling instead of what he is good at. Which is dump and chase, crash and bang )

Hansen - honey badger doing what he does best

Sbisa ( lately totally see what Benning was saying in June when he acquired Sbisa )

Vrbata ( didn't know much about him but man he is a great player

Edler ( +12 nuff said )

Miller ( wins = me happy )

Burrows - eats crap game in game out yet still battles

Dorsett - beauty

Negatives

Hamhuis ( Horrible last half of season )

Bieksa ( older, injury prone, only like him b/c of personally and leaves everything out on ice,tough only d-man that plays with emotion)

Vey ( at times )

Matthais ( i wouldn't say negative but VERY INCONSISTENT, looks great for 10 games puts up a lot of points and then goes missing for 20 games , also he is the biggest forward we have at 6'4 220 and he doesn't lay the fracking body which drives me nuts ( if i was that big i would hit everything that moves ) overall he works hard and stuff and i like what he brings he just needs to hit more and be more physically involved )

On my phone so I can't properly edit, but I wanted to comment on your Matthias negative...

I agree with you in that his point totals are inconsistent but not the "hitting everything that moves" bit. You or I might hit like a truck being that size, but if that's not your inclination to do so, I don't have an issue with it. He does use his size well along the boards and in protecting the puck. Reminds me of Jagr (not comparing the two obviously, they're worlds apart) in that he seems near impossible to strip when he's of the mind. He's been a bit of an enigma this season but I certainly wouldn't put him in the negative column. But to each their own

[The Lock]

Winning percentage in hockey is as meaningful as pitcher wins in baseball. If you give up 5 goals and your team scores 6, you get the win, yet it was a win in spite of your performance, not because of it.

The best way to compare goalies is the simplest. Save %, and GAA. Miller's stats in those two salient categories don't remotely befit a goalie eating up 6 mil a year in cap space. Lack has played better, and at a fraction of the cost.

But, if Miller hadn't been signed and Lack was the starter from the get-go, would he have played as well as he is now? He would have had more pressure on him, especially after a bad team season.

Miller is using up 5 mil in cap space. Not 6 mil. Luongo was also using up 5 mil. Yet, people complained about Luongo in the same way that you are complaining now. It for this reason why I take any criticism of Miller's performance with a grain of salt. Besides, if you take out the handful of really poor games where we lost 5-1 etc, Miller actually has pretty decent stats. We've had some pretty poor team performances every now and then which have resulting in shaping Miller's stats for the worse.

[ggiesbrecht12]

Positives:

Horvat

Vrbata

Kenins

Edler

Sedins

Lack

Negatives:

Sbisa

Bonino

Hamhuis

Vey

Sestito

[Mathew Barzal]

I like OP's list. If I could tac on one person to each list I'd say...

WARNING: COMPLETELY MY OPINION.

Positive:

Kassian -

The way he uses his body and engages in the cycle leads me to believe IF he's allowed to play consistently with the Sedins next year our top line will be a complete offensive force again. ALA 2011. You can quote me on that one, he doesn't have the fore-checking prowess of Burrows but his puck protection skills overcome that deficit and IMO compensate even more. Dejardins just needs to grow a pair and start allotting him and Horvat more minutes.

They deserve it by now.

Negative:

Vrbata -

He's provided the goal scoring that we knew would come if he played top minutes with the Sedins. HOWEVER, I think he's weak at even strength on the top line and doesn't provide the grit or tenacity needed to play the possession game they love. Oddly enough, I think he is much more suited for a center like Kesler or Hanzal or Doan who can be the physically imposing presence for him. Something we now lack.

He also has NOT been the PP presence I'd hoped for. For a guy who's supposed to be our main offensive weapon, his shot isn't that scary at all. He drifts too far wide far too often and makes for an awkward looking, weak one timer from an acute angle. Compare that to Kesler's, or Hansens, or Edler's and you have to question why we let him take that spot in the first place. I'd rather have him in the slot over a guy like Vey and put two D men out there.

I guess I can't fault him for being what he is, but he was brought in PURELY to compliment the Sedins, even gifted a spot alongside them. He has shown nothing as far as possession hockey goes though, and most of his points seem to come off the rush. Okay for the regular season, not okay come the playoffs where teams like LA and Anaheim will spend minute long shifts grinding us down in the offensive zone.

[cuporbust]

I like OP's list. If I could tac on one person to each list I'd say...

WARNING: COMPLETELY MY OPINION.

Positive:

Kassian -

The way he uses his body and engages in the cycle leads me to believe IF he's allowed to play consistently with the Sedins next year our top line will be a complete offensive force again. ALA 2011. You can quote me on that one, he doesn't have the fore-checking prowess of Burrows but his puck protection skills overcome that deficit and IMO compensate even more. Dejardins just needs to grow a pair and start allotting him and Horvat more minutes.

They deserve it by now.

Negative:

Vrbata -

He's provided the goal scoring that we knew would come if he played top minutes with the Sedins. HOWEVER, I think he's weak at even strength on the top line and doesn't provide the grit or tenacity needed to play the possession game they love. Oddly enough, I think he is much more suited for a center like Kesler or Hanzal or Doan who can be the physically imposing presence for him. Something we now lack.

He also has NOT been the PP presence I'd hoped for. For a guy who's supposed to be our main offensive weapon, his shot isn't that scary at all. He drifts too far wide far too often and makes for an awkward looking, weak one timer from an acute angle. Compare that to Kesler's, or Hansens, or Edler's and you have to question why we let him take that spot in the first place. I'd rather have him in the slot over a guy like Vey and put two D men out there.

I guess I can't fault him for being what he is, but he was brought in PURELY to compliment the Sedins, even gifted a spot alongside them. He has shown nothing as far as possession hockey goes though, and most of his points seem to come off the rush. Okay for the regular season, not okay come the playoffs where teams like LA and Anaheim will spend minute long shifts grinding us down in the offensive zone.

Hahaha. Vrbata? Hahaha. He has been amazing defensively and offensively. 30 goal scorer for us , allot of them not even on the sedin line , and u still find something to complain about ?

[Mathew Barzal]

Hahaha. Vrbata? Hahaha. He has been amazing defensively and offensively. 30 goal scorer for us , allot of them not even on the sedin line , and u still find something to complain about ?

Hahahahaha. Why don't you try reading the post before spouting off.

I'm well aware of his goal totals and defensive play, I'm saying he disappointed me as someone who was SUPPOSED to be the the talented, hard working guy who the Sedins have always needed. Vrbata is talented and hardworking, but he does not compliment the Sedins style of play whatsoever.

Thus, he disappointed me.

[hatedkid666]

Positives: The whole team

Negatives: CDC

[Boudrias]

Matthias is having a great season. If he was a tad more physical the guy would terrorize the NHL. He excels on the boards but rarely finishes a check.

[jdatb]

Negatives: PP and scoring from the back end.

[alfstonker]

I don't agree that Bonino or Vey are negatives. Far from it.

Positives:

The way Willie has kept us in the hunt despite all the set-backs.

The way rookies like Horvat, Kenins Vey and Stanton have performed. (Clendening is still finding his feet and I suspect his fitness/conditioning)

Guys like Biega coming in and keeping us competitive.

Kassian finally seeming to get what is required of him and starting to fulfil his potential.

The Sedins and Burrows showing that Tortorella was an idiot to imply they were stale and to flog them to death to prove a point.

Edler and Hansen showing that sensible and sympathetic coaching gets better results than public humiliation.

JB getting the best free agent in the entire League in Vbrata.

Miller keeping us in many games in the first half of the season, when we were finding our feet under new systems and coaching.

Eddie Lack filling the void like an old pro.

Negatives.

CDC.

Personally I can't think of any. I would have been delighted if someone had said we would have had the kind of season we have had this year and played this exciting brand of hockey after last year's failed experiment of "achievement through torture and humiliation"

[ABNuck]

I'll do the "devil's advocate" thing:

HORVAT:

Positive - obvious, maybe (didn't we kind of expect him to be this good considering we traded Schneider for him?)

Negative - Horvat in the line-up. He played his way into the lineup, but that in of itself is concerning. It wasn't that long ago that this team was so deep in veteran presence that there was no way a rookie even had a shot at cracking our line-up. We've kind of lost that presence now, and the ability to pay for seasoned bottom 6 guys due to the big contracts for Vrbata and Miller...we need some cheap talent to step up or we play with a short bench. And sooner or later that cheap talent will want more money or they'll leave town...and the cycle continues.

MATTHIAS:

Positive - similar to Horvat

Negative - with his play and experience, how hasn't JB got him locked down? Are we really gonna let him test out F/A?

POWERPLAY:

Positive - I got nothin'

Negative - obvious...we go from one of the best to one of the worst...big slide downwards.

MILLER:

Positive - played well enough to hold #1 status, no controversy here folks, move along

Negative - the pricetag. Old management chased Lu outta town at 5.3m only to force the new management to find a replacement at 6m...seems like backward financials to me.

DEPTH:

Positive - WOW! Just WOW! Have we become one of the deeper teams in terms of talent pool AND retained a playoff spot with no high draft picks? Kudos to you Mr. Benning, kudos to you! (collective slow clap).

Negative - No 2nd line!!! It's getting better by splitting up Vrbata from the Sedins, but it's still a 2B 2nd line, not a 2A or even 1B that we've become accustomed to for some years now. We REALLY need someone to step up as a bonafide RW1 (can Burrows or Kassian fill the role?) and a better 2C for sure.

HAMHUIS:

Positive - He has a lovely Team Canada jersey to hang in his trophy case

Negative - WTF!? From Team Canada to bottom 6 quality, and on some nights he'd do the team a bigger favour by asking WD to scratch him! I hope he gets his head back in the game soon and becomes the steady, rock solid D-man that got him that Team Canada jersey!

POSITION:

Positive - We're 2nd in PAC DIV...even the biggest homer cheerleader (Deb?) didn't expect this I'm sure. Again kudos to you Mr. Benning (and WD and TL to for supporting that vision).

Negative - In a HUGE draft year, we're gonna pick down the list...again! But to be a "semi" positive in the negative column, I'm sure we'd all be happy picking last overall, and all getting our pic with the cup!

GO CANUCKS GO!!!

[cbdoubleu]

I thought Miller was one of the biggest factors of our turn-around early in the season. Stats aside, he gave the guys confidence that they were going to get a save when they needed it. I look back to that game in Dallas early in the year where we got smoked (and Lack was lit up in Colorado shortly after), and there was some real panic about the team. Miller stepped up and won a bunch of big games in a row after that and really settled things down. He won that big game against the Sharks early on too, and then Lack followed it up by downing the Ducks in the SO.

Lack has been way better this year than last, and hasn't looked out of place since Miller went down. Solid goaltending is always a positive.

I'd add Matthias to the negatives list. Other than a few really strong weeks of play, he has been very average. The West vs. East numbers are horrifying to look at... (maybe he'll come alive in the finals) A non-factor down the stretch in these important games. I think the playoffs will make or break his time as a Canuck. Big body who plays 6" smaller, and 50 lbs. lighter than he is.

It's not that he's been bad often, but he has to be held to the same standard as a guy like Kassian where you know Matthias can do more, and just doesn't bring it often enough.

I'd add all of the D men who kept the ship going while key memebers were out as a huge positive. Biega, Corrado, Clendening and Stanton were all as good as you could've asked them to be while filling in.

[Guest Dasein]

Hahahahaha. Why don't you try reading the post before spouting off.

I'm well aware of his goal totals and defensive play, I'm saying he disappointed me as someone who was SUPPOSED to be the the talented, hard working guy who the Sedins have always needed. Vrbata is talented and hardworking, but he does not compliment the Sedins style of play whatsoever.

Thus, he disappointed me.

Read it. Was dumb

Vrbata came into play in the top 6 and score goals, not just to play with the twins. He was given a shot because that was the reason he signed here - Vrbata came to VAN for a chance to play with the twins

He's the only player on pace for 30 goals and we wouldn't be where we are without him in our top 6. When without the Sedins, Vrbata provides a reliable secondary scoring option which we needed after trading Kesler

[JamesB]

I like OP's list. If I could tac on one person to each list I'd say...

WARNING: COMPLETELY MY OPINION.

Positive:

Kassian -

The way he uses his body and engages in the cycle leads me to believe IF he's allowed to play consistently with the Sedins next year our top line will be a complete offensive force again. ALA 2011. You can quote me on that one, he doesn't have the fore-checking prowess of Burrows but his puck protection skills overcome that deficit and IMO compensate even more. Dejardins just needs to grow a pair and start allotting him and Horvat more minutes.

They deserve it by now.

Negative:

Vrbata -

He's provided the goal scoring that we knew would come if he played top minutes with the Sedins. HOWEVER, I think he's weak at even strength on the top line and doesn't provide the grit or tenacity needed to play the possession game they love. Oddly enough, I think he is much more suited for a center like Kesler or Hanzal or Doan who can be the physically imposing presence for him. Something we now lack.

He also has NOT been the PP presence I'd hoped for. For a guy who's supposed to be our main offensive weapon, his shot isn't that scary at all. He drifts too far wide far too often and makes for an awkward looking, weak one timer from an acute angle. Compare that to Kesler's, or Hansens, or Edler's and you have to question why we let him take that spot in the first place. I'd rather have him in the slot over a guy like Vey and put two D men out there.

I guess I can't fault him for being what he is, but he was brought in PURELY to compliment the Sedins, even gifted a spot alongside them. He has shown nothing as far as possession hockey goes though, and most of his points seem to come off the rush. Okay for the regular season, not okay come the playoffs where teams like LA and Anaheim will spend minute long shifts grinding us down in the offensive zone.

This is an interesting and well-argued contrarian position on Vrbata. Certainly it is worth thinking about. I would still rate Vrbata as a small positive surprise. He was brought in on a big cap hit (5 million) to be a goal-scorer -- a genuine sniper. I think would expect somewhere in the neighbourhood of 25 goals and 60 pts and we are actually getting a bit more than that.

But obviously he does not contribute to the physical game and is not great defensively (not bad, but not great). Interestingly, it probably is right that the Sedins are better off with someone who provided more net presence and plays a tougher game, whereas Vrbata is a great complement to a tougher center.

I sitll like Vrbata but good post.

[Mathew Barzal]

This is an interesting and well-argued contrarian position on Vrbata. Certainly it is worth thinking about. I would still rate Vrbata as a small positive surprise. He was brought in on a big cap hit (5 million) to be a goal-scorer -- a genuine sniper. I think would expect somewhere in the neighbourhood of 25 goals and 60 pts and we are actually getting a bit more than that.

But obviously he does not contribute to the physical game and is not great defensively (not bad, but not great). Interestingly, it probably is right that the Sedins are better off with someone who provided more net presence and plays a tougher game, whereas Vrbata is a great complement to a tougher center.

I sitll like Vrbata but good post.

No doubt on the whole he's been positive. Hell, any guy putting up 30 goals should be a positive. I just kind of expected him to be THAT GUY who everybody raved the Sedins should have had in their prime. Probably should have tempered my expectations lol.