[Article] Elliotte Friedman: “WE KNEW WE HAD SOMETHING” This is the story of how the greatest team in Vancouver Canucks history was built. In the words of the people who were there.

[Kevin Biestra]

1 minute ago, debluvscanucks said:

I'm not even reading "more of the same".  This is a thread to look back in admiration...not to resolve people's unresolved issues.  Mostly (likely) based in them watching from home and criticizing others for not doing it right.  Armchair tough only goes so far.

 

This isn't boxing or the MMA.  But some expect it to be.  It's hockey and the name of the game is to score and to win games and the Sedins were pretty good at that.  The rest is just people's attempts to get there by scratching and clawing but they had skill on their side.  And my stance won't change that the Bruins had free passes to take it a little further with it going unnoticed.  Thomas, alone, got to hack and whack and Lu got trampled on.  But yeah, it had nothing to do with the Bruins having a Dad sitting in a high place.  Marchand STILL gets away with murder.

 

Had it been an even playing field I don't know that the big bad Bruins could have gathered momentum as they did.  Yes, the Canucks were shellshocked...happens.  Games get away.  Series get away.  But a bunch of goonery wasn't going to change things in our favour.  No way in hell.

 

It's too bad if it makes you uncomfortable, but no player's legacy is immune to reality, even the Sedins.  The good stuff was the good stuff and the bad stuff was the bad stuff.

 

Anything but praise and boom, you've declared you won't even read anymore.  On a Canucks discussion forum, where I am absolutely not known for speaking negatively or unfairly about the Canucks.

 

Whatever.  You can have your safe space back and I'll talk about the team in another thread.

[-DLC-]

46 minutes ago, Kevin Biestra said:

 

There's a picture from the 1982 playoffs of Tiger Williams standing off against Willi Plett, who seems a full foot taller. 

 

You might be glamourizing things a bit.

 

Less than 5" difference I believe?

 

 

[Kevin Biestra]

Just now, debluvscanucks said:

You might be glamourizing things a bit.

 

Less than 5" difference I believe?

 

OMG stop slamming Tiger Williams!!

[-DLC-]

Just now, Kevin Biestra said:

 

OMG stop slamming Tiger Williams!!

I'm wanting you to verify the (false) facts you're throwing out there.  I loved Tiger.  But ... deflection.  Done now.  Not even worth it...

[Kevin Biestra]

Just now, debluvscanucks said:

I'm wanting you to verify the (false) facts you're throwing out there.  I loved Tiger.  But ... deflection.  Done now.  Not even worth it...

 

Jeez lady, you are setting a Gretzky-like record for pedantry.

 

These were my words:  "There's a picture from the 1982 playoffs of Tiger Williams standing off against Willi Plett, who seems a full foot taller."

 

I said he seems a foot taller in the picture.  I didn't skate out there with a tape measure.

[-DLC-]

44 minutes ago, Kevin Biestra said:

 

Jeez lady, you are setting a Gretzky-like record for pedantry.

 

These were my words:  "There's a picture from the 1982 playoffs of Tiger Williams standing off against Willi Plett, who seems a full foot taller."

 

I said he seems a foot taller in the picture.  I didn't skate out there with a tape measure.

Not done.

 

Because if you're going to make up fairy tales to support a slagging of Henrik don't expect me to readily accept them as "truth". 

 

Use facts and figures...not your infatuation with tough guys.  

 

Now I really am done.  Because rock 'em sock 'em is a thing of the past and if you don't appreciate skill, that's your issue (not the teams). 

 

Yes, details matter when you're throwing people under the bus with exaggerations to make a case.

 

Have a good day...we need positive in the world right now so I won't drag this thread to where you're trying to crawl to with it.

 

LOVED the 2011 team.

[Kevin Biestra]

1 minute ago, debluvscanucks said:

Not done.

 

Because if you're going to make up fairy tales to support a slamming of Henrik don't expect me to readily accept them as "truth". 

 

Use facts and figures...not your infatuation with tough guys.

 

I'm pretty sure that's what I did when I pointed to Tiger Williams' goal totals.

[aGENT]

57 minutes ago, debluvscanucks said:

And the fact that Hank spent entire seasons, back to back, without missing a game?   You have to be tough to endure the kind of "attention" that he got.  There are different forms of toughness and not all are IN YOUR FACE brashness but it doesn't mean these guys were "lesser".  

 

Right from the article:

 

Quote

O’NEILL They are the two toughest guys I’ve ever seen. They would get beat up or chopped… they wouldn’t say a word, just get up and go. “I’m going to get two more goals and stick it right up your ass” was their comeback. There is no way anyone can tell me they weren’t two of the toughest players that ever played. Not fighting-wise, but what they took to keep going.

 

[DADDYROCK]

This is a nice story but it just doesn't tell the tale of the only Canadian Team in history, that fails to win the Stanley Cup on home soil in a seventh game.Devastating is an understatement to this organization who have had three chances at the Cup and FAILED ALL THREE TIMES.

I have loved hockey,played the game and have seen superstars( Beliveau,Orr,Lefleur Lemieax,Bossy,Gretzky,Bure,Sedins,Crosby)come and go and I want our Canucks to win it all,if you made a tape on the glory days of the Canucks over their fifty some years it would be a pretty short tape,let's face it.

The Stanley Cup being brought back to Canada by the Canucks would be a thing the whole province of B.C. would totally enjoy and it would be great for all Canadians.

 

GO CANUCKS GO!

[IBatch]

29 minutes ago, DADDYROCK said:

This is a nice story but it just doesn't tell the tale of the only Canadian Team in history, that fails to win the Stanley Cup on home soil in a seventh game.Devastating is an understatement to this organization who have had three chances at the Cup and FAILED ALL THREE TIMES.

I have loved hockey,played the game and have seen superstars( Beliveau,Orr,Lefleur Lemieax,Bossy,Gretzky,Bure,Sedins,Crosby)come and go and I want our Canucks to win it all,if you made a tape on the glory days of the Canucks over their fifty some years it would be a pretty short tape,let's face it.

The Stanley Cup being brought back to Canada by the Canucks would be a thing the whole province of B.C. would totally enjoy and it would be great for all Canadians.

 

GO CANUCKS GO!

It might be short - but it's longer then most the past 30 years or so - 27ish I guess as the Canadians climbed onto Roys back and won one in 1993...TO and WNP have no tales of the finals to speak of ... EDM and CAL have one each since their glory days in the 80's...Since MTL's cup the Canucks have been the measuring stick for all Canadian teams...OTT got destroyed by ANA...CAL and EDM came very close too...but nobody has been as close to winning a cup (any team since expansion) as the Canucks did in 94...a couple cross bars away ... two goals separated the entire series...and it's still considered the best final of the modern era (since expansion) - something that we can still be proud of - even though it was heartbreaking.  2011 we came in a the team to beat - we were the best...1994 McLean posted a .922 sp and we had multiple hero's ... was a Rocky hockey story come true - facing the best in the league we almost upset them.  Messier isn't a nice name around here - but he did offer this just after game 7 was over -  and he considers it the best cup he won " What makes this even better is the quality of opponent we just played" ... that team made an entire new generation of fans and had the province believing we could do it.   Two comebacks against two of the leagues best...that team won more playoff games then any other.   Yes we haven't won a cup yet.  St Louis just won their first and Buffalo only has a Hasek final to really talk about...and it won't get any easier with 32 teams soon.   In the meantime there is nothing wrong with re-visiting these great moments...heartbreaking for sure - but we have a lot of heros' to be proud of too.  

[c00kies]

11 hours ago, SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME said:

Thomas was the difference, in my mind.
 

Swap the goalies in that series and the Canucks probably sweep the Finals 4-0. He was that good. Arguably the best goaltending performance in a generation.

 

Of course, there were other factors. A healthy Canucks team would’ve solved any goalie, even Thomas at his absolute best. The 2011 Canucks at full power would’ve beat the Bruins in 5 or 6 games. 
 

But I think you’re right that with a Chara type on our back end, we could have gutted out the series, even with the injuries and shenanigans. That’s no slight to Hank or his leadership. But having that freak Slovak anchoring our back end probably would have been enough to hold our injured squad together and provide enough D in front of Luongo to win one more game.

The funny thing is, Luongo won all the close games in that series. It's why I think you could have replaced Thomas with any other goalie and the Bruins still would have won, as game 7 was the closest and we still gave up 3 non-empty net goals while scoring none.

 

Also agree with the injuries, as we were absolutely decimated by the time we got to the finals, and then we lost our best d-man in game 1, and this injury riddled team still made it to a game 7.

 

I also think we were unlucky with timing, as the Kings had an easy run to the Cup the following year, and one that the 2011 Canucks would have handled with ease.

[Chris12345]

19 hours ago, 189lb enforcers? said:

I wish that Canucks team had that one guy; that one iconic leader who could win a series by himself. The 2011 roster achieved greatness, but couldn’t push through the wall when it came down to it. 
 

Zdeno Chara was that guy for Boston, perhaps Thomas was too, but in a different way. 
 

Time to give some credit to the opposition that 2011 Canucks team faced down, especially their captain. 
 

What I remember most about that Canucks team in 2011 was how it was absolutely physically dominated and without PPs to help balance out the score, were soundly beaten in an all-out, 7-game Street fight. Nobody was willing to go through this guy, not that they didn’t try, they just couldn’t.
 

Chara was the main reason that the Bruins beat the “best Canucks team ever“, IMO. He kept the Canucks intimidated and on the perimeter. Can you blame the Canucks and their offensive stars for the failure to create offence against this guy? They didn’t stand a chance... 
 

 

 

 

 

 

That one guy, a guy we still don’t have, has to be in place prior to our next Cup run. 
 

I have a lot of respect for the winners of every Cup. It’s a brutally hard thing to win and that’s why it’s considered the toughest trophy to capture in sports. 
 

It was an incredible run. I only wish the 1994 team could have been in that series. Bully vs Bully. 
 

Long Live Playoff Hockey! 
 

Not to beat anyone up but I always thought Mason Raymond was a hole in the line up come playoff hockey.

 

I always wondered if we replaced him would things be different?

 

I get it we weren't trading Raymond for Lucic but I often wonder who was a better fit?

[Squamfan]

Aaron Rome suspensions ruling 

[Screw]

I don't like to remember 2011 or 1994.  Still hurting.

[morgo]

8 hours ago, debluvscanucks said:

I agree (re Thomas)...was going to post that.  He had a cockiness, though, that comes with a bit of immunity that not all were granted.  He, too, got away with murder.  Stick swings after the fact that, if Lu did it?  Not sure it goes unnoticed.

 

Big bad teams only go as far as the league allows.  Some get more leash than others...can even run off off leash.  Bruins were those off leash dogs.

Indeed.  On what planet is this not penalty?  He's just allowed to shove our captain to the ground and take away a sure goal in the process.  Could you imagine if Luongo had done something similar to one of their goon players?  They would have awarded Boston a goal on the spot.  The reffing in this series was an absolute farce.
 

 

Edited April 20, 2020 by morgo

[Bure2Win]

The Sedins were a no show in the finals (how many points did they have) yet everyone still blames Luongo with his 2 shutouts in the finals?. The Canucks team that came the closest to the Cup was still the 1994 team. One goal post away from sending it to OT.

Edited April 21, 2020 by Bure2Win

[knucklehead91]

25 minutes ago, Bure2Win said:

The Sedins were a no show in the finals (how many points did they have) yet everyone still blames Luongo with his 2 shutouts in the finals?. The Canucks team that came the closest to the Cup was still the 1994 team. One goal post away from sending it to OT.

The team was so bloody banged up, Boston did their job of shutting the twins with all the other injuries up and down Vancouvers lineup. Boston was healthy, we were not.

Lost Samuelsson in the semi’s

Danny was hit from behind quite viciously by Ben Eager in the WCF

Kesler blew his hip in the WCF

Hamhuis was injured in game 2 of the finals and didnt return.

Erhoff had a separated shoulder

Higgins had broken foot, Edler had 2 broken fingers...the list goes on and on... 

Bostons injuries: Horton hears a who and Lucic had a stubbed toe.

despite all the injuries Canucks still forced a game 7. Out hit boston in the series, out shot them, had more PPs, less give aways, more take aways, more high danger shots. There is no one to blame, only to accept the fact Vancouver lost the battle of attrition. It wasnt even close to the same team. 
We out hit boston by 20ish hits in game 7 and outshot them with over 40 shots. We had over 50 more hits in the entire series. If Hamhuis was still in the finals or Samuelsson was healthy, our PP would have gotten us through that series despite the injuries.

[knucklehead91]

First time ive rewatched a game from the 2011 run... watching the replay of the 2011 game 1 series vs chicago is breaking my damn heart... bringing back so many memories... seeing that team and those players in the very prime of their career hurts knowing they came 1 game shy of everything :’(

[189lb enforcers?]

13 hours ago, debluvscanucks said:

I hate people who don't give the Sedins the respect they deserve/earned.

Hate? 
 



Mirror images, IMO. 

 

 

All part of the same entertainment industry, I guess... 

 

Bullies and Victims. 
 

In sports though, I’d rather be the hammer than the nail, same goes for the teams I support and want to win. 
 

.......

 

As for the article, and in general, as far as the 2011 season went, I enjoyed the ride, but was not surprised they lost in the playoffs. They heavily relied on the PP to get results, which, duh, doesn’t translate into the playoffs where there are few penalties. It was the way they lost the series that still bothers me, which is different than what I think about the other Finals the Canucks lost in. (Linden with broken ribs and scoring goals was a high bar to match though) 

 

The 2011 season was the season after that awful rash of deaths relating to mental illness in the summer of 2010. That set the stage for a lot of the experience for many fans of the sport. I watched the Canucks in the Finals without people who went the same way. Strange days. 
 

The Sedin Twin ESP thing was really something, especially during those seasons. 
 

Strangely enough, I like our current roster’s chances better in the playoffs than I did that team. 

Edited April 21, 2020 by 189lb enforcers?

[Kevin Biestra]

15 minutes ago, 189lb enforcers? said:

 

Sigh...  Reminds me of Biff and George McFly for the first 95% of Back to the Future.  George finally realized what needed to be done...