Trying To Piece It Together
by Sean Zandberg on May 13, 2010 1:47 AM PDT
in Rants
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PrintA big tip of the ol' hat to Yankee Canuck for his masterful piece on Monday about the state of the franchise. I can't top it but I will try to say something different about the Canucks in my own special way.
What I'm having a hard time with is the nature in which the Canucks lost their games against Chicago. In their 4 losses they were outscored 21-9. Besides Game 2, which Van lost 4-2 after Kane scored an empty net goal, Chicago won their games 5-2, 7-4 and 5-1. Meltdowns on defence abounded. Luongo wasn't always sharp. Did you know that the Hawks had 30 or more shots in every game they played in this series? Their lowest was 30 and highest was 37.
Yeah, the Hawks were the better team in this series but it didn't have to be that way, and why did the Canucks have to once again look so pathetic in a series loss? Ryan Kesler believed the Canucks could beat Chicago but what happened? There are so many answers to the question but my main generalized concerns are team chemistry and team defence and the lack of it by Vancouver. Mike Gillis believed he was adding character guys but where in the hell did all that character and leadership go against Chicago? All I heard was lip service from the team before and after each game. I saw a bunch of players that seemed to lack faith in each other and / or lose their minds when times got tough. And that includes Roberto Luongo. And I've seen that before. It happened 1 year ago against the Hawks and it happened against the Wild in round 2 in 2003 when the Canucks blew a 3-1 series lead. They could not overcome adversity as a group. Yeah, Marc Crawford's Canucks. I can't believe I'm drawing comparisons.
The best playoff performance by the Canucks in recent years was in 2007. Remember that? They lacked offence but made up for it in goaltending and defence. They beat the Stars in 7 games in round one only to lose in 5 games to the superior Ducks in round 2. Against Anaheim, they lost the first game 5-1 but rebounded in game 2 to win in double overtime. They would lose the next 3 games after that, all by 1 goal, and 2 of those 3 games went into overtime as well. The bottom line is they went down fighting to a team that went on to win the Stanley Cup.
I want to see that with this team. I want to see that structured team defence return. I know Mike Gillis wanted more of an offensive strategy out there and Alain Vigneault had to change his ways, but this is TOO WIDE OPEN. Multiple 2 on 1's against in most of your playoff games isn't going to cut it. Expecting Luongo to stop those a lot of times is not fair. So can Vigneault get these guys to play somewhere in between 2007 and 2010?
Samuelsson gets it. "We definitely have a good group. The biggest thing is even if you don't win, you've got to learn something — if you want to learn. That's experience. You just can't run around out there. The opponents are too good and you have to play smart."
There were too many dummies.
So my wishlist for the summer is:
-set aside a day of praise when Pavol Demitra is no longer a Canuck. I never liked that acquisition from the start.
-re-sign Willie Mitchell, but at a lower price.
-I'm torn on Shane O'Brien. He improved but can be a distraction. We need smart defencemen. Is he that guy? Is he consistently that guy?
-No more offensive defencemen! Just quick, big, smart, and reliable stay-at-home types.
-Release Wellwood and get a bigger 3rd line center. Canucks need more size up front.
-Re-sign Aaron Rome
-What will Mason Raymond demand? I liked his gutsy play in these playoffs.
-Jannik Hansen...I'm torn.
-Steroids for the Sedins. If they each gained 10-15 pounds they would be more effective in a playoff grind with checkers hanging off them.
-Sit Luongo down, tell him it was a mistake that he was made captain and hand the "C" to Kesler, or maybe even Samuelsson. He's always good for a great interview. Then run away quickly because you never take something away from an Italian without getting wacked.
-Fire the assistant coaches! Special teams sucked. So do Ryan Walter's positivity tapes.
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This.
set aside a day of praise when Pavol Demitra is no longer a Canuck. I never liked that acquisition from the start.
This is awesome and should be observed by all practicing hockey fans.
Mase should be resigned. Johnson and Hansen too. SOB probably won’t be resigned because he has off ice partying issues and he is not a superstar (Kane) and thus that shit cannot fly.
The Habs proved what Ive been saying about the Canucks all playoffs:
In the regular season, skill and talent wins you games.
In the playoffs, heart, sacrifice, and teamwork wins you series, even against the best of teams.
Did the Canucks display a will to win, to put themselves on the ice and to defeat their opponents, at any cost? To keep their composure and play as a team?
sigh, another year down the drain.
Still, I wore my Canucks – #14 Burrows shirt to lecture today to show my unwavering support. I got some stares. After 12 years to watching this team, I’d like to stop getting stares and start getting some success.
"But yeah…like CC…I harbour no ill will." - VancityDan
by Chuckles Canuckles on May 13, 2010 2:05 AM PDT reply actions
Oh and Gonch just let Moen walk in.
and score.
Most lazy defensive play Ive ever seen by a defending Stanley Cup champion defenseman.
"But yeah…like CC…I harbour no ill will." - VancityDan
by Chuckles Canuckles on May 13, 2010 2:14 AM PDT up reply actions
That was unbelievable. I would love to know what his though process was on that one. Being injured wouldn’t even excuse him from that, he just watched Moen skate right by him! Unreal.
by sunshine and lollipops on May 13, 2010 8:25 AM PDT up reply actions
On the Sedins
You know with the Sedins, they’re always looking for each other to get that perfect play and it make for great highlight reels in the regular season, but in the playoffs, they’re just getting hammered all over the place.
I’m starting to wonder if putting them together is an asset or not? I’m not saying trade them at all, but rather seperating them on different lines, maybe put Daniel on the second line and see if we can get someone bigger on the first.
by Canuck in Japan on May 13, 2010 3:47 AM PDT reply actions
Why not leave them together
and get someone bigger to play with them?
"We love them, We mourn for them, Unlucky boys of Red" - Morrissey
"Giggs gets past Viera, past Dixon, who comes back at him, it's a wonderful run from GIGGS!!!" - Martin Tyler
"He's got a man deep..wait, no that IS Mandeep!!" - Don Taylor
by Section 312 on May 13, 2010 10:22 AM PDT up reply actions
i’m thinking of maybe searching through CapGeek to find the statuses on all our current player contracts, to help everyone with their rosterbation as to who’s leaving and staying and what-not
Nucks Misconduct contributor.
Also on Twitter.
nvm, already been done for me.
Here are the Canucks under contract for next season and their cap hits:
GOAL — Roberto Luongo, $5.333 million.
DEFENCE — Kevin Bieksa, $3.75 million; Sami Salo, $3.5 million; Alex Edler, $3.25 million; Christian Ehrhoff, $3.1 million; Andrew Alberts, $1.05 million.
LEFT WING — Daniel Sedin, $6.1 million; Michael Grabner, $843,000; Darcy Hordichuk, $775,00.
CENTRE — Henrik Sedin, $6.1 million; Ryan Kesler, $5 million; Rick Rypien, $550,00.
RIGHT WING — Mikael Samuelsson, $2.5 million; Alex Burrows, $2 million; Steve Bernier, $2 million.
RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS — Mason Raymond, Shane O’Brien, Aaron Rome, Tanner Glass, Jannik Hansen, Cory Schneider.
UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS — Pavol Demitra, Willie Mitchell, Kyle Wellwood, Ryan Johnson, Andrew Raycroft.
Nucks Misconduct contributor.
Also on Twitter.
It is a credit to the management staff
That of that list, only Bieksa and Bernier could really be said to be overpaid based on performance (I suppose you could pick a nit with Hordichuk or Edler, but that seems mean).
Both Nonis and Gillis have made some solid moves.
Knights, Canucks, Dolphins, Jays and Raptors all the way.
The best site
They’ve got all the teams on there, cap hit, salary, players, ages, etc.
by sunshine and lollipops on May 13, 2010 8:26 AM PDT up reply actions
Kevin Bieksa
This is a problem for me… $3.75 million for poor defensive zone coverage is not helping us at all. Hopefully we can shed this contract.
btw, sean, there’s a link to this post near the bottom of the NHL.com homepage right now.
Nucks Misconduct contributor.
Also on Twitter.
Not an expert but an incredibly avid hockey fan.
I think most teams start with leadership from the goalie position, especially during the playoffs. Luongo failed miseribly in this aspect. The interviews confirmed a player with no sense of urgency nor accountability for what I thought was a poor performance.
I was hoping for a change in the nets to shake things up but nothing creative there as well….
Right on...
Sean, I’m with you most all the way on everything you posted here.
IMO, the finest Canucks’ team I ever saw(and I’ve seen them ALL)was the 2006-07 team, who controlled games and smothered their opponents defensively. That’s what wins in the playoffs. I feel they’d be much closer to a Cup(at least still playing now)if they built on THAT team and its’ style, rather than opt for a more wide-open, frewheeling style, which obviously this team has not mastered yet(nor has the players to pull it off most effectively).
The only stuff I disagree with is firing the assistants(we have a good coaching staff)and this increasingly silly captain flap.
Would we still be playing if Kesler or Son of Sam were captain instead of Luongo? I doubt it, because we’d still have played exactly the way we did. Luongo is too convenient a scapegoat for too many of you….he was NOT the main reason we lost(he NEVER said as much nor even hinted at it, but I did and am), and I’ve not heard that any of the players had any reservations about who their captain should be..
I’m not saying that the captaincy should not change…just that it’s not something that the fans or the media should have any say over. The captain should be the guy the players want as their captain, and ideally that should be decided in the room, not the internet or the talk shows or the papers. Leave it alone, people.
I appreciate David’s just-posted comment right above mine, but I wonder if he was aware of any of the analysis both during and after Game 5 by almost all hockey people watching the series.
A change in the nets is seldom creative and usually backfires.
I would keep Mason Raymond at almost any price. He is on his way to developing into a Geoff Courtnall-type of player (same positition, same height, same weight, same speed – even faster than Geoff).
Without Geoff, I don’t think that the ’94 Cup-run would have happened.
I don’t see too many players with the same skill-set.
He is very young (25) and can put on another 10 pounds in the next few years.
The big question is Grabner, he is in Raymond’s footsteps. In a year or two, the Canucks will have to decide to go with one of them, but not right now.
Los Angeles, CA
And I agree with adopting a new strategy, with EQUAL focus on defense and offense.
As the saying goes, offense draws the crowds, but defense wins championships.
I am longing for the days when a 2-goal lead for the Canucks was as safe as money in the bank. This ended about 2 years ago,when the new, offensive-minded era began. It will take us nowhere. There must be a balance.
Los Angeles, CA
The Special Teams didn't suck
6th in the league this year of PP% and 3rd in PP Goals
The PK sucked. But that had more to do with Luongo having an off season than it did the coaching staff. I think AV needs to go and if that means his assistants go too I am OK with that.
"We love them, We mourn for them, Unlucky boys of Red" - Morrissey
"Giggs gets past Viera, past Dixon, who comes back at him, it's a wonderful run from GIGGS!!!" - Martin Tyler
"He's got a man deep..wait, no that IS Mandeep!!" - Don Taylor
by Section 312 on May 13, 2010 10:29 AM PDT reply actions
Great post
-Release Wellwood and get a bigger 3rd line center. Canucks need more size up front.
Interesting. I’m not sure what to think about this. Wellwood is definitely streaky, but has some upside (for the right price). I wonder if he’d almost be better as a winger based on his shootout record.
Alexandre Bolduc surprised me as filling in for a few games as a depth centre before he got injured.
Here’s the real question though, if we pickup a big 3rd line centre like you are suggesting, what happens to Cody Hodgson, Jordan Shroeder, and Balls Johnson?
The concerning part of Hodgson and Shroeder additions is that we once again don’t get any bigger. That’s where maybe letting Raymond go isn’t going to hurt so much. Hodgson can play as a winger on line 2 and alternate center with Kesler, IMO. Schroeder may not even make the team. Jannik Hansen might get shipped out too, creating another opening. I don’t know what’s going to happen.
by Sean Zandberg on May 13, 2010 1:08 PM PDT up reply actions
What's with the obsession with getting bigger?
The Hawks D isn’t big. Our forwards didn’t get pushed around. The only issue was our D not being able to handle the Hawks forwards. And that wasn’t a size thing either. It was an ability thing.
"We love them, We mourn for them, Unlucky boys of Red" - Morrissey
"Giggs gets past Viera, past Dixon, who comes back at him, it's a wonderful run from GIGGS!!!" - Martin Tyler
"He's got a man deep..wait, no that IS Mandeep!!" - Don Taylor
by Section 312 on May 13, 2010 1:19 PM PDT up reply actions
Yes, an ability thing and hat’s because several of our D-men are idiots, like Bieksa for example, but you don’t want to hear that do you?
Size up front. Yes I want more of that. Our smaller guys got pushed around a lot. You didn’t see that?
by Sean Zandberg on May 13, 2010 1:26 PM PDT up reply actions
Speed kills too. 2 on 1s work really good with a bunch of fast forwards… we just need to learn to CAPITALISE on our chances
The Hawks did have FIFTEEEN
(I will repeat FIFTEEN!!!!!!!!) odd man rushes in game 6. Does our team getting bigger help that number?
"We love them, We mourn for them, Unlucky boys of Red" - Morrissey
"Giggs gets past Viera, past Dixon, who comes back at him, it's a wonderful run from GIGGS!!!" - Martin Tyler
"He's got a man deep..wait, no that IS Mandeep!!" - Don Taylor
by Section 312 on May 13, 2010 1:43 PM PDT up reply actions
I am talking about size on the top 6
which isn’t needed. Our top 6 is fine. It’s our 3rd and 4th liners that need to be more effective. That doesn’t mean scoring. Just more effective like the Hawks forwards. I didn’t see our top 6 getting pushed around. Who was pushing them around? Keith? Campbell? Come on. Duncan Keith is tiny. He is just better.
I am OK with hearing that Bieksa sucks when he actually sucks. Like game 6 he wasn’t great. But you guys like to say that he sucks even when he is playing lights out like game 5. That’s annoying and not very fair. He can go this offseason I will be OK with it.
"We love them, We mourn for them, Unlucky boys of Red" - Morrissey
"Giggs gets past Viera, past Dixon, who comes back at him, it's a wonderful run from GIGGS!!!" - Martin Tyler
"He's got a man deep..wait, no that IS Mandeep!!" - Don Taylor
by Section 312 on May 13, 2010 1:42 PM PDT up reply actions
You didn’t see Raymond getting smoked at every turn? The Twins? Demo when not Demoted? I don’t think a punishing presence or two in the top 6 would hurt to wear guys down. Kane and Toews got free rides IMO. But I agree that the 3rd and 4th liners needing to be more effective.
The Hawks are a puck possession team
who do most of their damage on the cycle and keep the puck in the offensive zone for long stretches of time. I don’t think that has anything to do with size. And the only noticeable player I saw punishing people was Byfuglien and he only does that against us. The Hawks aren’t good because of size and I don’t think getting bigger is the way to beat them.
"We love them, We mourn for them, Unlucky boys of Red" - Morrissey
"Giggs gets past Viera, past Dixon, who comes back at him, it's a wonderful run from GIGGS!!!" - Martin Tyler
"He's got a man deep..wait, no that IS Mandeep!!" - Don Taylor
by Section 312 on May 13, 2010 3:11 PM PDT up reply actions
Ahem..Brower, Bolland, Ladd, Seabrook..bang bang bang!
by Sean Zandberg on May 13, 2010 3:19 PM PDT up reply actions
Ladd didn't do much in the games I saw
Bolland was effective against the Sedins but I didn’t see him throwing his weight around and punishing them physically. Brouwer is bad. Seabrook is a D man. And I already said we needed to get bigger on the back end. But not just bigger. Bigger AND better.
"We love them, We mourn for them, Unlucky boys of Red" - Morrissey
"Giggs gets past Viera, past Dixon, who comes back at him, it's a wonderful run from GIGGS!!!" - Martin Tyler
"He's got a man deep..wait, no that IS Mandeep!!" - Don Taylor
by Section 312 on May 13, 2010 3:28 PM PDT up reply actions
yeah yeah yeah, I get the whole bigger on the back end part but I want more size in the top 6 and you don’t. You also didn’t see the Sedins getting decked. Cool. Hell, even Hossa was decking guys. HOSSA. Maybe instead of getting bigger top 6’ers our top 6’ers just have to play bigger.
by Sean Zandberg on May 13, 2010 3:50 PM PDT up reply actions
Maybe
cause the Hawks top 6 other than Byfuglien isn’t big.
"We love them, We mourn for them, Unlucky boys of Red" - Morrissey
"Giggs gets past Viera, past Dixon, who comes back at him, it's a wonderful run from GIGGS!!!" - Martin Tyler
"He's got a man deep..wait, no that IS Mandeep!!" - Don Taylor
by Section 312 on May 13, 2010 4:03 PM PDT up reply actions
And if we get bigger in the top 6 who goes?
Raymond? Samuelsson? Burrows? Kesler? The Sedins?
"We love them, We mourn for them, Unlucky boys of Red" - Morrissey
"Giggs gets past Viera, past Dixon, who comes back at him, it's a wonderful run from GIGGS!!!" - Martin Tyler
"He's got a man deep..wait, no that IS Mandeep!!" - Don Taylor
by Section 312 on May 13, 2010 4:04 PM PDT up reply actions
Well, if Samuelsson plays on line 3 then there is an opening. If Raymond’s contract talks go south then there’s another opening.
by Sean Zandberg on May 13, 2010 4:35 PM PDT up reply actions
Don’t get me wrong though, it’s a tough call for my opinion, and your bottom 6 opinion makes a lot of sense.
by Sean Zandberg on May 13, 2010 4:37 PM PDT up reply actions
Sean, maybe we’d have to alter the description, not big, but nails-tough? Like to hit? Play with aggression? 110% effort?
Somehow, I think if MG looks around hard enough, he’ll find those guys through alternative means – I watched Steve Reinprecht (he signed as FA with the Kings), Rene Bourque and Adam Burish leave Wisconsin as captains and sign free agent tryouts with the Blackhawks most likely because Chicago watched them as they were so close to the campus. Look at them now – Burish can’t do much but he was a captain, so he’ll use his brains and leave it all on the ice – THAT’s what we need?
by nucklinBadger on May 13, 2010 5:49 PM PDT up reply actions
i'm not sure your
team needs many changes. It’s a very strong team. Perhaps one more capable blue-liner and you’re over the hump.
but let’s face it. The Hawks haven’t played great hockey in these playoffs (I should say that they’ve been outplayed). What they’ve been is opportunistic. We were lucky against Nashville and we were lucky against your team. Luck only takes you so far, so we’ll see what our team is made of against S.J.
this idea of getting bigger can be debated ad infinitum, but there’s a price you pay for having so many skills players. Vancouver is in a very, very good position moving forward. I’d say be happy you’re not Florida…
Being happy you're not Florida.
Turns you into Tampa.
"But yeah…like CC…I harbour no ill will." - VancityDan
by Chuckles Canuckles on May 14, 2010 9:35 AM PDT up reply actions
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