With an incredibly weak Pacific, Benning should load up for one more Sedin run

[Marriedtothenucks]

5 hours ago, Frazzy Desjardins said:

Let's see here ...

 

When healthy we look like this ...

 

Sedin Sedin Hansen

Shinkaruk McCann Sutter

Baertschi Horvat Burrows

Prust Cracknell Dorsett

Gaunce

 

Edler Tanev

Hamhuis Biega 

Hutton Sbisa

Bartkowski Weber

 

Miller

Markstrom 

 

Trade Higgins and Vrbata for picks, something tells me Hamhuis will re-sign at a discount. I think that team is capable of going on a cinderella run, while still maintaining asset management. 

 

Best of both worlds...

 

Am I being unrealistic?

 

 

Yes. 

Our d lineup is sad. These are the same guys who gave up a 3-0 lead to Calgary in our last game of the playoffs and lost how many 1 goal leads this year? We need at least 2 top tier defencemen.

If we trade Vrby for picks, who are we expecting to score playoff goals? I know he was a bust last playoffs but if we don't replace him with a scorer, do we just depend on the Sedins to carry us all the way? The kids aren't ready to carry this team in the playoffs. And let's not forget how well our secondary scoring was last year, it didn't mean much in the playoffs. I have no reason to believe it would be different this time around. We need a dynamic scorer who can produce come April. 

[Vanisleryan]

I am definitely not a tank it guy but I realistically see its not likely we make it very far if we even make the playoffs and going for it involves sacrificing picks and prospects....no thanks

[Riviera82]

A run at what exactly? The second round? The WCF? Surely you cant mean a cup. Any team from the central would crush us and if by some miracle they didn't, the eastern finalist probably would unless they were a cinderella team too. Nope, the Sedins had their shot and they had it with a much much better team, it didn't turn out then so why would it now? It would be foolish to sacrifice the future to give the Sedins what would be just a sliver of a chance.

[DownUndaCanuck]

After watching the Sedins and Edler have almost-career years, I hate to say it but I think we decided to rebuild at the wrong time. Everyone assumed our core would be old and rusty by now because of the Tortorella season that really threw things off, but our window is still open, Benning just slammed it shut with all these rookies playing.

To make a run you need as many players as possible in or as close to their peak as possible.

Judging on our play so far, we've got the Sedins still close to their prime, playing their best character/clutch hockey in a long time if not their careers.

Hansen is scoring at a career-high pace.

Alex Edler is scoring at a career-high pace.

Chris Tanev is probably in his prime right now and will be for a couple more seasons.

Sutter is still buzzing around his prime although not really peaking.

Last year was Vbrata's best season, he's still pretty close to it.

Sbisa isn't yet quite there but he seems to be on the verge of peaking.

 

That's about it so far. Burrows, Higgins and Miller seem to be well past their best years. On the flipside, Horvat, Virtanen, McCann and Baertschi are still years away from playing their best hockey. Hamhuis is a few years expired, Hutton isn't even close and our entire 4th line apart from Cracknell are past their prime.

 

It's a shame because the guys who aren't in their prime at the moment are quite replaceable and aren't really the "core". That "washed up core" that everyone's talking about are essentially the Sedins and Edler, maybe Hansen/Burrows/Miller as well but for the most part it's our leaders. We could have rebuilt around them and gunned for a Cup but it would have taken a LOT of trades.

[Pickly]

1 hour ago, DownUndaCanuck said:

After watching the Sedins and Edler have almost-career years, I hate to say it but I think we decided to rebuild at the wrong time. Everyone assumed our core would be old and rusty by now because of the Tortorella season that really threw things off, but our window is still open, Benning just slammed it shut with all these rookies playing.

To make a run you need as many players as possible in or as close to their peak as possible.

Judging on our play so far, we've got the Sedins still close to their prime, playing their best character/clutch hockey in a long time if not their careers.

Hansen is scoring at a career-high pace.

Alex Edler is scoring at a career-high pace.

Chris Tanev is probably in his prime right now and will be for a couple more seasons.

Sutter is still buzzing around his prime although not really peaking.

Last year was Vbrata's best season, he's still pretty close to it.

Sbisa isn't yet quite there but he seems to be on the verge of peaking.

 

That's about it so far. Burrows, Higgins and Miller seem to be well past their best years. On the flipside, Horvat, Virtanen, McCann and Baertschi are still years away from playing their best hockey. Hamhuis is a few years expired, Hutton isn't even close and our entire 4th line apart from Cracknell are past their prime.

 

It's a shame because the guys who aren't in their prime at the moment are quite replaceable and aren't really the "core". That "washed up core" that everyone's talking about are essentially the Sedins and Edler, maybe Hansen/Burrows/Miller as well but for the most part it's our leaders. We could have rebuilt around them and gunned for a Cup but it would have taken a LOT of trades.

Okay I kind of see where your going with this but let's be honest. One more shot? This core has had YEARS of opportunity to make another run. Face it, after last year's absolute nightmare vs Calgary it was time to nail the coffin shut and put an end to the years of disappointing playoffs and start over. Yes the Sedins are still playing well but at 35 you cannot expect them to grind it out in the playoffs and carry the team night in and night out. Haven't we forgot that as little as a few games ago Edler was coughing up the puck and making mental mistakes like they were going out of style, ala the Dallas game. A few points doesn't mean he's having a career year. Some folks around here have short memories and are blinded by the team stringing together a couple of wins and forgetting how awful the Canucks have played for the better part of the season and how badly they folded last season. Face the bloody facts, this team is nowhere near contending for a cup and not even a few trades can fix it. DUC you are a pretty good poster and I agree with you sometimes but man posts like this make me wonder sometimes...

[Frazzy Desjardins]

It would definitely be a CINDERELLA story, no one is saying we are contenders. I think it would be worth a shot.  I think Benning and the new scouting staff can draft talent no matter what the draft position. I see us being both sellers and buyers at the deadline if we can squeeze in a wild card spot. A first round exit is more than likely but it's better than tanking.

[billabong]

I think we can add and subtract and still make the playoffs for the sedins but not mortgage the future

like get good returns (at this point it's probably 2nd rounders and a mid level prospect) for vrbata and hamhuis. Send away prust for a 3rd rounder and maybe shop shinkaruk, Jensen, vey, baerschi and that 3rd rounder for a good defenseman or a rugged forward. I don't think there's much of a home for both baerschi and shinkaruk on the left side for the Canucks. 

 

[Bo.Horvat53]

I'm not 100% against it, but I wouldn't. It's just not worth it.

[apollo]

I'm 100 percent with you. 

ONE LAST RIDE! 

in all seriousness though, the Sedins will play like this until 38. Our window is open until then. 

[GB5]

I'm not sure how we can load up without trading all the picks and prospects that are in the system and thereby having absolutely no future at all. Besides, we don't have Raymond or Ballard anymore so we have no shot at landing McDavid from the Oilers.

Back to reality.......If the division is weak, bad or old and the Sedins stay competitive for a couple more years then our time may come sooner than some think.

[DownUndaCanuck]

51 minutes ago, Pickly said:

Okay I kind of see where your going with this but let's be honest. One more shot? This core has had YEARS of opportunity to make another run. Face it, after last year's absolute nightmare vs Calgary it was time to nail the coffin shut and put an end to the years of disappointing playoffs and start over. Yes the Sedins are still playing well but at 35 you cannot expect them to grind it out in the playoffs and carry the team night in and night out. Haven't we forgot that as little as a few games ago Edler was coughing up the puck and making mental mistakes like they were going out of style, ala the Dallas game. A few points doesn't mean he's having a career year. Some folks around here have short memories and are blinded by the team stringing together a couple of wins and forgetting how awful the Canucks have played for the better part of the season and how badly they folded last season. Face the bloody facts, this team is nowhere near contending for a cup and not even a few trades can fix it. DUC you are a pretty good poster and I agree with you sometimes but man posts like this make me wonder sometimes...

I'm not saying we SHOULD go all in for the Cup, that would be pretty damn stupid. I'm just saying that the Sedins and Edler are still damn close to their prime. Edler has had good and bad games all season long but he's still a game changer and he just broke open that Rangers game almost by himself. Credit to the Sedins but that was a perfect shot and perfect pass. Edler's still got it and it annoys me when people harp on one or two bad giveaways here and there. Plus he's quietly racking up points as well. He and Tanev have been the only stable thing on our defence all season long.

I think after the 2011 season we really could have gone one of two ways - go all-in again or slowly start to rebuild. The next post-season failure was pretty much it for the core and that's when the rebuild truly started. We could have been patient and tried one more season with AV and our core, but instead we started a full rehaul.

Right now we're watching the Sedins, Edler and sometimes even Miller show everyone that they've still got it and that they still want to win. Obviously we'd need a lot more help that management simply wouldn't be able to provide those guys, but I just think that the old adage that our core is ageing and on the downslide is completely false. Our core is still producing at the same rate they were two, three years ago. It's the secondary players who are declining. Higgins, Burrows, Hamhuis - those are the guys who aren't as good as they used to be. The twins, Edler and Miller are all fine for the most part.

I just think that if we had some really good secondary players, this team would be a contender right now - even with a 30 year old Edler, 35 year old Sedins and veteran Miller. That's the only thing costing us right now. If we had a true 3C and 4C instead of Horvat and McCann, and a couple of skilled 20 goal scorers instead of an ageing Burrows and Higgins, as well as a couple of solid top-4 defencemen instead of Sbisa and Hamhuis, this team would be a contender.

Core's not the problem, the secondary is and management opted to rebuild instead of change our secondary players for players in their prime. Not saying it's the wrong move, but it would have been interesting to see how good we would have been with some decent 2nd, 3rd line forwards and top-4 defencemen to complement our still-amazing core.

[Vanisleryan]

Lol these threads always pop up after an emotional win.  Reality check though stellar goal tending and goofy reffing won us the last game.  We didnt even muster up more than 7 shots in each of the first two periods and only managed 11 in the third due to a bunch of power plays.  This is not a winning formula. Ill check back on this thread after our 5 game road trip...if I can find it 10 pages back behind all the blow it up and fire the coach threads.

[24K PureCool]

Sedins will get one last shot at the cup here, but it will be in 2-3 years like many has said. Not this one or even next season (barring JB goes god mode and totally revamp the defense). Till then their primary job is to mentor the kids. The better job they do at this, the quicker they will get back to being contenders.

[Frazzy Desjardins]

Crazier things have happened. When the kings won their first cup they were quite the story themselves but look who they played in the finals?  A grossly over achieving Devils team that in my opinion had no business even being in the finals. Once you make the dance, anything can happen...

[CanadianRugby]

38 minutes ago, Frazzy Desjardins said:

Crazier things have happened. When the kings won their first cup they were quite the story themselves but look who they played in the finals?  A grossly over achieving Devils team that in my opinion had no business even being in the finals. Once you make the dance, anything can happen...

Yes if you have a Norris quality Dman (Doughty), one of the best gigantic 2 way centers in the game (Kopitar) and playoff players like Carter, Brown.. a giant tough team and Quick in net...  Then yes, anything can happen. 

[Monteeun]

6 minutes ago, CanadianRugby said:

Yes if you have a Norris quality Dman (Doughty), one of the best gigantic 2 way centers in the game (Kopitar) and playoff players like Carter, Brown.. a giant tough team and Quick in net...  Then yes, anything can happen. 

You kidding me...

We have the mighty Hutton. And the awesome Bo Horvat. And the tag teamers in Virtanen and McCann. With the added marksmen in Markstrom. Oh yea, and the man who speared Marchand.

[two drink minimum]

Its over. The organization and fans need to let go of the past and accept the inevitable. Look to the future

[Frazzy Desjardins]

13 minutes ago, CanadianRugby said:

Yes if you have a Norris quality Dman (Doughty), one of the best gigantic 2 way centers in the game (Kopitar) and playoff players like Carter, Brown.. a giant tough team and Quick in net...  Then yes, anything can happen. 

 

8 minutes ago, Monteeun said:

You kidding me...

We have the mighty Hutton. And the awesome Bo Horvat. And the tag teamers in Virtanen and McCann. With the added marksmen in Markstrom. Oh yea, and the man who speared Marchand.

ha ha ha... i was talking about the devils smart ass'

[Monteeun]

Just now, Frazzy Desjardins said:

 

ha ha ha... i was talking about the devils smart ass'

I was making a joke... Not to you.

[desiboynux4lifee*******]

lol one win over a rangers team and people are planning another cup run. Did you forget what this team becomes like in the playoffs? maybe go rewatch the Calgary series, or the Sanjose series, or hey the LA series? NOOOO maybe try the Boston series. Next, please change is needed big time and the Sedins' could be mentors but I'm sorry no way they can get a cup because teams know how to shut them down and who are you willing to risk for a shot at the cup? It's about building your team long term not short term, way too risky and hopefully Benning doesn't think like some of you.