Our RH-D's, Long-Term Thinking; & 7 D-men

[Nuxfanabroad]

Happy about today's win vs the Buff Slugs..that said, had a thread-notion last coupla' days, a few ideas about the title topic...

 

There are a few pertinent questions about our RH-D side, especially over the outlook ranging perhaps 3~5 yrs forward. I'll number some points for ease of reply.

 

1- Will we keep CT & Gud, long-term? For diff reasons, we can all assume these two would be fairly coveted in deals. Certainly Tanev would fetch a superior return. His value(to us) becomes increasingly apparent. Not only is he ultra-solid, but he turns a mediocre(or struggling LH-partner) into a suddenly-transformed, top-4 stud. Rival GM's aren't blind. What if they offer us something equal to say, two highly-rated 1st R talents? Do we decide a threshold that some GM may exceed, or choose to keep him irrespective, based upon how he settles the whole core?

 

2- One approach would be simply to commit LT to both Gud & CT, as they're such varied pieces, that would offer us(potentially) a decade of RH stability. Be nice if they signed Gud sooner, in case an amazing offer was ever received for Tanev(something too good to refuse).

 

3- If we decided that ^(2), does Stecher and/or Chatfield figure into the LT-plans? Should Tram ever return, is he destined to play LH-D? Is Subban trade-bait?

 

******************Playing 7 D-men********************

 

This is what I most wanted to discuss. Heard(last yr's thread..forget?) That Cooper of TBay often suits up 7D, often playing one as a fwd. We've seen Biega contribute nicely in this way.

So...

 

4- Would it make sense to train Stecher to be a (perhaps) 40/30-ish game hybrid? Where he'd play almost half the games as a fwd, & perhaps half as a D-man..basically pending health of the fwd/D-core, throughout each season. I'm suggesting they'd commit to the kid, long-term(perhaps NMC?) & assure him he'd see at least 90% of games each season.

He seems smart, dedicated & hard-working. The kind of skater that'd likely do whatever the team asked of him.

 

Be up front, & suggest with our RH-depth he'd likely be more valuable to us in a hybrid role. With his skating, instincts & competitiveness, I believe he'd be excellent at it too.NOTE: Not suggesting this immediately, as Bulldog does an admirable job..but maybe starting next season?(depending on the other RH-candidates)

 

Shorty mentioned last night, it seems the Canucks are reduced to 5D(in-game injuries, and/or bogus officiating) more than most teams. Early in games, it seems our D then get targeted for excess cheap runs. Additionally, they have a taxing sched, often loaded with lots of b2b's.

 

5- Maybe train TWO skaters for this? Also train a young LH-D to be able to capably contribute as a 4th line LW. You might also emphasize such a role for young PMD's who can play shifts as a winger, & perhaps the 2nd PP unit?

 

Of course you wouldn't suit both hybrids up in the usual lineup, but with injuries either of them would often be one of the night's 6D. In 3rd periods of games that aren't closely contended, you can use these minutes for skaters to get familiar with their alternate position.

 

Essentially suggesting we train 2 young skaters to be extremely versatile players. Is it worthwhile?

[smithers joe]

i hope to see juolevi and chatfield make this team in the next 2 years. juolevi in time to replace edler, and chatfield as the new biega. 

tanev is a steadying force with a young  or older d partner. maybe with juolevi.

gudbranson brings grit to our back end.

del zotto can log big minutes. 

hutton and stecher are all right until better d men come along. 

[Kevin Biestra]

Your notion of training someone to be a hybrid F/D sounds pretty well-suited to Subban if you want to try the experiment.  Seems like he's never going to set foot on the ice in Vancouver during a real game otherwise.

[JM_]

3 hours ago, smithers joe said:

i hope to see juolevi and chatfield make this team in the next 2 years. juolevi in time to replace edler, and chatfield as the new biega. 

tanev is a steadying force with a young  or older d partner. maybe with juolevi.

gudbranson brings grit to our back end.

del zotto can log big minutes. 

hutton and stecher are all right until better d men come along. 

there a few potential PP QB type D in the next draft so I think thats what Jim's going to pick next. I hope we can keep Guddy though. Chatfield as a utility guy like Biega is an interesting idea too.