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Silver Linings If You Want to See Them


Warhippy

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4 minutes ago, janisahockeynut said:

First of.....Pettersson was the best player in the SHL last year, and came over here and basically dazzled everyone here. He caught everyone of guard, and had a great first half. but now that the league knows who he is, and the second half of the season is tightening up before the playoffs, do you not feel he needs another top winger, who is a driver as well? I am not sure you will find that in the 15/16 ish OA spot. What are your thoughts on that? How do you get that guy?

I mentioned in my comment that the team's deficiencies need to be addressed in the off season.  I think adding a another top 6 FWD is one of them.

 

5 minutes ago, janisahockeynut said:

 

Secondly, and I sure hope your right, but what if Hughes comes in and isn't what you think he will be? What if it takes a year or 2?

That could very well happen, which is why I regarded it as a 'silver lining' if he can jump in and make an impact right away.

6 minutes ago, janisahockeynut said:

I think there is a lot more work to do before we are a contender, and I am having a hard time seeing exactly what you see...……….you seem to be thinking best case scenario??

Not sure I said anything about the team being a contender.  I do think the team needs to keep tweaking the roster and have the young guys get better n(they have to).  I think when you look at CGY and how they built their team it really started with Gudreau/Monahan.  Of course Gio is a difference maker as well but they havnt needed to draft high to rebuild their team.  I think the Canucks do have the right pieces and just need to keep adding to them along with development of what they already have.

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Good post, Warhippy.

 

I'm glad more threads with positive angles are surfacing. With the amount of slags & arrows from naysayers(mostly emanating from East), it's hard to resist for us long-timers, to not revel in the team's 2018-19 progress.

 

In your first sentence you'd alluded to our(many of us) early hopes for a HIGH 2019 1st rounder. I figure us unwashed masses now don't even care so much about that . LOOK at all the various slots/rounds JB & Brackett have unearthed gems..Hell, it don't seem to matter!

 

With this reality, & the fact that we're hosting the draft shindig, I simply hope we'll accumulate 10-12 picks(anyfreeken round, eh?!) to entertain the diehards that turn up, taking in JB's magic show.

 

Let's all enjoy these last 30 games like gambling at the Bellagio with 10,000$ of house money!

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4 hours ago, *Buzzsaw* said:

 

Baertschi is a big loss...  Typical Canuck-luck... he would have been a 20 goal scorer for the team this year and 40-50 pts except for the dirty hit on him.

 

Edler missing is also a huge hole... more Canuck luck... where else have you seen someone's stick get caught in another guys skate and the guy with the skate is not the one to go down?  Combination of Edler being off balance and him not expecting it.  I too think he will be out 2-3 weeks.... critical for the team's play.

 

 

I have a feeling Baertchi might be out for good, like gone from the league. When you miss 30 games from a concussion it's obviously pretty serious. He may have a brain injury like what happened to Derek Dorsett or even Eric Lindros back in the day. Being out again because he still doesn't 'feel right' just sounds foreboding. Obviously I hope that's not the case. Baertchi is a talented player with a ton of potential and he makes our team better offensively.

 

Edlers injury was so random. I hate to be a negative Nancy but I wonder if Edlers knee buckled and gave out on him when he was twisting awkwardly and that's what caused him to fall so hard. They put a brace on his leg when he was on the stretcher so obviously he mentioned it was injured. No mention of it after the fact so maybe it was nothing but I just have a feeling he's going to be out longer than a week or two.

 

4 hours ago, HerrDrFunk said:

I'm utterly content to see the team stay the course and let the chips fall where they may when it comes to the playoffs. It's good to have the Canucks playing for something this late in the season for the first time in 4 years.

 

Also, no matter what happens, at least we ain't Edmonton!

Please for the love of God do something about Pouliot. Bench him and let Beiga play if you have to! That guys a liability every time he is on the ice and he doesn't belong on the power play. Ever.

3 hours ago, xereau said:

I'd rather see this team fade down the stretch,  than ride the bubble, be tempted to buy at the deadline, and either squeek in or just miss.  Its is not what we need.  The chase has up until now been good for the young guys, and we can be thankful for what the team has shown us so far.


We are what, 55 games out from the Sedin era?  That's 55 games into the real rebuild.


We need another year, at least, of high picks, highly focussed on scoring wingers and depth D.

It would be good experience for the young guys though even if it's one and done. Getting a feel for what playoff hockey is all about will make them better down the road. I'm also not sure how many seasons Petterson would put up with not making the playoffs before requesting a trade. Obviously he is in it to win it, not to play golf in the spring.

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1 hour ago, SILLY GOOSE said:

I mentioned in my comment that the team's deficiencies need to be addressed in the off season.  I think adding a another top 6 FWD is one of them.

 

That could very well happen, which is why I regarded it as a 'silver lining' if he can jump in and make an impact right away.

Not sure I said anything about the team being a contender.  I do think the team needs to keep tweaking the roster and have the young guys get better n(they have to).  I think when you look at CGY and how they built their team it really started with Gudreau/Monahan.  Of course Gio is a difference maker as well but they havnt needed to draft high to rebuild their team.  I think the Canucks do have the right pieces and just need to keep adding to them along with development of what they already have.

I was more so looking for your thoughts to my comments SG

Didn't mean to sound rude...…..

I re-read your post...….gotcha…..

Sorry!

 

I really want Benning to after Mark Stone...….he is a power forward, a driver, has a 200 ft game, is a big guy, and a goal scorer, and fast...….he is absolutely perfect

for Pettersson and he is after all that defensive and has a great Take away to give away ratio...…..if we are going to over pay for someone...that is who I would like....

 

As for our Defense...…...I wonder with Hutton playing so well, if a top 4 line up of...………..

 

Edler      Hughes

Hutton    Tanev      Stecher

 

Would it be sufficient enough for the short term (2 to 3 years) until

 

Juolevi     Woo............….get some time under their belts

 

Benning needs to still be filling the coffers with defensive picks, at every chance, but I am pretty aggressive in my thoughts and how we do that

(for another time)

 

Again, my apologies

 

 

 

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completely agree with every word, every sentiment.

 

the only thing I might add is that I feel Edler and to a lesser degree Hutton and maybe even Roussel have also been big parts of the successful season

 

all in all, I'm ecstatic with how things have progressed, and am happy to pick top ten again. 

 

proud to be a nux fan again

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5 hours ago, Warhippy said:

Let me preface this by saying first and foremost up until as recently as December I was and still kind of am on team do bad this year.  I've been loud and long winded about my belief that this should be the last year we draft highly before truly starting to make consistent pushes for the playoffs.  That being said

 

The play of Pettersson and Markstrom have essentially propelled this team in to playoff contention.  Not cup threats but they look like a playoff team more often than not.  I don't think anyone expected Markstrom to play like he has this consistently.  He's shown flashes but not for this long.  It's bloody impressive and he's kept us in some serious games we've not had the right to be in with some stellar netminding.

 

Petterson, little known fact but last I checked Petterson was directly the cause of or involved with 13 game winning goals.  Assists, playmaking or the ultimate game winning goal scorer. Without him this team is essentially 13 to 26 points back from where we are now in some sense.  Obviously someone else may have or could have stepped in and some of those games have been won by 2 goals or more.  But he's the direct cause or reason why we've won 13 games.

 

Now, the bad

 

Edler, that brutal impact makes me feel like if he has no broken bones right now the guy is still out for 2 weeks or more with concussion issues.  That was cringe worthy really, like watching Kelly hit the ice on Long Island way back when.  We are without our leading defenceman who was having a renaissance year.  Be it two weeks or 2 months his loss won't be made up easily if at all.

 

Baertschi.  A top 6 scorer.  We're without him as well for who knows how long.  We obviously managed to do ok without him but...scoring outside of Pettersson/Boeser hasn't really been exactly plentiful.

 

Demko, well...not sure exactly what the story is but he was out, DiPietro got called up.  As of writing this I am unsure if he is a long term callup or if Demko will be ready soon.

 

This team is as close to 14th in the west as it is to 7th.  3 points either way.  With a -12 goal differential it could go either way
 

Here is the silver lining part

 

This team with it's current injuries essentially ties Benning's hands for trades.  Adding is pretty much unlikely as it would cost to much of the depth he's worked to collect, the draft is in our barn so we won't be giving up picks that mean much and aside from a 1-1 hockey trade (sutter) I'd imagine he's willing to let it ride (check back in 3 weeks) with what this team has on the roster.

 

I fully anticipate with this current stretch of games missing our backup, missing our #1 D, missing a top 6 scoring threat that we will slide in the standings.  Which is a shame as this team was really heating up.  But another top 10 pick will not be the worst possible thing will it?  There's some gems in that top 10 this year to garner.

 

The best thing about this though is the call ups.  Whether they get to play or not.  DiPietro coming up with Brisebois is a blessing in disguise.  It forces the team to check what and who they have in the wings and gives the kids a real shot at getting a taste of the NHL, practicing with the big club and learning how tough the game at the pro level really is.  Sautner, McEneny, McEwan all still call up possibilities too

 

All in all as bad as things seem, this is the first time in a long time there is no pressure on the team to succeed.  There is no downside to losing either.  This team is currently in the best possible position it could be in for both development and overall season success.  They've already wildly overachieved and could still slip in to the post season.

 

So all in all, it really isn't that bad is it?

 

TLDR;  Wining or losing is no big issue, no pressure on the team to do either.  Losing Edler/Demko/Baertschi means no kne jerk trades, call ups get a chance to play or practice with big club, likelihood of top 10 pick is far greater.  Team is in best position in essentially forever (or 2009/2010)

Thing is, you can't always plan when your team is going to start getting better (or worse).  That they started getting better results this season is what it is.

 

For me, it is all about development.  Playing meaningful games down the stretch is great.  If they make the playoffs, it'll do wonders for development.  If they don't, they'll get a better draft pick and a shot at the draft lottery.

 

FWIW, Ed Willes spoke with Benning today and he plans no reaction trade wise to recent events.  I can see that moving Edler for picks would leave a giant hole in the back end which we are seeing today.  It's great that Hutton stepped up and played a good game last night but we'll see how long he can keep it up.  28 mins is an awful lot of ice.  It's also great that there may be opportunities for some of the younger players like Briesbois but for the greater good of the team, we need health.

 

 

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If Tram comes back I'll be shocked. 

Woo I think is the real deal. We will see him sooner rather than later. 

Hughes I think has the hockey IQ that even if he struggles a bit he will be better than Stetcher.

Juolevi, unless he has a monster training camp, I see him 1/2 a season at Utica next year and gets a mid-season call up. 

 

Stay the course. Build from within. 

(Try and get a late round first and draft Nolan Foote! And draft Matthew Robertson from Edmonton, 6'3" LD defence man. )

 

 

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1 hour ago, janisahockeynut said:

I was more so looking for your thoughts to my comments SG

Didn't mean to sound rude...…..

I re-read your post...….gotcha…..

Sorry!

 

I really want Benning to after Mark Stone...….he is a power forward, a driver, has a 200 ft game, is a big guy, and a goal scorer, and fast...….he is absolutely perfect

for Pettersson and he is after all that defensive and has a great Take away to give away ratio...…..if we are going to over pay for someone...that is who I would like....

 

As for our Defense...…...I wonder with Hutton playing so well, if a top 4 line up of...………..

 

Edler      Hughes

Hutton    Tanev      Stecher

 

Would it be sufficient enough for the short term (2 to 3 years) until

 

Juolevi     Woo............….get some time under their belts

 

Benning needs to still be filling the coffers with defensive picks, at every chance, but I am pretty aggressive in my thoughts and how we do that

(for another time)

 

Again, my apologies

 

 

 

Hey no need to apologize- I didnt know you wanted my perspective on your thoughts, so here goes:

100% on Stone.  My second choice Ferkland, then Silfverberg.

 

Hutton has stepped up during both Edler injuries.  I think he's showing he can play big mins and when paired with Stetcher they really are an effective pair.  I think they can be a solid pairing.  IF Hughes (oh god please) can form a solid pairing with Tanev then Edler/Guddy can probably make it work and be that big tough pairing as well.  

 

I do hope JB tweaks the rsoter in the off season and is able to move Gagner and Schaller for a couple of picks at this year's draft.  If the Canucks managed to move Sutter for a young C they can play in Utica and bring Gaudette up for next season that would be a great move (imo)!

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18 minutes ago, SILLY GOOSE said:

Hey no need to apologize- I didnt know you wanted my perspective on your thoughts, so here goes:

100% on Stone.  My second choice Ferkland, then Silfverberg.

 

Hutton has stepped up during both Edler injuries.  I think he's showing he can play big mins and when paired with Stetcher they really are an effective pair.  I think they can be a solid pairing.  IF Hughes (oh god please) can form a solid pairing with Tanev then Edler/Guddy can probably make it work and be that big tough pairing as well.  

 

I do hope JB tweaks the rsoter in the off season and is able to move Gagner and Schaller for a couple of picks at this year's draft.  If the Canucks managed to move Sutter for a young C they can play in Utica and bring Gaudette up for next season that would be a great move (imo)!

My list is a little bigger than your list...…...Sutter, Granlund, Schaller, Pouliot, and Gagner 

 

Now, I don't honestly think we get a lot, but Sutter to Mtl for a 2nd, Granlund to Phili for Lehtera + 3rd, Schaller to NYI for a 5th, and Pouliot for Orpik + 4th, Gagner to ?????...etc are all deals I would like to see happen this year

 

Just about all to clear room for our prospects, and maybe an upgrade....Lahtera and Orpik both come off the books at the end of the year, and it clears 8.7 M off our books

With the draft in Vancouver...it would be a hoot and a buzz, and at absolutely no loss to us, IMO

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While playoffs would be great, I think they could also give a false sense of arrival.  We are on pace for 82-84 points and are talking playoffs.  Those two things should not be in the same conversation.  This year is strange and making the playoffs this year could give ownership the wrong idea about how far we are in the process and that could actually hurt us next year when you need 95 points to get in like normal. 

 

The real issue are: 

-- I hope Edler gets better fast, like him as a player and don't wish that kind of accident on anyone

-- Wish Demko was healthy to get playing time.

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I was also thinking that we would need one more top 10 draft pick to complete the rebuild. As it stands, we don't have any elite winger in the system (Boeser is the only elite winger). This draft was to address that need, especially if we win top 2 pick (Hughes or Kakko would be awesome). I would not have been disappointed if we finished low in the standings as long as EP, Bo, and Brock make progress.

 

We all agree that EP is the difference maker that puts this team in the playoff contention. But from what I have seen, the team plays a lot stronger game when Baer is in the lineup vs when he is not. Baer is not elite, but he is a top 6 scorer who plays well defensively and does his job in the corners and near the boards. And more importantly, Baer helps to alleviate a lot of pressure off of Goldy and as such, I noticed Goldy seems to play a lot better when Baer is also in the lineup. Baer brings so much balance into the lineup.

 

But with Baer absent again and now with Edler, our #1D, out for at least 2 weeks, I'm pessimistic about our chances of making the playoffs but because I was hoping for a high draft pick, it does not make me disappointed like when Salo went down to injuries during cup contending years. 

 

I think the management owes it to the guys to let the players determine their own fate. We shouldn't trade for rental assets just to make the playoffs nor should we sell assets just for the sake of asset management (e.g., Tanev and Sutter). If we make the playoffs with what we currently have, that's going to be a great confidence boost. If we don't, we will get a top 15 pick. 

 

 

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12 hours ago, SILLY GOOSE said:

If the Canucks managed to move Sutter for a young C they can play in Utica and bring Gaudette up for next season that would be a great move (imo)!

Whether it's this TDL, or more likely summer/next year, I'd almost prefer to see if we could package Sutter + one of Goldy/Baer (maybe with some retention on Sutter) for an upgrade at LW.

 

Get another C or D at the draft.

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If our luck changes at the up coming Lotto Draft  and the Draft here this year,that my friends will be the SILVER LININGS Mr. Benning needs to rebuild an honest to goodness championship team.

Big fast defense,and a few extra snipers, will be just what us fans will be thrilled to watch.

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Just now, DarthMelvin said:

I would argue that Stecher is our number 1 D man.  Yeah I sed it...:emot-parrot:

I think Stecher and Hutton are showing they have the potential to be a great second pair.  Hughes, and whomever he's partnered with, will be our number one pair. 

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13 minutes ago, DADDYROCK said:

If our luck changes at the up coming Lotto Draft  and the Draft here this year,that my friends will be the SILVER LININGS Mr. Benning needs to rebuild an honest to goodness championship team.

Big fast defense,and a few extra snipers, will be just what us fans will be thrilled to watch.

You'd think with all our lotto (bad) luck thus far that we're due for some good...

 

I'd be perfectly fine if CHI (and STL) continue to make a late surge and between them, MIN and maybe COL, have two of them grab those last couple wildcard spots. We finish +/- 10th last and finally nab even a 2nd or 3rd OA pick after moving up at the lotto for once....sweet justice IMO and would be great for also hosting.

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18 hours ago, xereau said:

I'd rather see this team fade down the stretch,  than ride the bubble, be tempted to buy at the deadline, and either squeek in or just miss.  Its is not what we need.  The chase has up until now been good for the young guys, and we can be thankful for what the team has shown us so far.


We are what, 55 games out from the Sedin era?  That's 55 games into the real rebuild.


We need another year, at least, of high picks, highly focussed on scoring wingers and depth D.

The only players we have from the 2011 cup run are Tanev and Edler. The rebuild really started when we traded Schneider, but it was more of an attempted retool at the time. 

 

@Warhippy this is a very good analysis. 

 

I’ve been on team rank for a long time, but I don’t know how necessary it is to get a top 10 pick over 20th overall. Boeser was taken 23rd, so Benning can definitely pick from lower in the draft order. The only issue is, the place we pick will determine when we start to be competitive. If we pick top 5, they’re more likely to slot in right away, however, after that we’d need another year. My biggest concern with this is cap implications. Petterson is due for a new contract next summer, I believe. While he is deserving, we’ll be in a tight spot for getting extra help. 

 

Look at the Wild. They signed Suter and Parise to huge identical contracts and while they’re one of the only teams to be in each of the last 5 playoffs, they haven’t made the third round. I’m not saying that they were horrible acquisitions, they weren’t, but the Wild won’t be cup favourites like the Maple Leafs (Blegh), Lightning or even Calgary at this point. 

 

With high cap hits towards, BB6, Hughes and EP40, we have a small window of opportunity for when we’re really competitive. I say make it one year longer, get a top five pick (Hughes if first, Kakko if second, or Byram any lower) and sign a positional need (Ferland, even Chara if he doesn’t resign or retire) and we have a few more competitive years

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23 hours ago, Warhippy said:

The play of Pettersson and Markstrom have essentially propelled this team in to playoff contention.  Not cup threats but they look like a playoff team more often than not.  I don't think anyone expected Markstrom to play like he has this consistently.  He's shown flashes but not for this long.  It's bloody impressive and he's kept us in some serious games we've not had the right to be in with some stellar netminding.

Definitely the play of them has had a huge impact but how bad other teams have been this year is monumental. Several teams in contention, all under .500 which usually is around 25th, have had extended losing streaks, Anaheim has had two wins this year and are only 3 points back with games in hand.

 

To see the young guys, EP, JV, BH and BB taking over the load is great and they are carrying it as well as they can even JV is starting to be the driver on his line.

 

The Canucks will have 8/9 players 30 and over under contract next year and at some point they need to be replaced with younger players before their contracts run out otherwise most are around until 2022 which could mean 4+ years of mediocrity because LA, ANA and Edm decide to rebuild/re-tool, that will almost gift a playoff position for 3+ years and result in 16 to 20's draft positions, which Benning has stated rarely do those picks make a difference or the NHL. Mediocrity would also encourage trading away the future and spending unwisely trying to be better and still have multiple players over 30 plus being small.

 

Benning stated he will not trade the future for now, that is great news BUT what about trading assets (older) for the future, these players need to be replaced anyway.

21 hours ago, SILLY GOOSE said:

I think the silver lining for me is for the Canucks NOT to bottom out.  The players deserve to go out on a high note and fight for a playoff spot right to the end.  Go into the off season with a bit of a carrot to train for.   The deficiencies of this team need to be handled in the off season.  Im not too worried about where the canucks pick this year as itll likely be a long term pick anyways. 

 

Quinn Hughes stepping in and being an impact player right away actually might be a damn nice silver lining tho

No matter where they finish most will know next year will be better if they get another top pick, a lot of the vets are on retirement contracts so they are not worried about being bumped.

Every game should be a "meaningful" game from game 1 to 82, the only difference is the willingness to get injured to win. If the only "meaningful games" are playing in February and March, they must be selling a substandard product before then.

The real silver lining is IF this team gets two more really, really good draft picks they are only that far from being really, really good. That is the remainder of this season and just one more and next year they could be playing more rookies for experience.

 

It is great to see the light at the end of the tunnel could be only 15 months away, the end of the rebuild, 7 top draft picks being the core for 10+ years.

 

 

 

 

 

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