The Half-Glass Full Approach

[Patel Bure]

The Half-Glass Full Approach
 

I’m going to be honest.   The loss against Columbus broke me as a fan, and I almost didn’t watch the game last night due to me not wanting to possibly see the Canucks lose.   The fan in me however, tuned in anyways and unsurprisingly, I felt even worse after the loss for likely the same reasons you guys felt (ie possibly missing the playoffs, blowing such a huge 9 point playoff cushion, possibly buying Toffoli for nothing, etc).    After having gone to bed with these thoughts however, I came up with the following thought:

 

If back in September 2019, someone had told you that in March,

 

1) We’d have ownership of the 1st wildcard spot.

2) We had Tyler Toffoli on the team (giving up the package that we did)

3) The NHL has had discussions about raising the cap between 84-88 million,

4) Gaudette, Virtanen, Motte, and Demko have grown their games.   

 

Would you have been excited by this news or saddened?  
 

I would have been excited.   So yes - we are in a slump right now, and we did piss away a huge playoff cushion, but at the end of the day, we are still very much in the thick of things as far as the playoffs go.

 

IF the Canucks can hang tight and get into the playoffs, we have two possible bonuses headed our way:

 

1) The return of Jacob Markstrom

2) The return of Brock Boeser

 

Which likely would make us a very formidable Playoff opponent regardless of who we faced in the West.

 

If the Canucks make the playoffs.......wonderful!   If not - it would suck obviously, but the expected salary cap increase will also greatly alleviate many of the cap concerns and issues that we originally thought that we would have.    
 

And above all else, at the end of the day, this is just a hockey and it’s a game.   We all have the luxury of living in Canada while supporting our team.  These are #FirstWorldProblems.   Look around the world right now and you see how many people are being affected by Covid19, etc, and it really helps put things into perspective with regards to how lucky we are. From a hockey standpoint we are even relatively lucky.  
 

-Leafs haven’t won a playoff series since 2002.

-Ignoring 2004, the Calgary Flames have won exactly one playoff series since their cup win in 89’ (and so they’ve won a grand total of 4 playoff series’ since 1989).

-The city of Winnipeg were without a hockey team for 15+ years.  
-Outside of 2006, a few playoff upsets during the late 90’s, and a 1st round victory over San Jose a few years ago, the Oilers have been irrelevant to the NHL since 1992 (up until this season).   
 

The Canucks meanwhile, have done everything these past 30 years *except* for winning a cup.  We experienced the “dark Messier” era from 1997-2000, and are possibly putting our current ‘dark era’ to rest.....and again, even if don’t make the playoffs this year, we have still shown progress......which is ultimately the most important thing.

 

So long story short - let’s count our blessings, be there for our team, and enjoy the fight and battle.  Good things are ahead for this team regardless how this specific season transpires.

#GoCanucks

 

 

[Arrow 1983]

4 minutes ago, DarkIndianRises said:

The Half-Glass Full Approach
 

I’m going to be honest.   The loss against Columbus broke me as a fan, and I almost didn’t watch the game last night due to me not wanting to possibly see the Canucks lose.   The fan in me however, tuned in anyways and unsurprisingly, I felt even worse after the loss for likely the same reasons you guys felt (ie possibly missing the playoffs, blowing such a huge 9 point playoff cushion, possibly buying Toffoli for nothing, etc).    After having gone to bed with these thoughts however, I came up with the following thought:

 

If back in September 2019, someone had told you that in March,

 

1) We’d have ownership of the 1st wildcard spot.

2) We had Tyler Toffoli on the team (giving up the package that we did)

3) The NHL has had discussions about raising the cap between 84-88 million,

4) Gaudette, Virtanen, Motte, and Demko have grown their games.   

 

Would you have been excited by this news or saddened?  
 

I would have been excited.   So yes - we are in a slump right now, and we did piss away a huge playoff cushion, but at the end of the day, we are still very much in the thick of things as far as the playoffs go.

 

IF the Canucks can hang tight and get into the playoffs, we have two possible bonuses headed our way:

 

1) The return of Jacob Markstrom

2) The return of Brock Boeser

 

Which likely would make us a very formidable Playoff opponent regardless of who we faced in the West.

 

If the Canucks make the playoffs.......wonderful!   If not - it would suck obviously, but the expected salary cap increase will also greatly alleviate many of the cap concerns and issues that we originally thought that we would have.    
 

And above all else, at the end of the day, this is just a hockey and it’s a game.   We all have the luxury of living in Canada while supporting our team.  These are #FirstWorldProblems.   Look around the world right now and you see how many people are being affected by Covid19, etc, and it really helps put things into perspective with regards to how lucky we are. From a hockey standpoint we are even relatively lucky.  
 

-Leafs haven’t won a playoff series since 2002.

-Ignoring 2004, the Calgary Flames have won exactly one playoff series since their cup win in 89’ (and so they’ve won a grand total of 4 playoff series’ since 1989).

-The city of Winnipeg were without a hockey team for 15+ years.  
-Outside of 2006, a few playoff upsets during the late 90’s, and a 1st round victory over San Jose a few years ago, the Oilers have been irrelevant to the NHL since 1992 (up until this season).   
 

The Canucks meanwhile, have done everything these past 30 years *except* for winning a cup.  We experienced the “dark Messier” era from 1997-2000, and are possibly putting our current ‘dark era’ to rest.....and again, even if don’t make the playoffs this year, we have still shown progress......which is ultimately the most important thing.

 

So long story short - let’s count our blessings, be there for our team, and enjoy the fight and battle.  Good things are ahead for this team regardless how this specific season transpires.

#GoCanucks

 

 

well said 

[RRypien37]

How about glass all the way full. This is a game, played for fun. It is ultimately meaningless and has no impact on the lives of anyone on these boards. 

 

Anyone reading this is most likely living in the first world and has an internet connection. That glass is alllll the way full. Hockey or no hockey. 

[Toni Zamboni]

[Bissurnette]

Many of us forget, that this is the first year the team was aiming for the playoffs coming out of a rebuild. Oh, and also we are STILL in a playoff spot. I made a post regarding getting rid of Baumgartner after the loss to Arz, and instantly regretted it.

 

Thank you for the very reasonable and calm approach. It is a much needed perspective on these boards. 

 

 

[189lb enforcers?]

War is Peace, etc. 

[MeanSeanBean]

This team is destined for great things. We are a very young team, and this is another bump in the road that the team has to overcome.

 

On the other side of this turmoil the team will be a better cohesive unit and have a stronger mental state to help prevent these slips and break downs from happening in the future. It takes money to make money, this team has already far exceeded my original expectations for this season and now I'm gonna cheer my hardest and hope they make the post season.

[250Integra]

To add to your list:

- Quinn Hughes leading the rookie scoring race (over J. Hughes, Kakko, Makar, etc) with 52 points and 16 games remaining

- Jacob Markstrom as a potential Vezina candidate

- JT Miller with a career year and leads the team in scoring (over ppg)

 

Also, the team is where they are despite missing Leivo and Ferland for the majority of it. Although I'm not a fan of the current coaching staff, there is still a lot of hockey left to play. The Canucks should be able to climb out of this hole and solidify a spot.

Edited March 5, 2020 by 250Integra

[spliced]

This time has sort of passed to be honest. Trying to find the little things to appreciate has been happening for years, the team is now competitive and it's about getting into the playoffs this year.

[goalie13]

1 hour ago, RRypien37 said:

How about glass all the way full.

It is full.  It's just a half-glass.

[jackofwind]

11 minutes ago, spliced said:

This time has sort of passed to be honest. Trying to find the little things to appreciate has been happening for years, the team is now competitive and it's about getting into the playoffs this year.

Good thing we're still in a playoff spot right now then.

 

Missing the playoffs in the very first year that you were reasonably expecting to be able to make a push for them is not the end of the world.

[6of1_halfdozenofother]

Before you spill your drink, let's wait and see how this wuhan coronavirus will play out on the ice.  It's only a matter of time before they declare community outbreaks in the various nhl cities.  That might just shuffle the deck more than people will expect, with some possibly benefitting to make it to the playoffs as teams currently ahead of them get bitten by it, and others possibly losing the cup because of it.

[erkayloomeh]

No offense I like the thread but for me when I look at the team ....the players that we have,  I believe we should be in the playoffs. 

If we don't make it it's a big disappointment. 

[coastal.view]

look over the past 10 years in canada

who has been the best nhl team in that time

 

the answer seems to still be vancouver

 

no eastern team has done much - ottawa did have that 1 run

but have been a complete tire fire mostly

 

alta teams have done very little as well

 

jets may have some reason to argue they have been best

but they have not been to even a conference finals

 

so you think you are not happy about the nucks the last few seasons

wonder how much worse fans of other canadian teams have had it ?

 

which team has the brightest future

this is a better contest

but my money again is on the nucks

but time will tell about this

we could know in the next 2 to 3 seasons

there are 4 teams... jets, oilers, laffs, and nucks

i still think the nucks have the most talent and depth

Edited March 6, 2020 by coastal.view

[-DLC-]

I wrote out a WAAAY tldr post this morning...spilled my full coffee all over my keyboard and nuked it.  Was a sign it was overkill.

 

People want immediate gratification...we live in a world where everything's instant and at our fingertips.  People have little patience and huge expectations.

 

I've been told I'm too emotional ... but I've got to say I've seen more harshly critical emotional reaction in the past few games than I can handle.   The team's called fragile - but I see a lot of fragility in panic posts that scream for action at every turn. 

 

Emotion is based in passion.  It's fine to be passionate about winning but not when it gets in the way of enjoyment.  This game is supposed to be enjoyable - a leisure activity.  I used to be a do or die fan and every loss would go straight through my heart...would ruin my day and sometimes even carry over to others as my mood was set for the day.  I hated other teams (well still do, but), other fans and most of all, losing.  

 

But I love this game and don't want to be miserable about it.  It's a choice.  I started easing up and understanding that losses, even strung together, are ok.  We'll be ok.  There will be another game and when that ends another season.  Sure, as a fanbase we've been waiting forever but if you ONLY focus on the prize, you miss the point.  Enjoy the journey.  Lap it up. 

 

There is no wrong or right way to do this but I've certainly had to endure criticism for being overly optimistic and supportive of my team.   Rose coloured glass wearing homer. Now we're seeing some of the flipside of that...those who mostly just want to be critical and proven right.  So that's better?  I'd rather be on the happy side of that tug of war.

 

There is a half full glass and that is that this team has some real sparks and gives us something to look forward to.  If you just want to check off the W then you shortchange yourself.  There's a whole lot of good stuff in between.

 

Personally, I love every aspect of hockey.  Game days I wake up feeling super excited and have something to look forward to all day.  I've met the best people and attend games with friends who I really look forward to spending time with. We're hockey buds.  From the drive in in rush hour traffic (anticipating the game), to walking over the bridge and really appreciating the beauty of this city, to greeting familiar faces like the ushers and the people in the kiosks who've also become friends, to the intro and the goosebumps I get every single time, to the post game on the drive home that's become like a friend in the passenger seat as I head down the highway.

 

All of it.  I love every single thing about it.  It's better when we win...but I appreciate the experience as a whole in a big picture way.  Not just the result.

 

So, while a losing streak is harsh and yes, disappointing...there's still so much to love about this deal.  Some are being driven away with all the screaming and stomping of the feet recently....I even considered it as it really sucks the joy our of things.  And as annoying as homers are, chronic bashers of the team are equally so.  It all balances out I guess.

 

But this is my team and I will support them to the end.

 

Cheers all, with a half full glass.  Let's see this thing through and cheer on our boys.  They've shown some real promise and are in the hunt for playoffs.  It's a great time of the year and rather than sulk over what "may [or may not!] be", how about we take it one day/game at a time and get behind the team.  Even IF they don't get there, they gave it a damn good go.  Yes, Marky was responsible for a good chunk of that but isn't he part of the team?  Our team?  That's something to celebrate, not grumble about.

 

Woops I did it again (tldr)

[Kevin Biestra]

I dunno.  I think missing the playoffs is glass mostly empty this year.  The management strategy shifted to trading away picks and prospects to succeed this year (Toffoli, Miller) and missing the playoffs also puts the team in danger of possibly losing a lottery pick the following year for the Miller trade, depending on how that year goes.

 

Making the Miller and Toffoli trades to succeed this year, and then missing the playoffs this year and not putting the Miller trade behind us by giving TB a bottom 16 pick...it's pretty bad.

 

Canucks are supposed to make the playoffs this year.  Especially after a possible TDL rental with Toffoli.  I'm not going to pretend Madden didn't have huge upside.

 

We had bloody well better re-sign Toffoli.  If we miss the playoffs and lose Toffoli...  That would be glass pretty empty.

[-DLC-]

3 hours ago, spliced said:

This time has sort of passed to be honest. Trying to find the little things to appreciate has been happening for years, the team is now competitive and it's about getting into the playoffs this year.

You're putting a whole lot of "history" onto a team that didn't really earn it though.  

 

How about we allow them to form their own?  Pretty good start to it so far.

[Arrow 1983]

3 hours ago, spliced said:

This time has sort of passed to be honest. Trying to find the little things to appreciate has been happening for years, the team is now competitive and it's about getting into the playoffs this year.

if you can't see the difference from this season to the past few seasons you really do have blinders on

[Arrow 1983]

14 minutes ago, Kevin Biestra said:

I dunno.  I think missing the playoffs is glass mostly empty this year.  The management strategy shifted to trading away picks and prospects to succeed this year (Toffoli, Miller) and missing the playoffs also puts the team in danger of possibly losing a lottery pick the following year for the Miller trade, depending on how that year goes.

 

Making the Miller and Toffoli trades to succeed this year, and then missing the playoffs this year and not putting the Miller trade behind us by giving TB a bottom 16 pick...it's pretty bad.

 

Canucks are supposed to make the playoffs this year.  Especially after a possible TDL rental with Toffoli.  I'm not going to pretend Madden didn't have huge upside.

 

We had bloody well better re-sign Toffoli.  If we miss the playoffs and lose Toffoli...  That would be glass pretty empty.

The Toffoli acquisition is a good management decision, first to the players as a pick me up for losing Boeser and then to the fans to show they will do what they can (within reason) to make the playoffs. 

 

For the Miller trade, people need to remember Miller is no rental the Canucks have him for another 3 years at a very cap friendly hit. it is those next three years that fans should more likely expect the Canucks to make the Playoffs. A first round draft pick this season or next will not be contributing to this team the same why Miller is contributing to the team now.

 

The doubters should ask yourselves this, without miller this season are they competing for a playoff spot. For me it's a resounding NO.

 

 

[10pavelbure96]

We are still trending in the right direction, the future is still bright, but this slump still sucks. I understand what you are saying. Compared to the bar that was set in September we are having a good year.

 

But that bar is subject to change, and right now if we dont make the playoffs I will call that a huge loss

Edited March 6, 2020 by 10pavelbure96