[Discussion] Are the Canucks now a legitimate playoff team?

[MeanSeanBean]

1 hour ago, CanuckzzzRule said:

We better be a playoff team next year simply because there's not much room to improve the year after given flat cap.

 

 

Disagree. We have a very young core, just by playing games they will become better players. I'd reckon we got a good 3 years of the core growing and getting better.

[vancan2233]

52 minutes ago, Patel Bure said:

Agreed, and like I said, I would love to be proven wrong here but I'm just not "seeing it" with that right side D.

 

I absolutely LOVE our forward group (although we need a bit more toughness up there), goaltending, and our left side D in terms of having three guys that should be exceptionally good at moving the puck up ice.  

 

That right side scares me though.  I love Schenn, but he's a 7th dman.  The only thing Myers can shut down is the toilet seat after taking a crap.  Hamonic is a #4 and Poolman is a #6.  

 

I don't know......I think we definitely get into the playoffs this coming season but this better not be a finished product.   

Poolman is getting seriously under rated, especially, when Brad Shaw is the one that asked Being to sign him. I trust Shaw a lot more than fans who never even saw Poolman play. 

Edited July 29, 2021 by vancan2233
spelling

[NewbieCanuckFan]

1 hour ago, Coconuts said:

They should be imo. The only lock is Vegas.

 

Edmonton's defense is worse, but they may outscore their problems. Calgary continues to flounder in no man's land, seemingly forever pushing back their inevitable rebuild. Anaheim shouldn't be a threat. LA might surprise, they've got a lot of young talent with some savvy vets. San Jose is a wildcard, but also pushing back against their inevitable rebuild. Seattle's a wild card, lots of summer left. 

They'll probably make the playoffs as an offensively gifted team has a good chance to achieve that.  But like in prior years, their blueline will fail them (early round exit).

 

Wild card I think is *our* blueline. If they gel, we can surprise alot of teams.  If they don't, it's going to be a long year for Demko.

[Patel Bure]

1 minute ago, vancan2233 said:

Poolman is getting seriously under rated, especially, when Brad Shaw is the one that asked Being to sign him. I trust Shaw a lot more than fans who never even saw Poolman play. 

Why do you believe that Poolman is seriously underrated?   I'm definitely open to receiving new information but everything that I've heard so far seems to suggest that Poolman got absolutely whenever he had to play higher in the line-up.  This is what the Advanced Analytics suggest, and this is also what all/most Jets fans on HF suggested.  

 

Trust me - I want our current team to succeed and so if you have any positive information on Poolman that I am not aware of, please share it.

[Patel Bure]

I should mention this more on the 'proposals' forum but I have a suggestion that excites me (but may not excite you).   

 

Hughes and Myers to the Devils for Ryan Graves, PK Subban, and a 1st round pick.  

 

The Devils get their wish of reuniting the three Hughes', while we achieve the following:

 

1) We get a true top pairing shut down guy in Ryan Graves

2) We recoup one of the 1st round picks that we've given up over these past few years

3) After one year of PK Subban, he comes off the books, and we go HARD after one of Colton Parayko or John Klingberg based on our needs at time (i.e. if we feel like we need more offense from the back-end or if we need another tough stay-at-homer).    

 

The above trade, in my opinion, is what would REALLY set us up for signficant playoff success.   

[King Heffy]

Yes, and it's not even close:

Vegas - the only other legit contender

Edmonton - their defense is AHL quality, they have no forward depth, and their #1 goalie is a 40 year old sieve.

Calgary - lost their captain, their top 6 forwards either refuse to backcheck, are locker room cancers, or both

LA - rebuilding still

Anaheim -rebuilding still

San Jose - tire fire

Seattle - won't be able to score

 

We'll likely finish 2nd and be rewarded with an easy playoff matchup against whichever team rises to the top of the trash heap below us.

[King Heffy]

7 minutes ago, Patel Bure said:

Why do you believe that Poolman is seriously underrated?   I'm definitely open to receiving new information but everything that I've heard so far seems to suggest that Poolman got absolutely whenever he had to play higher in the line-up.  This is what the Advanced Analytics suggest, and this is also what all/most Jets fans on HF suggested.  

 

Trust me - I want our current team to succeed and so if you have any positive information on Poolman that I am not aware of, please share it.

HF boards aren't exactly filled with mensa candidates, and anyone who trusts advanced analytics over the eye test is an absolute moron.

[Podz19]

4 minutes ago, Patel Bure said:

I should mention this more on the 'proposals' forum but I have a suggestion that excites me (but may not excite you).   

 

Hughes and Myers to the Devils for Ryan Graves, PK Subban, and a 1st round pick.  

 

The Devils get their wish of reuniting the three Hughes', while we achieve the following:

 

1) We get a true top pairing shut down guy in Ryan Graves

2) We recoup one of the 1st round picks that we've given up over these past few years

3) After one year of PK Subban, he comes off the books, and we go HARD after one of Colton Parayko or John Klingberg based on our needs at time (i.e. if we feel like we need more offense from the back-end or if we need another tough stay-at-homer).    

 

The above trade, in my opinion, is what would REALLY set us up for signficant playoff success.   

why in the world would you want PK subban who can barely play anymore, and is old, Graves who is ok but average, and a pick for 2 of our top 3 dmen, and particularly the best offensive dman this franchise has ever had and who is 21?

 

Dude, ya makes alot of sense for NJ, its nonsense from a canuck perspective

[vancan2233]

Just now, Patel Bure said:

Why do you believe that Poolman is seriously underrated?   I'm definitely open to receiving new information but everything that I've heard so far seems to suggest that Poolman got absolutely whenever he had to play higher in the line-up.  This is what the Advanced Analytics suggest, and this is also what all/most Jets fans on HF suggested.  

 

Trust me - I want our current team to succeed and so if you have any positive information on Poolman that I am not aware of, please share it.

When asked about Poolman, Benning said it was Shaw who wanted him. Advanced Analytics is flawed. He did play over his head in Winterpeg, but also showed that he is capable of playing big minutes against the best in the NHL. He will not be asked to play that high up in Van. If people are so high on Brad Shaw, then they should trust him wanting Poolman.

[Devron]

14 minutes ago, Patel Bure said:

1) We get a true top pairing shut down guy in Ryan Graves

Bruh Graves Is not a true top pairing shutdown guy. Decent player but man, no. And New Jersey just traded for him?

[sassbs]

With edler now gone, and after all these no names signings, where do the canucks stand as far as cap hit is concerned?

[nux_win]

1 hour ago, khay said:

Yes. 3 reasons.

 

1. Improvement from within. The young core will be better. Wouldn't be surprised if EP has a breakout season. 

2. Depth everywhere.

3. Pacific division.

 

The next question is, can we beat Vegas to make it out of the Pacific?

 

Yes.  3 Reasons:

 

1. We want it more.

2. It's our time.

3. Vegas sucks.

 

We're retooled and ready to go.  Look out NHL here we come...

 

Go Canucks Go!

[Locke Lamora]

I’ve said it elsewhere, but assuming we avoid horrific injuries, and Demko’s game doesn’t implode, we are a playoff team.

 

I think Quinn won’t be the trainwreck defensively he was last year, Rathbone is legit, EP (finger crossed) healthy, OEL WILL be better than he has been and Podz is coming….and there’s more good than this with the new additions, Garland etc….

 

Playoffs here we come. If I’m wrong I’ll happily own up to it, but envisioning how this team might play, I’m excited. 

[appleboy]

34 minutes ago, Patel Bure said:

Why do you believe that Poolman is seriously underrated?   I'm definitely open to receiving new information but everything that I've heard so far seems to suggest that Poolman got absolutely whenever he had to play higher in the line-up.  This is what the Advanced Analytics suggest, and this is also what all/most Jets fans on HF suggested.  

 

Trust me - I want our current team to succeed and so if you have any positive information on Poolman that I am not aware of, please share it.

Take a look at his minutes in the playoffs . That says a lot to me.

Jim payed him 2.5 mil for 4 years. He is 28 years old so he will 32 at the end of the deal. 

All he needs to be is a solid 5/6 guy for that money.

 

They are paying him much less then what Tanev is getting. 

 

Now if our fan base thinks he is a top pairing guy then they will be disappointed.  12 to 15 minutes a game. PK duties .

[Elias Pettersson]

11 minutes ago, appleboy said:

Take a look at his minutes in the playoffs . That says a lot to me.

Jim payed him 2.5 mil for 4 years. He is 28 years old so he will 32 at the end of the deal. 

All he needs to be is a solid 5/6 guy for that money.

 

They are paying him much less then what Tanev is getting. 

 

Now if our fan base thinks he is a top pairing guy then they will be disappointed.  12 to 15 minutes a game. PK duties .

He averaged over 18 minutes a night in the regular season last year and over 21 minutes in the playoffs. What makes you believe he will regress to only 12-15 minutes a night in Vancouver?

[Patel Bure]

51 minutes ago, Podz19 said:

why in the world would you want PK subban who can barely play anymore, and is old, Graves who is ok but average, and a pick for 2 of our top 3 dmen, and particularly the best offensive dman this franchise has ever had and who is 21?

 

Dude, ya makes alot of sense for NJ, its nonsense from a canuck perspective

Big picture.  Myers for Subbann.  
 

The idea is that we would walk away from Subbann after ONE year and then go HARD after Colton Parayko or John Klingberg in the 2022 offseason.  By contrast, we would be married to Myers and his 6 million dollar contract for three more years if we kept Myers.

 

In my proposed deal, NJ would also give us a 1st (to recoup some of the first round picks we’ve been trading these past few years), as well as a guy that can take on tougher defensive match ups against top lines (Ryan Graves).

[kloubek]

2 hours ago, ruilin96 said:

I am generally very optimistic about OEL. I think a fresh start is exactly what he needs. He is only 30, exact same age as Hedman. I hope he can atleast bounce back to a reliable top 4 defenseman who can put up points from the back end.

Me too. While 30-31 is when players often start declining, that only means he should be in his absolute prime right now. Add a fresh start on what appears to be a solid team and I wouldn't be surprised to see a bounceback year at all.

 

As for my opinion on the playoffs? The only way we don't make it is if the team implodes again. I can't imagine that happening. The team should be excited with the new talent, appreciative of the effort ownership and management have put into this team and their belief in the core.

 

How far do we make it? I truly believe there's no excuse to lose the division this season. I love our forward group and goaltending. I do wish we got another Tanev instead of a Tanev-lite, but other than that I believe this is a team that could potentially win it all.... if the group can find chemistry with the new players and a few other stars aligned. 

 

Then next season, we can still make a tweak or two if need be, and utilize the extra cap space we get for a legit Tanev-like player. I'm thinking Lindholm? I haven't seen him play enough but he seems solid enough, and chips in points too. And Swedish.

[Rick_theRyper]

Canucks are cup bound boys!! 

[higgyfan]

I feel confident that our team will get into the playoffs.  The competition in the division is weak and the core is itching to prove themselves.  The team depth is much better and if they can gel as a group, they will do well this season,

 

The forward group is outstanding, but the team D still needs work.  Goal tending is great. 

 

Still need tweaking to become contenders.  Baby steps.

[PhillipBlunt]

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

The Canucks (assuming the RFAs get extended and there’s no Petey offer sheet) are on their way to having a forward group, especially through their top-9, that can compete with any team in the league, and is almost certainly going to be one of the best, if not the best, in their division.

 

The defence is more of a question mark, with plenty of unknowns. Will Hughes have a massive bounce back year? Will OEL recover his game? How much of an effect will Brad Shaw have on overall Dman performance? How will the new signings fit in, find chemistry, and gel with their partners? How good will Juolevi be? And what about Rathbone? Will Myers be able to capably partner one the LHDs? Will Myers work with OEL? 

 

If everything goes well, the new look defence could be significantly improved. But there are quite a few moving pieces and it’s hard to predict how everything will shake out.

 

Forwards and goaltending: this is a playoff caliber team, easily. Defence? Hard to say right now. I’m hopeful, but we will need a lot of factors to fall in our favour for this to be a playoff caliber defensive group.

 

We’ll probably get in, just based on the weakness of the division. As to whether or not we can make any noise, that’ll come down to how good (or bad) the defensive group is, and then the usual factors, like puck luck, injuries, goaltending, and just the team getting hot at the right time.

Your balanced view of the team is always worth reading.