[Signing] Canucks sign Tucker Poolman

[Guest]

10 hours ago, 4petesake said:

Andre 3000

Hey now, hush that fuss 

All the Poolman haters to the back of the buss 

 

[elvis15]

12 hours ago, Scottydzik said:

The contract is reasonable for bottom pairing d which he should be but the way Benning is talking about him he wants him be top pairing d which he will not be and be severely over his head which will cause a lot of ppls back lash on him he’s a 5/6 d can play odd game as number 4 but putting him with oe on top pair is unfair And similar to myers who is 4/5 d so I’m gonna say our d will not be improved time will tell 

I took it as him wanting Poolman to push for top 4 level of play. If he gets some offence like two years ago and can be solid otherwise, it might not be top 4 on any team in the NHL, but it will be for us.

 

EDIT: and I see some talking about Poolman with Hughes/OEL. Depending how you look at it, that could be playing on a top pairing. But I think between PP/PK/5v5 definitely Hughes, and likely also OEL will be logging big minutes so that their most regular pairings won't be with them all the time. So Poolman will be getting some decent minutes if he pairs with either of them but not really be considered a top pairing defenceman.

Edited July 31, 2021 by elvis15

[Bruce Boudreau]

Never heard of the guy or seen a single clip of his game. Can he skate? Does he hit? Does he play with energy? Do you even notice him on the ice?

 

If you told me he won't finish his contract in Van and that Benning will have to buy him out or retain salary just to trade him,even though he has no trade protections in the deal I would have to believe you based on gut feelings.

 

As a number 5 or  6 he might be ok.

 

If they think he can play top 4 consistently minutes that would be a huge mistake.

 

Myers and Hamonic is not the most inspiring top 4 RHD combo for a supposed playoff challenger.

 

Not a fan of the term either. 2 years would have been more than fair at that AAV. Nothing on his resume says he deserves a fully guaranteed 10 million dollars locked in after 4 years.

 

Seems they paid a premium for a depth guy.

 

Didn't they learn their lesson about not overpaying or giving term to depth d men and 4th line forwards?

 

The Halak contract with the bonus structure doesn't save them much cap down the road than just sticking with Holtby would have either.

 

So far all anyone can say is Benning tried to make the playoffs for 2021-2022.

 

How much better the team is now from 2019 can't really say yet...

 

 

 

 

 

[AV.]

12 minutes ago, Chip Kelly said:

Never heard of the guy or seen a single clip of his game. Can he skate? Does he hit? Does he play with energy? Do you even notice him on the ice?

 

If you told me he won't finish his contract in Van and that Benning will have to buy him out or retain salary just to trade him,even though he has no trade protections in the deal I would have to believe you based on gut feelings.

 

As a number 5 or  6 he might be ok.

 

If they think he can play top 4 consistently minutes that would be a huge mistake.

 

Myers and Hamonic is not the most inspiring top 4 RHD combo for a supposed playoff challenger.

 

Not a fan of the term either. 2 years would have been more than fair at that AAV. Nothing on his resume says he deserves a fully guaranteed 10 million dollars locked in after 4 years.

 

Seems they paid a premium for a depth guy.

 

Didn't they learn their lesson about not overpaying or giving term to depth d men and 4th line forwards?

 

The Halak contract with the bonus structure doesn't save them much cap down the road than just sticking with Holtby would have either.

 

So far all anyone can say is Benning tried to make the playoffs for 2021-2022.

 

How much better the team is now from 2019 can't really say yet...

 

 

 

 

 

The forward group is improved from last year, IMO.  They will probably outscore most of their problems, provided they stay healthy.

 

This defence is definitely a bottom-10 one, unfortunately.  Some new names but lots of question marks still.

This team could finish anywhere from 3rd (playoffs) to 6th/7th (out of it) on paper.

[ShawnAntoski]

27 minutes ago, AV. said:

The forward group is improved from last year, IMO.  They will probably outscore most of their problems, provided they stay healthy.

 

This defence is definitely a bottom-10 one, unfortunately.  Some new names but lots of question marks still.

This team could finish anywhere from 3rd (playoffs) to 6th/7th (out of it) on paper.

Just wondering: how would you had built the defence or roster, if you had the same circumstances as JB, in the beginning of the offseason; would had hired Shaw or stuck with Green & friends ?

 

Not sure how you ended up saying the D core is bottom 10 ?

Edited July 31, 2021 by ShawnAntoski

[elvis15]

1 hour ago, Chip Kelly said:

Never heard of the guy or seen a single clip of his game. Can he skate? Does he hit? Does he play with energy? Do you even notice him on the ice?

...

If they think he can play top 4 consistently minutes that would be a huge mistake.

...

Glad you know it would be a mistake despite never having heard of him or seen him play.

[Millerdraft]

1 hour ago, Chip Kelly said:

Never heard of the guy or seen a single clip of his game. Can he skate? Does he hit? Does he play with energy? Do you even notice him on the ice?

 

If you told me he won't finish his contract in Van and that Benning will have to buy him out or retain salary just to trade him,even though he has no trade protections in the deal I would have to believe you based on gut feelings.

 

As a number 5 or  6 he might be ok.

 

If they think he can play top 4 consistently minutes that would be a huge mistake.

 

Myers and Hamonic is not the most inspiring top 4 RHD combo for a supposed playoff challenger.

 

Not a fan of the term either. 2 years would have been more than fair at that AAV. Nothing on his resume says he deserves a fully guaranteed 10 million dollars locked in after 4 years.

 

Seems they paid a premium for a depth guy.

 

Didn't they learn their lesson about not overpaying or giving term to depth d men and 4th line forwards?

 

The Halak contract with the bonus structure doesn't save them much cap down the road than just sticking with Holtby would have either.

 

So far all anyone can say is Benning tried to make the playoffs for 2021-2022.

 

How much better the team is now from 2019 can't really say yet...

 

 

 

 

 

[Millerdraft]

Just now, elvis15 said:

Glad you know it would be a mistake despite never having heard of him or seen him play.

You beat me to it!

[AV.]

5 minutes ago, ShawnAntoski said:

Just wondering: how would you had built the defence or roster, if you had the same circumstances as JB, in the beginning of the offseason; would had hired Shaw or stuck with Green & friends ?

 

Not sure how you ended up saying the D core is bottom 10 ?

Well, we were a bottom 10 team last year and we weren't exactly playing great defence.  A lot of times, Demko and Holtby had to play out of their minds.

I think we made a great step in shifting out Baumgartner and getting Shaw.  With that said, coaches don't make players better.  What I mean by this is that they don't take an individual's talent or skillset and make them more superior.  All coaches can do is come up with systems that best utilize one's skillset to get the best out of them.  In other words, Shaw alone isn't enough to make things better.  The personnel needs to be better.

 

So, let's look at the changes:

 

In:  OEL, Poolman, Schenn, Hunt
Out:  Edler, Schmidt, Chatfield, Rafferty

 

OEL isn't better than Edler.  Historically speaking, he had a higher apex than Edler but hasn't been that player for a few seasons.  Edler is older but was fairly reliable defensively.  I think OEL will offer more offensively but there will be a gap in defensive reliability.

 

Schmidt is a lot better than Poolman.  Don't let some of the fans here suggest otherwise.  Stylistically, Schmidt may not have been a fit with this team, but in nearly all facets of the game, Schmidt is the far superior player.  That's not to say Poolman can't or won't do well here, but we've sacrificed talent for a gamble in fit.

 

If we're looking at depth, Schenn/Hunt > Chatfield/Rafferty.

 

I predict we'll lineup like this:
 

Hughes - Hamonic

OEL - Poolman

Rathbone - Myers

--

Juolevi - Schenn

Hunt

 

Looking at this list, it's hard to say that it's definitively better in one aspect over the other, comparing this year's d-core to last year's.  There might be more organization and better defined roles coming the coaching, but talent-wise, the personnel is not improved, IMO.

 

As for my improvements, I'm a firm believer that we missed a huge opportunity last year to take a run at somebody like Alex Pietrangelo.  Not saying he would have come here, but had we budgeted better, we would could have positioned ourselves to explore adding a defenceman like him and finding a long-term partner for Hughes.  Same could be argued for Dougie Hamilton this year.  From looking at this team, it's missing a big-time RHD.  Guys like Hamonic, Poolman, Myers are best suited for lower roles in a defence core, such as the bottom pair or as a #4 on good teams.  The fact that two of them will have to play in the top-4 will raise a lot of questions and concerns.

[Millerdraft]

Dougie Hamilton?!  

[Dazzle]

1 hour ago, Chip Kelly said:

Never heard of the guy or seen a single clip of his game. Can he skate? Does he hit? Does he play with energy? Do you even notice him on the ice?

 

If you told me he won't finish his contract in Van and that Benning will have to buy him out or retain salary just to trade him,even though he has no trade protections in the deal I would have to believe you based on gut feelings.

 

As a number 5 or  6 he might be ok.

 

If they think he can play top 4 consistently minutes that would be a huge mistake.

 

Myers and Hamonic is not the most inspiring top 4 RHD combo for a supposed playoff challenger.

 

Not a fan of the term either. 2 years would have been more than fair at that AAV. Nothing on his resume says he deserves a fully guaranteed 10 million dollars locked in after 4 years.

 

Seems they paid a premium for a depth guy.

 

Didn't they learn their lesson about not overpaying or giving term to depth d men and 4th line forwards?

 

The Halak contract with the bonus structure doesn't save them much cap down the road than just sticking with Holtby would have either.

 

So far all anyone can say is Benning tried to make the playoffs for 2021-2022.

 

How much better the team is now from 2019 can't really say yet...

 

 

 

 

 

Why are you making such a long, judgmental post about a player you haven't seen or heard of then?

[The Listening]

1 hour ago, Chip Kelly said:

Never heard of the guy or seen a single clip of his game. Can he skate? Does he hit? Does he play with energy? Do you even notice him on the ice?

 

If you told me he won't finish his contract in Van and that Benning will have to buy him out or retain salary just to trade him,even though he has no trade protections in the deal I would have to believe you based on gut feelings.

 

As a number 5 or  6 he might be ok.

 

If they think he can play top 4 consistently minutes that would be a huge mistake.

 

Myers and Hamonic is not the most inspiring top 4 RHD combo for a supposed playoff challenger.

 

Not a fan of the term either. 2 years would have been more than fair at that AAV. Nothing on his resume says he deserves a fully guaranteed 10 million dollars locked in after 4 years.

 

Seems they paid a premium for a depth guy.

 

Didn't they learn their lesson about not overpaying or giving term to depth d men and 4th line forwards?

 

The Halak contract with the bonus structure doesn't save them much cap down the road than just sticking with Holtby would have either.

 

So far all anyone can say is Benning tried to make the playoffs for 2021-2022.

 

How much better the team is now from 2019 can't really say yet...

 

 

 

 

 

You typed a lot of stuff out that was summed up with what I bolded. The guy has less than 150 games played in the NHL, I'd say let the guy and the team play a few games before getting critical. Also, you can YouTube clips of the guy, you know that right? We do live in 2021.

Edited July 31, 2021 by The Listening

[The Listening]

13 minutes ago, AV. said:

Well, we were a bottom 10 team last year and we weren't exactly playing great defence.  A lot of times, Demko and Holtby had to play out of their minds.

I think we made a great step in shifting out Baumgartner and getting Shaw.  With that said, coaches don't make players better.  What I mean by this is that they don't take an individual's talent or skillset and make them more superior.  All coaches can do is come up with systems that best utilize one's skillset to get the best out of them.  In other words, Shaw alone isn't enough to make things better.  The personnel needs to be better.

 

So, let's look at the changes:

 

In:  OEL, Poolman, Schenn, Hunt
Out:  Edler, Schmidt, Chatfield, Rafferty

 

OEL isn't better than Edler.  Historically speaking, he had a higher apex than Edler but hasn't been that player for a few seasons.  Edler is older but was fairly reliable defensively.  I think OEL will offer more offensively but there will be a gap in defensive reliability.

 

Schmidt is a lot better than Poolman.  Don't let some of the fans here suggest otherwise.  Stylistically, Schmidt may not have been a fit with this team, but in nearly all facets of the game, Schmidt is the far superior player.  That's not to say Poolman can't or won't do well here, but we've sacrificed talent for a gamble in fit.

 

If we're looking at depth, Schenn/Hunt > Chatfield/Rafferty.

 

I predict we'll lineup like this:
 

Hughes - Hamonic

OEL - Poolman

Rathbone - Myers

--

Juolevi - Schenn

Hunt

 

Looking at this list, it's hard to say that it's definitively better in one aspect over the other, comparing this year's d-core to last year's.  There might be more organization and better defined roles coming the coaching, but talent-wise, the personnel is not improved, IMO.

 

As for my improvements, I'm a firm believer that we missed a huge opportunity last year to take a run at somebody like Alex Pietrangelo.  Not saying he would have come here, but had we budgeted better, we would could have positioned ourselves to explore adding a defenceman like him and finding a long-term partner for Hughes.  Same could be argued for Dougie Hamilton this year.  From looking at this team, it's missing a big-time RHD.  Guys like Hamonic, Poolman, Myers are best suited for lower roles in a defence core, such as the bottom pair or as a #4 on good teams.  The fact that two of them will have to play in the top-4 will raise a lot of questions and concerns.

I completely agree. I was honestly expecting Benning to make a play for a HUGE RHD ie Hamilton. The RHD is a massive liability of our team, we are kind of crossing our fingers and hoping Poolman pans out. But this team lacks a game-changing dman on the right side, and it will cost us if we make the playoffs. 

[Dazzle]

7 minutes ago, AV. said:

Well, we were a bottom 10 team last year and we weren't exactly playing great defence.  A lot of times, Demko and Holtby had to play out of their minds.

I think we made a great step in shifting out Baumgartner and getting Shaw.  With that said, coaches don't make players better.  What I mean by this is that they don't take an individual's talent or skillset and make them more superior.  All coaches can do is come up with systems that best utilize one's skillset to get the best out of them.  In other words, Shaw alone isn't enough to make things better.  The personnel needs to be better.

 

So, let's look at the changes:

 

In:  OEL, Poolman, Schenn, Hunt
Out:  Edler, Schmidt, Chatfield, Rafferty

 

OEL isn't better than Edler.  Historically speaking, he had a higher apex than Edler but hasn't been that player for a few seasons.  Edler is older but was fairly reliable defensively.  I think OEL will offer more offensively but there will be a gap in defensive reliability.

 

Schmidt is a lot better than Poolman.  Don't let some of the fans here suggest otherwise.  Stylistically, Schmidt may not have been a fit with this team, but in nearly all facets of the game, Schmidt is the far superior player.  That's not to say Poolman can't or won't do well here, but we've sacrificed talent for a gamble in fit.

 

If we're looking at depth, Schenn/Hunt > Chatfield/Rafferty.

 

I predict we'll lineup like this:
 

Hughes - Hamonic

OEL - Poolman

Rathbone - Myers

--

Juolevi - Schenn

Hunt

 

Looking at this list, it's hard to say that it's definitively better in one aspect over the other, comparing this year's d-core to last year's.  There might be more organization and better defined roles coming the coaching, but talent-wise, the personnel is not improved, IMO.

 

As for my improvements, I'm a firm believer that we missed a huge opportunity last year to take a run at somebody like Alex Pietrangelo.  Not saying he would have come here, but had we budgeted better, we would could have positioned ourselves to explore adding a defenceman like him and finding a long-term partner for Hughes.  Same could be argued for Dougie Hamilton this year.  From looking at this team, it's missing a big-time RHD.  Guys like Hamonic, Poolman, Myers are best suited for lower roles in a defence core, such as the bottom pair or as a #4 on good teams.  The fact that two of them will have to play in the top-4 will raise a lot of questions and concerns.

Head scratching take here, AV.

 

If coaches don't make players better, then what do they do? What's the point of having coaches run drills? The players can just call the shots from the bench.

 

By saying OEL isn't better than Edler, you are mixing multiple issues. What do you mean by better? From an offensive standpoint, it is fallacious to say he isn't better than Edler.

 

vs Edler

 

 

From a goals/points perspective, OEL is way better at scoring. In fact, this past season, Edler didn't score a single goal. He only got a measly 8 points. OEL on a poor, bottom feeding team has 24. Overall, Edler has more points, but this is largely attributed to playing with the Sedins/Hughes for so long, and his number of games played.

 

We can, thus, safely say you are wrong there.

 

Defensively? Yes, Edler is better known as a two-way defenceman. Skating has been an issue, and he is no longer the defensive stalwart he was known for. By contrast, for this upcoming season, OEL has some defensive partners that have yet to be determined. Thus, you cannot make a judgement on how good OEL is defensive because a) PHX/AZ has been a poor defensive team for all these years b) they are utilized differently

 

With regards to roles, OEL is presumably going to be leaned on for heavy minutes + offense, while the RD will mostly be covering for any gaps in defenses that you mentioned, AV. Therefore, OEL is given a longer leash to play his game.

 

The assumption that Schmidt is better than Poolman, based on what? You've said that there is no fit for Schmidt, yet is somehow better than Poolman who has never played a game?
 

Are you listening to yourself?

 

As for the rest of your post, this is why your posts are poorly received. Your bias towards certain players like Schmidt (who obviously didn't fit at all) is somehow a better option than Poolman? Not to mention that Schmidt is utilized in a way that will be different than Poolman?

 

Also, in my defense of Schmidt, he was playing a lot of minutes with Edler, who is obviously struggling with the game (maybe due to injury). This actually suggests that Schmidt may be better off not playing with Edler, which of course begs the question as to how you can say Edler is any good.

[Dazzle]

15 minutes ago, The Listening said:

I completely agree. I was honestly expecting Benning to make a play for a HUGE RHD ie Hamilton. The RHD is a massive liability of our team, we are kind of crossing our fingers and hoping Poolman pans out. But this team lacks a game-changing dman on the right side, and it will cost us if we make the playoffs. 

Hamilton is basically OEL on RD, but Hamilton is admittedly not a defensive liabiltiy. He's just not a defensive stalwart though, and you'll potentially be leaking goals without an actual solid LD partner, which we don't really have. Our offence seems to be heavily leaned on from the left side. Hughes/OEL/Juolevi? Myers may be the only one who can play RD AND score substantially.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Dazzle

[AV.]

9 minutes ago, Dazzle said:

Head scratching take here, AV.

 

If coaches don't make players better, then what do they do? What's the point of having coaches run drills? The players can just call the shots from the bench.

 

By saying OEL isn't better than Edler, you are mixing multiple issues. What do you mean by better? From an offensive standpoint, it is fallacious to say he isn't better than Edler.

 

vs Edler

 

 

From a goals/points perspective, OEL is way better at scoring. In fact, this past season, Edler didn't score a single goal. He only got a measly 8 points. OEL on a poor, bottom feeding team has 24. Overall, Edler has more points, but this is largely attributed to playing with the Sedins/Hughes for so long, and his number of games played.

 

We can, thus, safely say you are wrong there.

 

Defensively? Yes, Edler is better known as a two-way defenceman. Skating has been an issue, and he is no longer the defensive stalwart he was known for. By contrast, for this upcoming season, OEL has some defensive partners that have yet to be determined. Thus, you cannot make a judgement on how good OEL is defensive because a) PHX/AZ has been a poor defensive team for all these years b) they are utilized differently

 

With regards to roles, OEL is presumably going to be leaned on for heavy minutes + offense, while the RD will mostly be covering for any gaps in defenses that you mentioned, AV. Therefore, OEL is given a longer leash to play his game.

 

The assumption that Schmidt is better than Poolman, based on what? You've said that there is no fit for Schmidt, yet is somehow better than Poolman who has never played a game?
 

Are you listening to yourself?

 

As for the rest of your post, this is why your posts are poorly received. Your bias towards certain players like Schmidt (who obviously didn't fit at all) is somehow a better option than Poolman? Not to mention that Schmidt is utilized in a way that will be different than Poolman?

 

Also, in my defense of Schmidt, he was playing a lot of minutes with Edler, who is obviously struggling with the game (maybe due to injury). This actually suggests that Schmidt may be better off not playing with Edler, which of course begs the question as to how you can say Edler is any good.

Yeah, I won't bother reading this.

 

My post is well explained and makes sense.  Re-read again.

 

Hope this helps.

[Dazzle]

Just now, AV. said:

Yeah, I won't bother reading this.

 

My post is well explained and makes sense.  Re-read again.

 

Hope this helps.

Ok.

[ShawnAntoski]

2 hours ago, AV. said:

Well, we were a bottom 10 team last year and we weren't exactly playing great defence.  A lot of times, Demko and Holtby had to play out of their minds.

I think we made a great step in shifting out Baumgartner and getting Shaw.  With that said, coaches don't make players better.  What I mean by this is that they don't take an individual's talent or skillset and make them more superior.  All coaches can do is come up with systems that best utilize one's skillset to get the best out of them.  In other words, Shaw alone isn't enough to make things better.  The personnel needs to be better.

 

So, let's look at the changes:

 

In:  OEL, Poolman, Schenn, Hunt
Out:  Edler, Schmidt, Chatfield, Rafferty

 

OEL isn't better than Edler.  Historically speaking, he had a higher apex than Edler but hasn't been that player for a few seasons.  Edler is older but was fairly reliable defensively.  I think OEL will offer more offensively but there will be a gap in defensive reliability.

 

Schmidt is a lot better than Poolman.  Don't let some of the fans here suggest otherwise.  Stylistically, Schmidt may not have been a fit with this team, but in nearly all facets of the game, Schmidt is the far superior player.  That's not to say Poolman can't or won't do well here, but we've sacrificed talent for a gamble in fit.

 

If we're looking at depth, Schenn/Hunt > Chatfield/Rafferty.

 

I predict we'll lineup like this:
 

Hughes - Hamonic

OEL - Poolman

Rathbone - Myers

--

Juolevi - Schenn

Hunt

 

Looking at this list, it's hard to say that it's definitively better in one aspect over the other, comparing this year's d-core to last year's.  There might be more organization and better defined roles coming the coaching, but talent-wise, the personnel is not improved, IMO.

 

As for my improvements, I'm a firm believer that we missed a huge opportunity last year to take a run at somebody like Alex Pietrangelo.  Not saying he would have come here, but had we budgeted better, we would could have positioned ourselves to explore adding a defenceman like him and finding a long-term partner for Hughes.  Same could be argued for Dougie Hamilton this year.  From looking at this team, it's missing a big-time RHD.  Guys like Hamonic, Poolman, Myers are best suited for lower roles in a defence core, such as the bottom pair or as a #4 on good teams.  The fact that two of them will have to play in the top-4 will raise a lot of questions and concerns.

Good points but I don't I agree with your coaching opinion - imo, it is there job to put it altogether on & off the ice due to the very structured nature of pro sports.  Ofcourse, we can only speculate: as to what Shaw can deliver but he has a proven track record: when it comes to developing defenceman(s) and setting up defensive systems.  Most of your complaints were under Green & friends; and there re signing, I didn't agree with (but I differ to JB on this one). After, all the addition, I am expecting more from Green & the rest to put it altogether (?); and if this goes wrong - would more roster tweaking (in a cap world) fix a flawed system on the ice?

 

If the roster buys in & clicks with the coaches then (good chance) the team will do well; and with some luck: by avoiding any major injuries, this roster can compete. Also, (imo) JB took alot of risk this year cause he wanted to win with this young core rather rebuild a new one.  Alot, of things will have to go right but JB has atleast assembled a solid roster;  as for the d core, some flaws can be mitigated by a strong defensive system - looking forward to seeing Shaws' system in action with this group.

 

About Schmidt (pardon the pun), (imo) he is a talented player but he is a system dependent player: in Vegas he thrived but under Bamuers' tutelage he got exposed/struggled.  

Edited August 1, 2021 by ShawnAntoski

[AV.]

4 minutes ago, ShawnAntoski said:

Good points but I don't I agree with your coaching opinion - imo, it is there job to put it altogether on & off the ice due to very structured nature of pro sports.  Ofcourse, we can only speculate: as to what Shaw can deliver but he has a proven track record when it comes to developing defenceman(s) and setting up defensive systems.  Most of your complaints were under Green & friends; and there re signing, I didn't agree with (but I differ to JB on this one). After, all the addition, I am expecting more from Green & the rest to put it altogether (?); and if this goes wrong - would more roster tweaking (in a cap world) fix a flawed system on the ice?

 

If the roster buys in & clicks with the coaches then (good chance) the team will do well; and with some luck: by avoiding any major injuries this roster can compete. Also, JB took alot of risk cause he wanted to win with this young core rather rebuilt with a new one.  Alot, of things will have to go right but JB has atleast assembled a solid roster;  as for the d core, some flaws can be mitigated by a strong defensive system - looking forward to seeing Shaws' system in action with this group.

 

About Schmidt (pardon the pun), (imo) he is a talented player but he is a system dependent player: in Vegas he thrived but under Bamuers' tutelage he got exposed/struggled.  

What I believe Shaw will do is put together a system in place that will work to get everybody playing to their strengths.  I think he will communicate roles better to defenceman and strategically place them into minutes that will suit what they can handle, injuries and circumstances aside.  What he won't be able to do is, for example, take guys like Travis Hamonic or Tyler Myers and turn him into a bonafide top pairing guys or drastically alter their individual style of games.  This is why I say to have a better defence, you actually need better personnel on that defence, hence, going into the season with this group really isn't an improvement.

 

As I said originally, our strengths should come from our forwards and goaltending.  We have more offence (on paper, anyways) this year and if Demko keeps up, he'll be stealing a lot of games.  I think we'll be a team that lets in 2-3 a night but can manage to score 3-4 on their own.  The team might very improve, but I don't think you'll be seeing those improvements come from the defensive side of the team.

[Millerdraft]

10 minutes ago, AV. said:

What I believe Shaw will do is put together a system in place that will work to get everybody playing to their strengths.  I think he will communicate roles better to defenceman and strategically place them into minutes that will suit what they can handle, injuries and circumstances aside.  What he won't be able to do is, for example, take guys like Travis Hamonic or Tyler Myers and turn him into a bonafide top pairing guys or drastically alter their individual style of games.  This is why I say to have a better defence, you actually need better personnel on that defence, hence, going into the season with this group really isn't an improvement.

 

As I said originally, our strengths should come from our forwards and goaltending.  We have more offence (on paper, anyways) this year and if Demko keeps up, he'll be stealing a lot of games.  I think we'll be a team that lets in 2-3 a night but can manage to score 3-4 on their own.  The team might very improve, but I don't think you'll be seeing those improvements come from the defensive side of the team.

The right chemistry in pairings can turn normally #3/#4 defensemen into adequate top pairing defensemen.  The 2011 Canucks were a prime example of this.  No legit Norris candidates but two high end pairings in Hamhuis-Bieksa and Edler-Ehrhoff as well as a very solid bottom pairing.  There wasn’t a major drop off between any of the three pairings.  Sure, the top-4 were the top two pairings but the bottom pairing was legitimately a middle pairing tandem for more than half the league.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Millerdraft