The Flaw of this Team Does Not Lie Within Coaching

[Hank Moody]

At what point do we sit back and say "Okay, this isn't a coaching problem"? Listen, this thread is going to sound doom and gloom-like and we haven't lost the series yet, but these problems exist nonetheless.

Alain Vigneault carried us to two president's trophies and a Stanley Cup Finals berth. He now has another Presidents Trophy and Stanley Cup Finals berth under his belt in New York. Yet he couldn't win a series after 2011 in Vancouver. Why?

The Rangers are showing a heck of a lot of push back in this series against the Penguins when they go down. They showed a heck of a lot of push back last playoffs too numerous times down as well. Yet the Canucks couldn't show a single ounce of push back in 2012 and 2013. Why?

Let's take a look at some of the REAL problems with this team and what needs to change NOW.

1) The Sedins are not able to elevate their game in the playoffs

It's time we start looking at the Sedins as a factor that is holding back this team rather than "keeping us competitive". Daniel Sedin has 1 Goal and 6 Assists in the Canucks' past 10 playoff games. Henrik has 3 Goals, 7 Assists and 10 points. These are supposed to be our GO-TO-GUYS ! These are the guys that we are blaming our coach for not giving more ice time to, these are the guys that we are supposed to say "Okay well we're down a goal, let's put our game-changers out there and turn this game around." Our supposed "offensive" threats have combined for 4 goals in 3 years of playoff hockey! How can we not see them as the biggest problem hindering this team right now?

We spend hours (myself included) debating why we put in Linden Vey over Sven Baertschi and why Sbisa is paired with Bieksa and why McMillan is playing over Archibald or whatever but these things should not make or break a team in a series. Those are minor players, they are complimentary. We should not be fretting over complementary players when the real core, the true essence of our team completely disappears when the post-season rolls around.

Look at the last 2 minutes of the game last night. Whenever we play against the LA's, the San Jose's, whoever, we see them completely attack our net and switch on when they're down late in a game. They pepper our goalie with shots and give us a hell of a time to crawl to the finish line. Last night, I saw the Sedins cycling behind the net STILL looking for that "perfect pass" with a minute left to go in the game down by 2 goals! We need guys who can take the hits, take the punishment and muscle their way to the net. Pepper the goalie. Score some dirty goddamn goals! You can't always look for that amazing tip pass or tic-tac-toe play. Give the goalie hell!

When we need our TOP offensive threats to be our TOP offensive threats, they don't provide that for us. That's the true core of the problem. We shouldn't be debating about the Vey's and Baertschi's until our SEDINS are playing like they should.

Basically what i'm saying is this: Our top guys should be SO GOOD that we don't see it as the end of the world when our 3rd line doesn't look up to snuff.

EDIT: I'll say this - even though we lost the series, the Sedins made me eat crow during the last couple of games.

I will admit to that, they proved me wrong this series.

2) We scold and run out the players on this team who show passion and pain when we lose

Remember when Luongo went to the media and said "It was my fault" after we lost to Chicago? Remember him crying in front of the cameras? And we all sat here and said "Get over it, crying isn't going to get us this series back blah blah blah" and "He needs to stop being so damn emotional and letting his emotions get to him". Remember that?

I lost a lot of respect for Kesler when he demanded out, but now I totally get it. Remember the image of Kesler after we lost to the Bruins, sitting on the ice with his face inside his glove crying his heart out? Where is that emotion from the team we watch today? I'm not saying I want them to cry after losing in game 4, but I want to see SOMETHING from them that says "We gave every inch of our heart and body for this thing". I don't see it from anyone outside of maybe Horvat right now.

Kesler and Luongo crying? That's not weakness. That's a burning desire to win. Tell me, after a loss would you rather see Bieksa come out to the media all coy and cocky talking about "Ferland isn't a factor" or would you rather see a Kesler who would always wear his heart on his sleeve and admit to his faults? Same with Luongo?

Guys let's not forget in 2011, we were one half an inch to the left from Sharp's one timer from being bounced out in the first round after being up 3-0 in the series. Remember that? Who was it that came back and won that game for us? It was Roberto Luongo's save, and Alex Burrows' goal. When the Sedins went invisible in Round 2 against Nashville, who was it that carried us through that series? Ryan Kesler. The guy who wore his heart on his sleeve.

The Sedins, give them credit, dominated the San Jose series, but that was 1/4 rounds in those playoffs. It was the supporting cast of Burrows, Kesler, Luongo, and the rest of the guys that carried us throughout that playoffs when the Sedins were shut down for the majority of it.

These guys are the guys that play with passion and pay the price to win. Those are the guys you build teams around. And yet when Kesler wanted out because he was sick of the environment where the leaders of this team weren't willing to pay the price to win, we scolded HIM for it instead of taking a look at what he was trying to say to us.

There's no denying Kesler was the engine of this team in the playoffs. He was seemingly the only one who looked alive in that San Jose series. Do you remember that?

3) There has been a serious nosedive in accountability and leadership over the years

PLEASE READ THIS ARTICLE FROM 2011:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/canucks-keep-each-other-accountable/article570979/

"I don't think I've had more or less [communication with the players than in previous years] but I think they've had more [communication]between themselves," he said. "These guys right now are definitely taking the onus, and taking charge, and keeping each other accountable. They do it real well, obviously." (Alain Vigneault)

Both Sedin and alternate captain Ryan Kesler said the level of accountability in the Canucks room is far greater than in previous seasons. Kesler said the team doesn't relish closed-door meetings, but the Canucks leadership group has picked its spots appropriately, and nipped issues in the bud.

"It's a maturing thing," he said. "We've been together for so long, and every year we get more and more comfortable with each other, and we start holding each other more and more accountable."

When is the last time we saw anything like this emerge from the Locker Room?

The guys like Malholtra, Kesler, even the Sedins at that point, Luongo, Bieksa they were all holding each other accountable. There was a different AURA surrounding the team at that time. When one fell, the rest of the team picked him up by elevating their game.

They seemed focus that season. The interviews were full of accountability, putting the onus on themselves. Now, we have our leaders trash talking the other team saying they're not "relevant" and where is the accountability? The post-game interviews seem so dull, like they've packed it in before the series is even over.

We need true HEART AND SOUL leaders. Guys who LEAD BY EXAMPLE. Guys who tear their bodies apart in the playoffs and go down scratching and clawing. Where is that on our team right now? Who's playing that role? The Sedins? No. Lack? No. Our supporting staff..Bonino? Higgins? Give me a break.

4) We as Fans give very little to no edge to our troops when they're down. Including "Home Ice Advantage".

Take a look at the "C of Red". The Whiteout in Winnipeg. These are intimidating!!. They don't just "look cool" but they're intimidating! Last night when the building was rocking and our team was down I could just sense the frustration and the nerves of our team when that building got into their head. Believe it or not, they gave their team a MASSIVE edge last night. You HAVE to believe they did. It was an intimidating atmosphere and once the Flames scored a couple goals that building got BEHIND them and pushed that team over the top.

Look at the Jets. They lost the other night and went down 3-0 in the series. After the game, the entire building erupted into a "Go Jets Go" chant that was louder than anything i've heard at Rogers this year. THEY JUST LOST! Yet the fans got behind their damn team and said "Go get them next game we're not out just yet".

I went to a home game against San Jose in the 2013 playoffs and all I could feel was nervous and tense energy. You think that doesn't translate to the players?

We went down 1-0 early in the game and the building went completely silent. And stayed silent. Home ice advantage gone. Where the hell are we when we need our team at the top?

What happened to the days of waving our white towels after every break in the play? We used to have insane energy inside that building, what the hell happened?

5) We are a complete "Eggs in one basket" and "All the stars align" team

Why did we enjoy so much success in 2011? Because we had 3 lines who did their job well, consistently. The Sedins disappeared against Nashville, so the 2nd line took over. Malholtra (and then Lapierre), Torres, and Hansen were a crash and bang line that provided basically what Ferland is providing the Flames that has broken our team down now.

We didn't expect the Sedins to carry us. We didn't "hope and pray" that atleast one line that night would show up and "save" us that game. We expected each line to perform at their peak each and every night and they did.

We had bonafide top 4 defenseman as our 5th or 6th defensemen. We didn't have a couple fringe NHL'ers in our lineup. There were NO fringe NHL'ers in our lineup.

Our Canuck team now is FULL of question marks. "Will Bonino have a good or bad game?" "Is Higgins a 2nd line player?" "Is Sbisa a top 4 dman?" "Will Lack perform tonight?"

We count on all the stars to align just to beat a damn Calgary team. Let's start getting guys in here that can consistently perform and stop with the damn EXPERIMENTS!!! Lets please go after guys that we KNOW can perform!

6) We need more youthful energy

Plain and simple, we need more guys on this damn team that can turn on the wheels and energize. Look at Ferland, he's 22. Bennett's 18 (lol). Gaudreau's 20. Monahan's 21. Yet they're the ones DRIVING this series. Why? Because of their energy. We need more of that infused into this team.

Horvat is providing that right now but we need more of it. We need the guys that come in wide-eyed and get EXCITED TO PLAY, EXCITED TO BANG, EXCITED TO SCORE! Those guys also excite the crowd!

These are the core problems with this team. It's not the coaching decision to "start McMillan over Vey", its a steady trend of problems we've had for several seasons now and unless we open our eyes finally we will continue to see the same problems arise with this team, whether we come back and win this series or not.

/Rant.

[believeinblue]

Nailed it. Agreed with 100% you're saying and have especially believed in 1,2 and 4.

[TOMapleLaughs]

Short-term memory problem regarding 'blaming the fans' once again. Calgary and Winnipeg fans have gone without playoff hockey for quite a few years now. While we're currently witnessing the slow, inevitable decline of our team. You switch on-ice products, and you'll notice the fan reaction be switched along with the on-ice products.

From 2008-11, our fans were fantastic, infiltrating other teams' home arenas and trolling the league in general. Then the team peaked.

You'll find this pattern across the league and across sports in general. Do you remember Kings fans being so proud of their team back in the early 2000's? Hawks fans for decades before the Toews era? I mean, c'mon.

Time to realize that the fans aren't the problem.

All other points have validity, of course.

[aGENT]

In your own post you comment on Henrik being 1PPG in the playoffs and Daniel 0.7 over the last 10 playoff games and state they're part of the problem with a straight face?

The Sedins have not and are not the problem. They won't be the "problem" until they retire and can no longer contribute on the ice.

The depth (and in particular, quality of depth) you refer to in 2011 is exactly what we are still lacking now (though it's certainly better than last year).

Next season we need more youth/speed/skill/size in our top 9 (quality).

The D needs a MAJOR overhaul, particularly on the right side. Tanev should be on the second pair and Bieksa on the third or traded. We DESPERATELY need a legit 1st pairing guy, preferably with some combination of size, offense, speed and grit to play with Edler.

[Heretic]

I've been saying for ages that it's not the coaching.

Here's a great article from the Georgia Straight about the pressure the Sedins have to perform:

Pressure mounts on Henrik Sedin and brother Daniel to produce some firepower for Canucks in playoffs

by Charlie Smith on April 17th, 2015 at 9:23 AM

SHARED 102

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• Henrik Sedin was held off the scoresheet in Game 1 against the Calgary Flames.WILLIAM STEWART

It's usually harder to score in the grinding NHL playoffs than during the regular season. The Canucks discovered this again in their 2-1 opening-game loss to the Calgary Flames on April 15.

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As the teams prepare to square off tonight in Game 2 of their opening-round series, a big question remains whether Henrik and Daniel Sedin will play up to their potential this playoff season.

In 100 playoff games, Henrik Sedin has 74 points and is minus 15 at even strength. Brother Daniel has 67 points in 97 playoff games and is minus 11 at even strength.

In regular seasons, it was only in their rookie year that either was on the ice for more opponents’ goals at even strength.

To cut them some slack, it’s much tougher in the playoffs. That’s when the Sedins are often on the ice against their opponents’ best lines.

They remain fan favourites not only for their skill, but also for their basic decency and generosity. (In 2010, the twins donated $1.5 million to B.C. Children's Hospital.) But at playoff time, there's an expectation they'll produce on the ice. And in the first game against Calgary, the Sedins were repeatedly shut down on the power play.

The Sedins have many admirers in Vancouver.CHARLIE SMITH

Daniel Sedin didn't score on a six shots all night. And the team's best line until the final minute was probably the one centred by Bo Horvat with Ronalds Kenins and Jannik Hansen on the wings.

Canucks fans expect more after so many years of disappointments. As one of my colleagues told me, he's gotten sick of the team “$&!#ting on his head” every time it makes the playoffs.

If the Canucks lose tonight, that will be the 12^th loss in their last 13 playoff games.

Hockey disasters like that are often blamed on a team's top players, as Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf know all too well in Toronto.

Fortunately for the Sedins, the Canucks played well enough during the season that nobody is going to be showing up tonight at Rogers Arena with a paper bag over their head. And I doubt that we'll see any jerseys being tossed on the ice even if Vancouver loses again.

But another first-round playoff blowout could hurt season tickets sales for next year, which will infuriate the team's owners. It's one more reason why the pressure is on Canuck veterans to produce some goals tonight.

Follow Charlie Smith on Twitter @csmithstraight.

http://www.straight.com/news/433421/pressure-mounts-henrik-sedin-and-brother-daniel-produce-some-firepower-canucks-playoffs

[DarthMelvin]

In your own post you comment on Henrik being 1PPG in the playoffs and Daniel 0.7 over the last 10 playoff games and state they're part of the problem with a straight face?

The Sedins have not and are not the problem. They won't be the "problem" until they retire and can no longer contribute on the ice.

The depth (and in particular, quality of depth) you refer to in 2011 is exactly what we are still lacking now (though it's certainly better than last year).

Next season we need more youth/speed/skill/size in our top 9 (quality).

The D needs a MAJOR overhaul, particularly on the right side. Tanev should be on the second pair and Bieksa on the third or traded. We DESPERATELY need a legit 1st pairing guy, preferably with some combination of size, offense, speed and grit to play with Edler.

While stating we need Youth and speed skill and size and also state the Sedins are not the problem....is contradictory.

[aGENT]

While stating we need Youth and speed skill and size and also state the Sedins are not the problem....is contradictory.

No it's not. The Sedins make up 0.2222222 of the top 9. There's a whole lot of room for youth, speed, skill and size to compliment them.

[DarthMelvin]

No it's not. The Sedins make up 0.2222222 of the top 9. There's a whole lot of room for youth, speed, skill and size to compliment them.

I would prefer the Sedins ice time cut down and given to the real contributors of this team

[highconan]

I've always thought the main issue with this team was from the blue line. I think losing Ehrhoff hurt us way too much than we thought it would. Haven't been the same team since then. Not getting Lappy back was a mistake, as well. We could really use him in this series.

Sedins aren't the issue, IMO. I thought they looked effective last game, we just don't really have the firepower or size to match-up to this Calgary team, a team that is missing its best player still.

Was listening to 1040 this morning, and one of the comments was we really didn't want to play LA, but in all honestly, that's who were playing right now. I would have rathered an LA team, who wouldn't be nearly as desperate and hungry as this Calgary one.

[Mathew Barzal]

I just think it's a combination of our core being old and us not having enough quality talent in the pipes.

In five plus years what do we really have to show as far as top end talent making the bigs? Horvat, McCann and Virtanen are recent talents. Without them we have an ugly, ugly prospect pool.

Even if we do ship out our vets, we have NOTHING to replace them. We're headed for a major rebuild in 2-3 years. No avoiding it.

[aGENT]

I would prefer the Sedins ice time cut down and given to the real contributors of this team

Oh yeah, all the the other "real contributor" guys with ~1PPG playoff averages

[Guest Dasein]

No we just got unlucky with our injuries and our young prospects are a year behind Calgary's

I would rather that the series start at full health for both teams (Giordano, Diaz and Smid for Calgary - Richardson, Kassian and Miller for Vancouver) than right now because we have no answer for Ferland and their defense is playing well despite the monster minutes that they play

Horvat is a year younger and that much less experienced than Monahan. I can't wait to see what Bo can do next year

McCann at the same age is not the player that Bennett is, and rightfully so - Bennett was a lottery pick. However, McCann will be a solid player for us down the road when he is more developed

Baertschi is our Gaudreau, but he also needs time to build his confidence after having been mistreated in Calgary

And let's not forget Virtanen, Cassels, Gaunce, Shinkaruk, Jensen, etc all still developing as well

The Sedins are top 15 in this league, and we can do the rebuild around them so that these young players come up in a winning culture and get some valuable playoff experience so that when the Sedins retire, they can go on a run on their own without missing a beat

[Bure_Pavel]

Blaming the Sedins is pretty stupid they have been playing good in this series, they just have no secondary scoring which has been our problem for a couple years now, our second line is not good enough to compete. With burrows out and Vrbata on the first line our second line looks like Higgins- Bonino- Hansen! That's not going to win you a Stanley cup.

[Hank Moody]

No we just got unlucky with our injuries

I'm so sick of hearing this. Every year it's "we got unlucky with ________" "We got unlucky with _______"

GOOD TEAMS don't rely on "luck" to win. Luck helps them win, but if they have injuries they persevere through it. Plain and simple.

Look at Calgary. They don't have their TOP defenseman and yet their team is completely shutting our offense out.

Having Kassian and Richardson back wouldn't be the difference between being down 3-1 and being up 3-1.

[aGENT]

I'm so sick of hearing this. Every year it's "we got unlucky with ________" "We got unlucky with _______"

GOOD TEAMS don't rely on "luck" to win. Luck helps them win, but if they have injuries they persevere through it. Plain and simple.

Look at Calgary. They don't have their TOP defenseman and yet their team is completely shutting our offense out.

Having Kassian and Richardson back wouldn't be the difference between being down 3-1 and being up 3-1.

I see you ignored all the rest of his logical, valid points.

[Hank Moody]

In your own post you comment on Henrik being 1PPG in the playoffs and Daniel 0.7 over the last 10 playoff games and state they're part of the problem with a straight face?

The Sedins have not and are not the problem. They won't be the "problem" until they retire and can no longer contribute on the ice.

The depth (and in particular, quality of depth) you refer to in 2011 is exactly what we are still lacking now (though it's certainly better than last year).

Next season we need more youth/speed/skill/size in our top 9 (quality).

The D needs a MAJOR overhaul, particularly on the right side. Tanev should be on the second pair and Bieksa on the third or traded. We DESPERATELY need a legit 1st pairing guy, preferably with some combination of size, offense, speed and grit to play with Edler.

Let me ask you, what do the Sedins provide this team aside from scoring points ?

Do they intimidate the other team like the Bruins'/Kings top lines? No.

Do they forecheck hard and lay down the body? No.

Do they burn defenses with their speed? Nah.

They base their value on their ability to create and be creative. So when they don't do that, and the "top scorer" of our team has 1 goal in 10 playoff games, what value do they provide on a nightly basis?

Okay, sure, maybe I was wrong on a PPG basis but if the only thing you can do out there is score points you sure as hell better go out there and do just that when you're the top players on a hockey team.

[24K PureCool]

The day the Sedins are playing as the second line is the day we lift the cup. AKA in three or so years I expect to see a somewhat deep run.

[Jiggs50]

The biggest problems with this team is SPEED and SECONDARY SCORING. The same issues that have been plaguing us since the finals.

To top it all off, Willie is trying to reinvent coaching or something. It's a joke. Stick to basics.

[Guest Dasein]

I'm so sick of hearing this. Every year it's "we got unlucky with ________" "We got unlucky with _______"

GOOD TEAMS don't rely on "luck" to win. Luck helps them win, but if they have injuries they persevere through it. Plain and simple.

Look at Calgary. They don't have their TOP defenseman and yet their team is completely shutting our offense out.

Having Kassian and Richardson back wouldn't be the difference between being down 3-1 and being up 3-1.

Sorry but good teams always need luck to win

And that's precisely my point - their defense is able to withhold losing their top defenceman because they have a very good core, but we are unable to replace Kassian because he's one of a kind for us

This series would be very different if they had Giordano but did not have Ferland

Is Ferland better than Giordano? Hell no, but having Giordano only means that, instead of Engelland playing 20+ minutes, Giordano plays 30+ minutes, and Wideman, Russell and Brodie also still play 25+ minutes. That's it

However, imagine this series without Ferland - very, very different

That's the exact effect that we are feeling as a result of Kassian being injured

[Hank Moody]

I see you ignored all the rest of his logical, valid points.

Actually no, I thought a lot of his other points were valid and actually in line with a lot my own comments. They also weren't about this whole theory of "luck".

His Sedins comment I don't agree with, naturally.