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EdgarM

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So...... At the beginning of the season there were those that were adamant that the Canucks were in a "rebuild" and that they had no chance against the Mighty California teams and making the playoffs was slim to none. So........ now we are near the end of the season and the Canucks are in a playoff position while only 1 of the 3 Cali teams are in a playoff position. Considering what the teams win/loss record was prior to last year before Xmas and this years stats, do you believe we are still in "rebuild" mode? I think the teams are constantly trying to improve by trading, resigning, letting go, signing etc. Players on a constant basis instead tearing down and rebuilding in one year.

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I think we're still rebuilding as an organization, it's been a good season though. Our last draft was solid, we've picked up a few prospects/players close to making the jump by trading picks/prospects and we've likely exceeded expectations given the rash of injuries we went through. It's been a good bounce back season.

Our prospect pool looks much better and we're fighting to keep a playoff spot, but I think we're still rebuilding for the future while trying to remain competitive. Not sure we're ready to make noise come playoff time.

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Sadly that still wouldn't be enough for the haters to shut up.

A cup would be enough to cure everything that ails a Canuck fan. If we were having a down-year then we could always watch our championship DVD to feel better.

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A cup would be enough to cure everything that ails a Canuck fan. If we were having a down-year then we could always watch our championship DVD to feel better.

I'm starting to think we'll never get to see a Vancouver Canuck championship DVD...

Because it's 2015...it'll be on Blue Ray

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I think we're still rebuilding as an organization, it's been a good season though. Our last draft was solid, we've picked up a few prospects/players close to making the jump by trading picks/prospects and we've likely exceeded expectations given the rash of injuries we went through. It's been a good bounce back season.

Our prospect pool looks much better and we're fighting to keep a playoff spot, but I think we're still rebuilding for the future while trying to remain competitive. Not sure we're ready to make noise come playoff time.

Kinda sums it up.

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A cup would be enough to cure everything that ails a Canuck fan. If we were having a down-year then we could always watch our championship DVD to feel better.

Championship DVDs on me after they are related when hank hoists that cup on June 14th 2015

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San Jose really should rebuild and gut their team except for a few key players like Couture (although I hate him) and Pavelski). Marleau and Thornton's returns would exceed their value to the team at the moment. They are skilled players but struggle to be the leaders on the team that drive the ship. They would do well as supporting players behind better leaders.

But their failure makes my heart happy.

So long suckers.

Kings are probably reaching an expiry date if they can't turn it around next season. Unfortunately for us, they still have a ton of value on their team and have a good shot at a very speedy turnaround. I think they'll make a bunch of needed changes and be back as a dangerous team next year.

Here's to hoping that is not the case.

Anaheim is overrated. They are a good team but with some big weaknesses. They allow way too many goals in and have the same amount of ROW as we do in 2 more games. They are an above average team, that plays well against us, but are nowhere near being favorites for a deep run.

Arizona basically got as much mileage out of their team as they could have hoped, but now they have to bite the bullet and are making big changes.

Edmonton is the same old song and dance... pathetic as always.

Calgary made huge strides into being a dangerous team this year. They play excellent defense and have key players who can make a difference. They are not far off from having a team that competes every year; this season might be the first of a string of really good ones.

Us. The good guys. We have made really good strides this year getting us back on track. We still have weaknesses, but also a ton of positives and a few unknowns (the good kind) for the next year or so, such as Horvat. If he plays as well as he has in the playoffs he could potentially be a huge part of a series.

And we are the second (if not best) team in the Pacific this year. A case could be made for us being a better team overall than the Ducks even, despite our struggles at times with them.

This is a very good year for us so far.

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So...... At the beginning of the season there were those that were adamant that the Canucks were in a "rebuild" and that they had no chance against the Mighty California teams and making the playoffs was slim to none. So........ now we are near the end of the season and the Canucks are in a playoff position while only 1 of the 3 Cali teams are in a playoff position. Considering what the teams win/loss record was prior to last year before Xmas and this years stats, do you believe we are still in "rebuild" mode? I think the teams are constantly trying to improve by trading, resigning, letting go, signing etc. Players on a constant basis instead tearing down and rebuilding in one year.

To me, a re-build is blowing up the existing core of players and bringing in a new core and leadership group on the player side. Seeing how we still have the same core, IMHO, a re-build was never initiated. But that's not to say there has been a lot of changes since JB took over...some subtle, some obvious:

(1) Adding to the veteran core through the signing of Vrbata and Miller

(2) Adding transitional players in their mid/late 20s in Bonino and Dorsett

(3) Adding youth to the line up through Horvat, Vey, Sbisa, Kenins, Clendening, and Corrado (we can add Baertschi, but that's more forward-looking)

(4) Adding organizational depth with players in the 22 to 25 year old cohort through McMillan, Conacher, Sanguinetti and Pedan

(5) Fostering the development of players he inherited from the Gillis regime (Kassian, Markstrom, Gaunce, Shinkaruk, Jensen, Zalewski, Grenier, Biega, etc.)

(6) Having arguably one of the best amateur draft since, oh, lets say 2013 when Gillis picked Horvat, Shink, Cassels, Subban and Cederholm (maybe Liberati should be added, given the decent year he just had in the OHL)

Most of the things Benning has done listed above has benefited the team for this season and for the future. In retrospect, would the Canucks have been a better team today if Kesler and Garrison were part of the mix? Hard to say, because Kesler didn't want to be here and between Kesler and Garrison, the JB had the $10M or so to sign Miller and Vrbata, and say what you will, both of these signings are a big reason why the Canucks are in the driver seat in the playoff hunt and better positioned for the future.

The changes made by Benning were significant, but I wouldn't categorize them as elements of a re-build. The team should have a permanent "under construction" sign on it because year-after-year, there will be players that will be added and subtracted. IMO, for teams to remain fresh and competitive especially in the cap era, you need to add at least one to two players on an ELC or EL+1C to the roster every single season while moving out a player in their late 20's/early to mid 30s. Hopefully every addition will get the team closer to being a Stanley Cup champion.

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I'd say we are the darkhorse come playoffs. Our team doesn't have that cup winning factor but has proven before they can beat tough teams. Losing against bottom feeders only matters if you're fighting for the playoffs. Come play off time it's beating the tough teams that matters and they've proven before they can do that.

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Considering what the teams win/loss record was prior to last year before Xmas and this years stats, do you believe we are still in "rebuild" mode?r.

We are definitely rebuilding.

Acquiring projects like Baertschi, Vey, Clendening etc just proves that. Benning is preparing for the inevitable once the Sedins retire and hoping to have something to build around in a couple of years. That doesn't mean we can't stay competitive during that time frame though.

I myself am kind of on the fence. If we were trying to stay competitive, I would have liked to see more of our home grown prospects playing this year as we take a run at the playoffs in order to get them more experience. As it stands only Kenins and Horvat fill those roles as of now so I kind of wish we tanked, especially given the strength of this years draft + how great teams are this year on the whole.

If we

a. Make the playoffs and get wrecked

or

b. Just miss the playoffs

I will be extremely disappointed. We screwed ourselves out of both best case scenarios this season. High pick or decent run to (at least) the second round.

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