fanfor42 Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 I like the left side with OEL Hughes Rathbone and Juolevi. The right side is below average because there is no top pairing right side Dman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyman109 Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 I believe the system was bad last year and had been for a few. This year new d coach and we may see some improvement. The biggest improvement i think will be in the bottom 6 players all will have a better grip on defensive play. As a group we should be better just from that. Team defense is rarely all about the D men. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Heffy Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 (edited) Ridiculous article. You couldn't get 6 NHLers if you combined Toronto's and Edmonton's D. I also like our group a lot better than Ottawa, and have us roughly equal with Winnipeg and Calgary. The only Canadian team clearly better is Montreal. Only a complete moron would give Toronto's tire fire an A-, although it's no surprise this clown is relying on analytics trash instead of actually watching a hockey game. Rielly, Dermott, and Sandin are all massive liabilities in their own end and belong in the AHL until they actually learn how to play defense, and Holl is an injury call up on an actual NHL team. Edited September 10, 2021 by King Heffy 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil_314 Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 I have to think that the Canucks' D should at least be on par with the Oilers'. Sure Nurse is looking like a solid all-round left D and he and Barrie's stats would've been helped by playing with 97 and 29, but I think our depth is at least on par if not better than theirs (Keith/ Ceci/ Bouchard/ Russell vs. OEL/ Poolman/ Myers/ Rathbone or Juolevi). Of course if Hughes still tries to do too much out there he could be error prone, but if they find the right RD partner for him in either Schenn or Hamonic, or OEL's pair can eat up the tough minutes, then we could deploy Hughes in an offensive role and that can reduce any chance of defensive lapses. In short, if they can find the right combos with the pieces available this team can be stronger than expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Man Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 (edited) 4 hours ago, NHL97OneTimer said: What do you think? Is the D improved enough to bump up the win column this year! In full agreeance Edited September 10, 2021 by Cat Man 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris12345 Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 4 minutes ago, Phil_314 said: I have to think that the Canucks' D should at least be on par with the Oilers'. Sure Nurse is looking like a solid all-round left D and he and Barrie's stats would've been helped by playing with 97 and 29, but I think our depth is at least on par if not better than theirs (Keith/ Ceci/ Bouchard/ Russell vs. OEL/ Poolman/ Myers/ Rathbone or Juolevi). Of course if Hughes still tries to do too much out there he could be error prone, but if they find the right RD partner for him in either Schenn or Hamonic, or OEL's pair can eat up the tough minutes, then we could deploy Hughes in an offensive role and that can reduce any chance of defensive lapses. In short, if they can find the right combos with the pieces available this team can be stronger than expected. Russell has always interested me. He always seems to get his nose dirty but he always seems to not be very good. I can't put my finger on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Man Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 5 minutes ago, Phil_314 said: In short, if they can find the right combos with the pieces available this team can be stronger than expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil_314 Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 10 minutes ago, Chris12345 said: Russell has always interested me. He always seems to get his nose dirty but he always seems to not be very good. I can't put my finger on it. He's kind of a left handed Poolman -- defense first and a shot blocking machine but there won't be much in terms of points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honky Cat Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 According to Travis Yost,the worst D out of all Canadian teams. Not unexpected. https://www.tsn.ca/grading-the-defencemen-on-canada-s-nhl-teams-1.1691570 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Heffy Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Honky Cat said: According to Travis Yost,the worst D out of all Canadian teams. Not unexpected. https://www.tsn.ca/grading-the-defencemen-on-canada-s-nhl-teams-1.1691570 Consider the source. He actually think Toronto's defense is decent, and is relying on analytics instead of any actual knowledge of the sport. TSN is a joke for putting food on this idiot's table. Edited September 10, 2021 by King Heffy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honky Cat Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 Just now, King Heffy said: Consider the source. He actually think Toronto's defense is decent. He gave the Canucks a C. I was expecting far worse. His main concern is OEL might need babysitting . Also says most Canuck D-men need babysitting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honky Cat Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 I’m not a fan of Yost,but his points are fairly legitimate concerns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris12345 Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 18 minutes ago, Phil_314 said: He's kind of a left handed Poolman -- defense first and a shot blocking machine but there won't be much in terms of points. Yea he is better than Poolman I think but not by much. Doesn't mean Poolman is bad he's a good fit which is more important. There is always the knock on shot blockers..... They wouldn't block a shot if they moved the puck properly the first time. The flip side to that is Nylander the flamingo doesn't block shots period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Heffy Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 12 minutes ago, Honky Cat said: He gave the Canucks a C. I was expecting far worse. His main concern is OEL might need babysitting . Also says most Canuck D-men need babysitting. So do all the Leafs Dmen not named Muzzin or Brodie. OEL would be the Laff's 2nd best defenseman and would be babysitting their AHL trash. No reason to take this unqualified moron seriously. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guntrix Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 Why do people always get all up in arms at criticism. The concerns on D are legitimate. Our success next season will depend on our D taking the next step. God forbid both our D and goalies struggle. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Heffy Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 (edited) 2 minutes ago, guntrix said: Why do people always get all up in arms at criticism. The concerns on D are legitimate. Our success next season will depend on our D taking the next step. God forbid both our D and goalies struggle. Legitimate criticism from people who understand hockey is fine. Analytics dweebs calling the Laffs tire fire the best defense in Canada is ridiculous. Edited September 10, 2021 by King Heffy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Surfer Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 I still see us trading, a prospect or otherwise, for a more significant D still this season. Here is an edited version of a post from another thread; I am bullish on our forward group & overall improvement in athleticism. I really hope we use it to start applying better forward pressure again as we once were known for? In the days of Burrows, Janik Hansen, Kesler. I don't believe we have a contending D in the D men themselves. I do like some comments re Brad Shaw's impact? Is OEL better than Edler? Probably but we also lost Schmidt. Nate did not play great for us? I was not unhappy moving him. It is still a lot to ask Poolman to be the guy Schmidt was in Washington & Vegas. OEL is likely better than Edler but contributes to a lack in size, capacity to joust with heavyweights. That is also not Poolman, and certainly not Rathbone. Even if Jack is exciting. Its a work in progress and missing components as much as we have some talent. Not a finished D core. Funny enough; I always, always thought we would move one of Nate Schmidt & Alex Edler this off season. Never both. Maybe we'll trade Rathbone if he's all that? Something... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guntrix Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 Hard to say whether OEL is better than Edler until we see which OEL we’re getting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reyezone Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 OEL will undoubtably be better than Edler, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was better than Edler in his prime and continued to be so for years. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWMc1 Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 Yost the goof describing toronto's top three; "that’s as strong a top three as you will find in the National Hockey League". These guys combined for 65 takeaways and 189 giveaways in what has been described as a weak Northern division. Then he goes on to describe our players as prone to mistakes. What a goof. The fact is that we don't know how the guys will gel together. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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