Is Alex Edler Peaking at 32?

[alfstonker]

54 minutes ago, Jester13 said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you a strong voice trying to run the Twins out of town before their contracts expired, tirelessly upset that we were gifting them whatever they wanted to the detriment of the team? Now you're on board with letting edler retire a canuck in the same way without getting assets in return for him?

 

You absolutely have been a huge Eddie supporter all these years, so a huge kudos to you. I was certainly someone who, although not very vocal, wanted to use Edler as a rebuilding tool to garner assets after some poor, poor seasons by him and the rest of the team, but to be fair, after 2011 Edler could've brought a mad return to help this team, so I don't think back then it was the worst idea.

 

However, I'm certainly on the Eddie train again. I really didn't foresee him having such a resurgence such as we're seeing now. I absolutely would love to resign him for the rest of his career, as it seems as tho our young guys have reignited a fire inside of him. It's wonderful to see him have options on the PP in Boeser and Petey. Lock him up, JB! (For a reasonable AAV, of course

When you put it like that you are sadly off the mark. 

I didn't "try to run them out of town" on the contrary I made quite a few posts asking for them to be respected. My point was the longer they stayed the more they harmed their legacy and their memory - and it was already beginning to happen.

 

Now to what I did say.

I said that the Sedins should not be renewed because their play was now too slow and it meant the team was split between two styles of play. I posted many stats to back it up. I also said when everyone else, was saying, where would their production come from, that it would be taken up by the players who were there or drafted in to fill their spots. Was I wrong?

I also said their lack of DEFENCE was hurting the team.

 

Anyway what have the Sedins, who thankfully have retired, got to do with Edler? There is no correlation other than I said Edler had the ability to read the Sedin plays and contribute.

Was I wrong?

 

March 12 2018

"Joe you speak as if we are a basically a "young" team boosted in age by the Sedins. We were not the last time I looked. Our age is above average in league. Taking the Sedins out will help get us younger but it will not plummet us down to being a team of "boys"

 

I see you are in the "output" camp. I assume you have read many of my posts showing how padded and one sided that output is so there is no point going over it again. Let me ask you this, where is that output when we need it. The Sedins look stale, old, washed up out there at present, they live for a PP where they know the extra man covers their defence but even on PPs  we have seen them land us in trouble with poorly executed passes others have had to attempt to prevent from becoming short handed goals.

 

Sadly we are not talking about the qualities that truly extend careers beyond 36 years old when talking about the Twins. They lack the inherent speed of Marleau, the strength on the puck of Jagr, the fight and physicality of Chimera or Hossa, the multi talents and feistiness of Kunitz, the speed combined with skill of Datsyuk or the all action leadership push back and scoring ability of Iginla.

 

Interestingly some of these players might not have been quite as effective in their dotage if they had been paired on the same line with a player of the same age and characteristics. I think it is the fact they now, as they have always done, insist on playing together that makes them less effective in real terms and more and more a liability."

 

March 8 2018

"Deb I defended the Sedins in the WD years when posters on here wanted them to pay the same price for their blunders as the prospects did i.e. healthy scratch etc. My reasoning at the time was that they had earned the right to make a few mistakes, the prospects hadn't. I must admit I did this in the full hope that they were going to finish at the end of their current contract.

 

However there is now a distinct possibility they will be back and imo that is a step too far, given that we are handcuffed to their "particular style of play" By that I mean we already have the means of playing fast exciting hockey with the players we now have and by promoting players further up the line we can give these players the chance to blossom. Players like Sutter, Loui, Granlund and Jake.

 

Are we really saying these lines would produce worse results than if the Twins were playing. I doubt it."
 

 

I also found this which is quite prophetic.

 

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Posted March 7, 2018

   On 3/7/2018 at 6:19 AM,  Brovat said: 

One more year. Let the kids over take them and let them break a record. Hopefully at 2x1 each or something as friendly. 

So in a scenario where say any 2 of Peterrsson, Gadjovich, Dahlen, Lind, xxxx (drafted or signed) are ready to be played in the NHL who are you scratching.

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[mpt]

1 hour ago, SingleThorn said:

The silent minority ( majority ? ) has always been there. Posters grew weary of refuting the same old garbage from the vocal 'negative ninjas', which will reappear as soon as we have a couple of losses in a row or AE has a bad game.

Sorry for not being completely literal with my words, I guess figures of speech aren’t applicable anymore.  Sorry for not being PC.  Most people don’t realize Edler has been solid for years.  Is that better and more literal?

[mpt]

2 hours ago, Pickly said:

His consistency issues are what he gets flack for. People are quick to point out the flaws in his game but fail to mention the good things he does. He’s as good a defenceman the Canucks have had this decade. 

He’s as good a defenceman this team has ever had.  He has consistency issues on this team.  However when he plays with good players, he’s been brilliant (i.e. every time on the world stage). Maybe like the Sedins he’s been treated unfairly by never giving him a quality top pairing linemate.

[SingleThorn]

1 minute ago, mpt said:

Sorry for not being completely literal with my words, I guess figures of speech aren’t applicable anymore.  Sorry for not being PC.  Most people don’t realize Edler has been solid for years.  Is that better and more literal?

Not too sure how to respond. Was not taking a shot at you !

[PhillipBlunt]

3 minutes ago, mpt said:

He’s as good a defenceman this team has ever had.  He has consistency issues on this team.  However when he plays with good players, he’s been brilliant (i.e. every time on the world stage). Maybe like the Sedins he’s been treated unfairly by never giving him a quality top pairing linemate.

Most players aren't capable of being world beaters for the full 82 games. Edler did mightily struggle with consistency issues a few seasons back, but those were also seasons of hockey in which Zac Dalpe was playing with the Sedins, and Matt Barkowski and Yannick Weber were manning spots in the top 4. 

 

Edler was being played to death, and had no real support on the defense (outside of Tanev) to help carry the load of both high minutes and being the team's preeminent physical defenseman. Now the defense has a greater physical element to it, and Green's system promotes defensemen jumping up in the play, Edler is thriving.

[Comeback_Kings]

Canucks need to resign Edler (4 years x 5 per).  I'd extend Tanev as well.  You can't replace these guys with late 1st rounders who may or may not work out in 3 years.  For every Boeser there is a McCann.  It's no longer worth trading Edler or Tanev.  The idea of this being a team that should tank is over.  I guess that means the Canucks contender window is now open for business.  It's an interesting challenge having a generational player in Pettersson.  We have to hope that what the Canucks currently have on the roster and in the prospect group will be enough, Markstrom and Demko can be solid enough and Benning and management can expertly tweak.   

[flickyoursedin]

Na it’s just a contract year!

[mayor MCcheese]

4 hours ago, 48MPHSlapShot said:

Defensemen have this weird tendency to peak at strange times. Giordano and Burns both come to mind in this regard, although this situation might be even stranger, seeing as how Edler went through a span of about 4 or 5 years being a shell of what he was before finally finding himself again somewhat last year and even more so this year.

 

There are a few other things to consider as well. Firstly, he did have back surgery in 2011. There is the possibility that this back injury has has some lingering side effects for the last several years and he's finally getting over it now. Pure conjecture of course, but if this is the case, there's no way we would ever know about it.

 

Also, it should be noted that this is the first time that the Sedins haven't been a factor. Now I love the Sedins to death and consider them to be the greatest Canucks of all time, but there's no denying that in their twilight years they were a pretty significant defensive liability, and considering how often Edler played with them, it stands to reason that he would be the one to half to deal with many of their defensive lapses. 

 

Just spitballin' a few things.

I think you've hit the nail on the head here. I'm in no way being negative about the Sedins, I love them to death, but they were never the fastest skaters, and they really slowed down the last few years of their careers. They just didn't have the foot speed to get back defensively on the rush, and the left the defence (primarily Edler) exposed. I think that's part of the reason he's looking  lot better this year.

[spook007]

1 hour ago, PhillipBlunt said:

Most players aren't capable of being world beaters for the full 82 games. Edler did mightily struggle with consistency issues a few seasons back, but those were also seasons of hockey in which Zac Dalpe was playing with the Sedins, and Matt Barkowski and Yannick Weber were manning spots in the top 4. 

 

Edler was being played to death, and had no real support on the defense (outside of Tanev) to help carry the load of both high minutes and being the team's preeminent physical defenseman. Now the defense has a greater physical element to it, and Green's system promotes defensemen jumping up in the play, Edler is thriving.

To be honest, I think Edler lost the will to live under Torts... All the crap talking to he had to endure, would have turned any saint in to a sinner... And from then on the whole team was kinda floating around....

Delighted to see so much support for Edler, he deserves it after all the crap, he has had to put up with.

[Bo fan]

I think if you dig back in the archives you would probably find a post where I said Trade Edler for a bag of pucks and throw in a years supply of sticks to seal the deal.  For the last 2 years I have regretted those words and have come to realize what an asset the man really is on the team.  He had a couple of rough years - the year under Torts was horrible and the one year - heck all the years with Willy D  were equally as bad.  Like others here have said - too much expected of him.  He has proven himself over the last 2 years how dependable he is - remember when he was out injured =- we couldn't wait for him to get back.

So respect your Edlers - hope Benning signs him to a 2-3 year deal at a reasonable rate.  We can't just throw Quinn to the wolves and hope for the best.

One thing that needs careful consideration in future plans is cap space - Petey  and Boesser contracts coming in as well as Hughes.  The other is the expansion draft  in Seatlle

[Phat Fingers]

7 hours ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

Hate to say it, but Edler traditionally does well in his contract year. 

It's an observation. Whether that really is a motivating factor for him, only Edler knows. 

I think Edler started doing well with Green.  His injuries have held him back...  no pun intended.  He may be playing to prove he deserves to.be here.  So what, isnt everyone else.  It's not like he has had much support over the last few seasons.  

[ruilin96]

Edler's offensive stats really depends on how good the best forwards are on the team. When the Sedins were in their prime, Edler's stats were great and when the Sedins decline, his stats suffered as well. Edler is a playmaker first, he never has more than 11 goals in a season in his career. Most of his points are assists. Now, we have Brock and EP as our best forwards and Edler, once again have elite forward to pass the puck to to bump up his assists total up again.

[*Buzzsaw*]

Edler will never be the player he was before his nearly career ending back injury... before that injury people were projecting him as a potential Norris candidate.

 

He could rush with the puck and skate much better pre-injury than after... and also he noticably toned down his hitting after the injury probably because his doctor told him the risks.

 

But now he is playing as well as he ever has since he recovered, and it probably doesn't hurt that it is a contract year.  But it is also the fact he hasn't been out with injuries a lot this year.  (crosses fingers)

 

He is a solid defenseman... not an elite #1, but up there with the league's top pairings.

[Tomatoes11]

We ruined his development plus injuries. We aren’t just a goalie graveyard. We are an everything graveyard.

 

If Niedermayer came here instead of Anaheim to play with his brother, I have zero doubts Edler would have been a superstar under his mentorship. That ship has sailed though and Edler is almost done. 

 

That’s why it’s very important we develop Hughes properly. Or else he regresses like crazy like Juolevi did. Hughes definitely needs something better than Edler mentoring him. The question is who? Salo mentoring Juolevi would have been better if Salo was still playing and not just his coach. Playing on the ice together would have made a huge difference. Like how Ohlund really helped Hedman before he retired from playing. 

 

We we need to sign a slightly past his prime star defenseman that can still play as a 4th or 5th defenseman and put him with Hughes. 

[Ghostsof1915]

2 hours ago, Tomatoes11 said:

We ruined his development plus injuries. We aren’t just a goalie graveyard. We are an everything graveyard.

 

If Niedermayer came here instead of Anaheim to play with his brother, I have zero doubts Edler would have been a superstar under his mentorship. That ship has sailed though and Edler is almost done. 

 

That’s why it’s very important we develop Hughes properly. Or else he regresses like crazy like Juolevi did. Hughes definitely needs something better than Edler mentoring him. The question is who? Salo mentoring Juolevi would have been better if Salo was still playing and not just his coach. Playing on the ice together would have made a huge difference. Like how Ohlund really helped Hedman before he retired from playing. 

 

We we need to sign a slightly past his prime star defenseman that can still play as a 4th or 5th defenseman and put him with Hughes. 

How did the Canucks ruin him? He played the first 49 games in with the Moose? 

Injuries yes. 

There was no way Niedermayer was going to play in Vancouver over his brother in Anaheim. 

[mpt]

10 hours ago, SingleThorn said:

Not too sure how to respond. Was not taking a shot at you !

I know you weren’t, but I still had to respond as if you were

[spook007]

5 hours ago, mpt said:

I know you weren’t, but I still had to respond as if you were

Wish a few of our players would respond the same way....

[Kevin Biestra]

I wouldn't say this is his true peak, but it's a renaissance that makes an impressive secondary career peak...  Kind of like, say, Ray Ferraro when he got to Atlanta.

[Topcheeze86]

Sign him!! 

[alt kilgore]

Its a tough call.

He's playing better this season than he has in awhile.  Is that all because Last Year of Contract syndrome?

That, as SlapShot pointed out, his defensive numbers declined as did the Sedin's speed to get back defensively, and now that we have a quicker team, they're up.

Also Green using him as the primary feeder to two legit snipers we have now on the PP helps.

 

But I give him credit defensively too. He has reduced his bone-headed plays. (MDZ and Poo have filled in those roles).  I'd say simplified his game, in a good way.

It used to be Tanev as the clear #1 defenseman when it came to actual defense.  Now that Tanev has declined a bit and Edler has elevated, they are now equals in that regard.

 

Another part of me says choose the head over the heart and go all Wally Buono on him.  Trade him now, BEFORE the sudden drop in ability. He's mid thirties. And, especially with his play this season, is valued by other GMs.  We could get a very nice piece to the puzzle for him. Or two.

 

On the other hand, we can't have all rookies and projects like Pouliot or undersized like Stecher, and I can't see Guddy or Hutty improving much more. Quinn only fills one roster spot.  Ideally we'd get back Tryamkin (minus the attitude). Then I'd be more comfortable losing Edler. 

 

I'd be fine with a one year contract, two at most. At a home team discount.  But I'd be equally fine to use him to getting one or two picks or high prospects.  Just no 4 or 5 year millstone contract please.