PhillipBlunt Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Alex Edler has been considered the Canucks best defenseman by many within the world of hockey, most notably team president Trevor Linden. He has all the tools (size, a hard accurate shot, excellent passing) to be easily considered in the upper echelon of NHL defensemen. However he also has moments (sometimes many games) where he plays as if those aforementioned tools are completely absent. He folds like a cheap suit in the defensive zone, looks lost in the neutral zone, and has issue holding the puck in the offensive zone. Many fans, myself included, have derided Edler for his horribly inconsistent play and boneheaded passes that result goals against. He has been the topic of trade rumours galore. And then the Canucks take on the Rangers. And Edler comes alive and dominates. When he plays a game like he did against New York, he becomes a total steal of a contract. He was defensively responsible, neutralizing the Rangers attack, and a constant threat in the Ranger's zone. He was every bit the top defenseman that some claim him to be. But the fact is, as proven by seasons past, he will follow that game up with a few more decent showings and then he'll be back to inconsistent, sloppy play again. Why? Some say that he is playing above his pay grade, but when he plays like he did against the Rangers, I call horse manure on that claim. Some say he is still reeling from the back injury he sustained in the past. Again I point to the Rangers game and how he handled his defensive assignments, and call BS on that one. I think the team would be smart to invest in some counseling or psychological testing for Alex Edler to get to the heart of what his consistency issues are.. And for the life of me, I don't understand what his issues are. Is it motivational? What was it about the game against the Rangers that made Edler elevate his game to near elite status? How does Lidster tap into that? Why can't an adult male nearing 30 years of age be motivated enough to show the league how great a defenseman he can be on a consistent basis? Mods, do with this what you will, but I thought that maybe a less biased discussion on the enigma of the team's defense wouldn't be such a bad idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOMapleLaughs Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Nothing wrong with him, just needs more offensive support. If there was anything I'd change with his game it would be his speed. Increase it. Applies to most of the team though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillipBlunt Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 Just now, TOMapleLaughs said: Nothing wrong with him, just needs more offensive support. If there was anything I'd change with his game it would be his speed. Increase it. Applies to most of the team though. Rocket packs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aGENT Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 There's no one silver bullet answer IMO. -If he was more consistently 'good' Alex, he be a lot closer to a #1D than the #2 he is (and paid accordingly). -If he had a more complimentary partner, he'd be able to play his game to higher potential. -Related to that^, if we had a true #1, he'd have far less pressure and expectations and force him to 'play above his pay grade' and likely be more consistent (or at least less noticeable when he isn't). -If our D core had anything resembling real top 4 depth/quality (it doesn't), he'd feel less pressure to play beyond his natural strength and over extend himself. He'd also likely play less minutes which would lead to less fatigue and mental errors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffraff Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 We've been waiting for edler to be what we think/want he can be since he became a Canuck. consistency separated the elite from the edlers. in our team he's top pair. in a contender he's second pairing. that is the edler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenman92 Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Choice F...He doesn't have the heart to play every shift. When Edler plays at the top of his game, he has the size, skating, shot, skill and physical play to be a top-10 defenceman in the NHL. The problem is, he rarely tries to play at that level, and thus, is a decent No. 2 or 3 guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillipBlunt Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 1 minute ago, riffraff said: We've been waiting for edler to be what we think/want he can be since he became a Canuck. consistency separated the elite from the edlers. in our team he's top pair. in a contender he's second pairing. that is the edler. But I have seen games where Shea Weber gets walked and scored on while he watches. I've seen Drew Doughty blow a pass out of the neutral zone, which resulted in a goal against. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffraff Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 2 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said: But I have seen games where Shea Weber gets walked and scored on while he watches. I've seen Drew Doughty blow a pass out of the neutral zone, which resulted in a goal against. Of course but they're not known for that. And really, those guys, especially doughty get burned occasionally aftermaking very aggressive and risky plays generally. edler gets burned attempting a drop pass for godknows what reason at his own blue line....for an example. It's not like edler is attempting these mind blowing hockey plays and getting burned. Lately he's been gettin caught just trying to make basic plays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillipBlunt Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 Just now, riffraff said: Of course but they're not known for that. But it does happen though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRussianRocket. Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 - 3rd leading scorer on our team behind the Sedin's. - Plays the most minutes out of anyone, more than 3 minutes than the next closest guy & 6+ minutes of total special teams time per game. - 17 points in 29 games, on pace for 48. - He's a #2 dman but our #1 dman because our defense sucks, and is doing a fantastic job. ...people that complain about him are delusional. Without him we are tanking no questions asked. Sure he makes the often redundant/frustrating/predictable play (drop pass) but whatever, people just like picking on him because they have nothing better to do. Despite what anyone says, Edler is the backbone to our defense. Edit: as for OP, there is no issue with Edler. Just an issue with people that complain and whine about him not acknowledging how crucial he is to our team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffraff Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 2 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said: But it does happen though. See edit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coconuts Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 8 minutes ago, J.R. said: There's no one silver bullet answer IMO. -If he was more consistently 'good' Alex, he be a lot closer to a #1D than the #2 he is (and paid accordingly). -If he had a more complimentary partner, he'd be able to play his game to higher potential. -Related to that^, if we had a true #1, he'd have far less pressure and expectations and force him to 'play above his pay grade' and likely be more consistent (or at least less noticeable when he isn't). -If our D core had anything resembling real top 4 depth/quality (it doesn't), he'd feel less pressure to play beyond his natural strength and over extend himself. He'd also likely play less minutes which would lead to less fatigue and mental errors. These are all good points, but the last one really stands out to me. With Hamhuis down he's going to have even more pressure put on him for the next while and I find his struggles tend to multiply when he's trying to do too much. He's got a great toolbox but one guy can only do so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillipBlunt Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 2 minutes ago, riffraff said: See edit Seen. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillipBlunt Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 4 minutes ago, TheRussianRocket. said: - 3rd leading scorer on our team behind the Sedin's. - Plays the most minutes out of anyone, more than 3 minutes than the next closest guy & 6+ minutes of total special teams time per game. - 17 points in 29 games, on pace for 48. - He's a #2 dman but our #1 dman because our defense sucks, and is doing a fantastic job. ...people that complain about him are delusional. Without him we are tanking no questions asked. Sure he makes the often redundant/frustrating/predictable play (drop pass) but whatever, people just like picking on him because they have nothing better to do. Despite what anyone says, Edler is the backbone to our defense. Edit: as for OP, there is no issue with Edler. Just an issue with people that complain and whine about him not acknowledging how crucial he is to our team. Actually I do think he has an issue with inconsistency. The difference between his last game against LA and the game against the Rangers is startling. It's like watching two totally different players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRussianRocket. Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Just now, PhillipBlunt said: Actually I do think he has an issue with inconsistency. The difference between his last game against LA and the game against the Rangers is startling. It's like watching two totally different players. Exactly, and that's the misconception people have and fail to realize. There's no issue that he can't play at top gear every single game. If he could he'd be a #1 dman but since he can't, he's clearly a #2 and people should be fine with that. Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthMelvin Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Lets not get to amped up he has had one good game in how many.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillipBlunt Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 5 minutes ago, Coconuts said: These are all good points, but the last one really stands out to me. With Hamhuis down he's going to have even more pressure put on him for the next while and I find his struggles tend to multiply when he's trying to do too much. He's got a great toolbox but one guy can only do so much. Question for you. Do you think that his mental lapses are more the product of being the victim of a defense lacking in depth or is it more of an internal issue? The Canucks had the same defensive depth against the Rangers as they did against other teams this year, yet Edler became the deciding factor against one of the strongest teams in the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillipBlunt Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 5 minutes ago, TheRussianRocket. said: Exactly, and that's the misconception people have and fail to realize. There's no issue that he can't play at top gear every single game. If he could he'd be a #1 dman but since he can't, he's clearly a #2 and people should be fine with that. Lol So he has the ability to play to the pinnacle at times, but has an issue with sustaining that pace. Okay. Now, my question is whether you believe it to be a personal limitation, or is it the team's defensive structure that hampers his ability to bring top gear on a more consistent basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillipBlunt Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 5 minutes ago, fwybwed said: Lets not get to amped up he has had one good game in how many.... Amped up? It's a discussion. Please try to bring something of a little more substance next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coconuts Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 3 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said: Question for you. Do you think that his mental lapses are more the product of being the victim of a defense lacking in depth or is it more of an internal issue? The Canucks had the same defensive depth against the Rangers as they did against other teams this year, yet Edler became the deciding factor against one of the strongest teams in the league. That's tough, as realistically it's probably a bit of both. This year I'd say it's more a victim of our lack of depth, our defense is gonna need a helluva effort going forward without Hamhuis. As for the Rangers game, sometimes players really step up and have great games. It happened for the twins against Chicago and likely did for Eddie against the Rangers. Could be him putting forth more effort, could just be one of those games where things went right for him and the team. I'd love for our coaching to be able to tap into that kind of effort more often, but it's hard to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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