Rutherford again criticizes Canucks structure: 'Something has to be fixed'

[EdgarM]

5 hours ago, aGENT said:

The problem is, this has never been about what other teams may or may not be doing.

 

Primarily it's about the Canucks having a black hole at top 4 RHD. The Canucks needing a 3C. The Canucks needing to play with more structure, better execution and FAR better team defense (some of that a problem with the above missing personnel). The Canucks lacking organizational depth.

 

Secondarily, how do you get those pieces with the assets and cap constraints we have? You can't keep everyone AND fix those issues.

 

Nobody wants to just move out players willy nilly. And just because we've won a couple and "they" have lost a couple, doesn't change any of that. The team isn't good enough. Period. Management needs to fix that.

All that you said is very true but I think what it boils down to is that we are too heavy on the smaller offensive players and lack the big ,heavy defensive players period. None of our offensive guys are particularly good at defense and yet we put them on the PK? What? 

The same with our D, all are pretty much offensive minded D(Myers, OEL, Hughes, Rathbone, Bear) and I would only call Schenn our only defensive defenseman and he is getting up there in age.

No wonder we can't hold leads after we get ahead. 

We got rid of our defensive guys(Beagle,Roussel,Erickson) all at once, which was good because they were too expensive but it also took away the defense, period. It didn't help losing Tanev either. 

Out of Petey, Bo and Miller 1 of them needs to go.

Out of the Boeser, Garland, Podz, Hogs, Mik, Kuz probably 2 or 3 of them need to go

Out of Myers, OEL, Hughes, Rathbone I would say 2 need to go. 

Bring in guys with size, strength and are strong on defense and it should balance out a bit more. 

I know its easier said then done but we have to make an attempt to move in that direction because the issues we have now will only compound if they somehow actually make it to the playoffs. 

I always thought it was tougher to get the Core and building around them was the easier part, apparently not. 

[EP Phone Home]

As Cam Charron just said on SN650 has said which many posters (myself included) have been saying all off season is: “This team just doesn’t have the horses” that’s on management not coaches.
 

Sure we can all cheer and hope that this team will just find the on switch and have a miracle comeback to get into a wild card spot. Is that a goal/direction we should be proud of? It’s fair to be questioning the holes of this team. It doesn’t make us any less of a fan when acknowledging there are problems with this roster. How this management team will fix it is anyone’s guess.

 

 

But one thing is for sure, we are capped out and need to somehow resign the captain, our flashy rookie Russian and to find 4/5 top four defenders on our roster and farm system. JR needs to stop blaming others and get to work. 

[EdgarM]

3 hours ago, Gawdzukes said:

I remember the season standings predication thread and everyone telling me how bad Vegas would be after I predicted they would be right at the top. @canuck73_3 seems to ring a bell.  

 

I hate em too but they're good, and they have a great defence, which wins championships and makes a good team.

 

We give up 4 goals a game. It's impossible to win in this league like that. This team absolutely needs more structure and discipline. I'd welcome a coaching change. Bruce is getting tired imo. He's out of tricks. If they want to save the season which is entirely possible I'd be offering Trotz the moon. He did it in Washington.

This is what I had hoped we would move towards , a big fast defensive minded team. We would have a hard time fighting our way out of a wet paper bag. 

[EP Phone Home]

3 hours ago, BC_Hawk said:

Hammer meet nail! The Canucks have a huge hole at Top4 RHD that needs to be addressed. Until it is, we will never actually get to see the potential of this team. The Canucks are best offensively when they run and gun with other teams. We have great team speed, and difference makers on offense.

 

The problem lies in that we can't expose our defense, otherwise we get thrashed. Take the beginning of the season; we were scoring at will, then have no answer on d to hold leads. The team lost confidence and would get scared to lose or such in 2nd or 3rd period; bad recipe.

 

Fast fwd a few games with Hughes now out; team reverts to a full defensive style; goes from 30+ shots a game to <20. This style wins them some games, but they can't compete against the best teams when they can't score.

 

What really irks me now is JR spouting off about structure and such, when we have seen that reverting to full defensive scheme will not allow them to compete with good teams...yet him and his Swedish sidekick have done nothing to address the hole as aGENT mentioned. Sure Bear is better than nothing, but he is a far cry from a do it all Top4 RHD. At this point, JR talk is cheap...he needs to put his money where his mouth has been; made a big balls trade, not bad mouth the team, and coaching staff WHEN YOU ARE THE ONE IN CHARGE! 

 

It was their "first priority"....in the words of Yannick "they did nothing"

Ding freakin, Ding!

[aGENT]

1 hour ago, DSVII said:

Because he fell in love with an overperforming 3C that was about to get cap crunched out of his team haha. (let's transpose this to JT two years later)

 

Foundational Culture Carrier Brandon Sutter.  I'll never forget how he gushed over him before even lacing his skates for us, only for Willie D to deploy him initially as a winger with the Sedins rather than our 2C.

Overpaid for sure... But I'd give my left Khabi and right Bulin for a 3C of his skill set right now.

 

4 minutes ago, EdgarM said:

All that you said is very true but I think what it boils down to is that we are too heavy on the smaller offensive players and lack the big ,heavy defensive players period. None of our offensive guys are particularly good at defense and yet we put them on the PK? What? 

The same with our D, all are pretty much offensive minded D(Myers, OEL, Hughes, Rathbone, Bear) and I would only call Schenn our only defensive defenseman and he is getting up there in age.

No wonder we can't hold leads after we get ahead. 

We got rid of our defensive guys(Beagle,Roussel,Erickson) all at once, which was good because they were too expensive but it also took away the defense, period. It didn't help losing Tanev either. 

Out of Petey, Bo and Miller 1 of them needs to go.

Out of the Boeser, Garland, Podz, Hogs, Mik, Kuz probably 2 or 3 of them need to go

Out of Myers, OEL, Hughes, Rathbone I would say 2 need to go. 

Bring in guys with size, strength and are strong on defense and it should balance out a bit more. 

I know its easier said then done but we have to make an attempt to move in that direction because the issues we have now will only compound if they somehow actually make it to the playoffs. 

I always thought it was tougher to get the Core and building around them was the easier part, apparently not. 

Our Tanev replacement in Marino was right there this summer...(would have cost Rathbone, so there's one gone). And they don't all need to be big and bruising (just be able to play D, move the puck, hold a lead, PK etc), but yup, for the most part. 

[ToTellTheTruth]

6 minutes ago, EP Phone Home said:

It was their "first priority"....in the words of Yannick "they did nothing"

Well they've won a couple of games without playing defence

[iceman64]

On 11/7/2022 at 8:38 PM, Dixon Ward said:

I had great respect for Rutherford before he came here.  However, he seems to talk like he's a spectator and not a part of the team.  I think Boudreau is a class act and has earned respect as a coach.  If you don't want him, fire him, but JR needs to stop lobbing bombs to undermine players and coaches and roll up his sleeves and do something.  

Yeah I'm pretty pissed about it, all that experience can't see through this and the reasons that most of us on the CDC have been talking about for a long time. 

 One being that this team has had a turnstile of new players on the ice EVERY year and even though there has been upgrades, expecting the team to run like a finely tuned engine is so unrealistic it defies logic.. not only have we FINALLY have a set roster, we still don't have depth enough to stand against the leagues elite with injuries let alone mid tier but again THIS year the same old players in and out and developing players in the roster too on ELC's is another thing. 

 

So imo, expecting anything to fit for awhile longer is crazy, part of the reason experience makes so much of a difference. 

 I'll make a interesting comparison that some here might remember, team Canada vs the USSR red army team.. 

 All our NHL stars had difficulty against them mostly because our team was thrown together and expected to win it all. 

 It wasn't like the Russians were so much better than us, it was more towards how much time they had playing and training together and it was obvious. 

 However our team was big, tough, and highly skilled then we leaned into them and they actually left the ice refusing to play saying it got too "too rough" ala Phil Esposito to begin with. 

 Had they been thrown together last minute as we had, we would have destroyed them.

 

Point being, we're not that new BUT it's been a turnstile for us, and it's nothing new here. 

 Until we get more time together the better off we'll be and JR coming out and saying that kind of $hit and forget what hockey has been like in Vancouver from day one right up to today?! gimme a break, great way to get rid of a coach and piss off players.. 

 JR.. do us all a favour, start spending every waking working minute you have investing into player drafting and developing or it's going to be the same ole' $hite different year! 

 That kind of talk is not helping ffs!!

[Bure2Win]

Maybe Rutherford should look in the mirror at his failures before criticizing the coach or the team? Take some accountability man.....Sigh

[CanadianRugby]

I think it's all posturing to show Horvat's agent that if he doesn't sign a team friendly deal then he'll be traded.

 

Who cares though.  This team isn't just magically going to be good because you fired Benning.  Time for a proper rebuild.

[BC_Hawk]

5 hours ago, aGENT said:

 

To be fair to management, it's a bit of a chicken and egg scenario. The team DOES need to play with better structure, execution, puck support and defense. That fall's firmly at the feet of the players and coaches. He's not wrong. They're simply not doing a good enough job.

 

This team, even with this personnel, and even with the clear roster holes etc, SHOULD be getting better results. They should be a bubble team, not at the bottom of the standings team. They should be able to start seasons, games, periods etc better. They should be able to be at least/around middling defensively. That's players and coaches.

 

But again, all the things I said about the roster, management, and their chosen routes they've taken thus far, are also true, and serious problems.

 

In short, both are a mess!

 

Agree. A real president would have addressed the coaching in summer if he want a different structure/system. We got nothing…other than losing our one guy that seemed to help the d structure in second half (Brad Shaw). 
 

watching these games, Bruce is just disinterested now. Showing no emotion on that crappy call involving Gallagher says it all; he’s checked out.

[D.B Cooper]

JR better do something, and fast, because this team fucking sucks 

[MaxVerstappen33]

17 minutes ago, D.B Cooper said:

JR better do something, and fast, because this team fucking sucks 

Lets just ride it out for a high pick. Seriously. A desperation trade is not one we are going to win.

[pomorick]

Don't worry, once we are out of the playoffs the guys will flip a switch and go on a run and we'll pick 15th again

[aGENT]

26 minutes ago, MaxVerstappen33 said:

Lets just ride it out for a high pick. Seriously. A desperation trade is not one we are going to win.

"Do something" could also be moving out vets for futures...just saying.

[CanucksJay]

Yes time to do something JR and co. 

I'm expecting some big changes. 

I don't mean changes to turn this season around. I mean changes that clearly signal a rebuild. 

 

 

[saucypass]

Lol something needs to be fixed and proceeds to do nothing.

[fivethej]

1 minute ago, suitup said:

Lol something needs to be fixed and proceeds to do nothing.

His idea of doing something is mouthing off with the same dribble about the entire team after each loss now.

[saucypass]

4 minutes ago, fivethej said:

His idea of doing something is mouthing off with the same dribble about the entire team after each loss now.

He kinda reminds me of Professor Farnsworth from Futurama. Brilliant guy and invented some incredible things. But now, why is he yapping off at his personnel and building the weirdest things?? Looks similar and everything. 

[EddieVedder]

Can a reporter with balls ask why the heck they let walker and shaw go?   

[Harold Drunken]

You can be mad at JR for saying it.....but he's not wrong so I don't know what everyone is mad about. The same people would be on here complaining if he didn't say anything too I would bet. I would rather have a President that speaks up and tries to light a fire when the team is playing like garage.  

 

Don't be mad at the President, be mad at the players or be mad at ownership for not allowing a proper rebuild for a team that hasn't really been competitive since 2011 or ever had a proper rebuild because playoff revenue is more important that a championship caliber team.  They are the one's underperforming and playing sloppy, terrible hockey. There are good players on that ice. The player's love Boudreau, he's a players coach....let's hold them accountable.....not blame a President who's been here less than a year.