Nucks Misconduct: FanPosts

Hunger Games: David Booth

2013-05-13T22:56:09Z

In a blowout win against Nashville on March 15th, David Booth scored his only goal of the 2012-2013 season. Late in the game, after turning the puck over inside the Predator's half, Booth skipped his shot towards a vacant net... and rung it off the post harmlessly. Perhaps it's only for that inglorious clang that Maxim Lapierre ultimately took pity and chose Booth over both himself and Dale Weise - all three charging into the zone once again - to hammer in the game's final nail. Booth was happy with the goal and embraced the overzealous celebration from his buddies on the ice. If he understood then what it meant in the grand scheme of his season, his reaction might have been different. That goal was not the ‘slump-buster' it should have been. His season ended with a brutal ankle injury two nights later.

Booth was healthy for a total of twelve games this season, and frustratingly unlucky in his production during that span. With that empty netter, his shooting percentage grew to an unbearably low four percent - not just too low to be sustainable over a season any longer, but substantially lower than his eleven percent conversion rate of the prior year. This misfortune can't be allowed to mask how well he played: Corsi ratings have him below only the Sedin twins for driving offensive production. That's not a trick of the shrunken sample size. Last year, too, he created the best differential of shots-directed-at-net of all players not on the top line. He also did it without the advantage of so much deployment in the attacking zone.

The starting gun for talk about a contract buyout was fired at the trade deadline. How could we all be so lucky to receive Derek Roy, the piece of the puzzle that would solve scoring and centre-depth in one small, speedy bundle? And more importantly, how could this six-million-dollar-man ever be retained? Eyes darted quickly to Keith Ballard and Booth, both of whom had struggled to find a consistent role in the squad, and both of whom present substantial drains on the salary cap. While Roy's performance failed to justify his retention, a budget that's nevertheless still shrinking has meant discussion of a Booth buyout lingers.

It's possible that the Canucks' community will never accept David Booth. His proto-American combination of machismo and Christianity has led to a standoffish relationship with a peculiarly Canadian fanbase, who are uneasy when faced by a value system that allows bears to be hunted by bow. Why couldn't he be a Hindu, or something, and vegetarian? Or at least softly spoken, secular and innocently playful, like that other Michigander? These philosophical incompatibilities will need to be set aside, for now. Booth will be hungry to see a new slump-buster pay dividends next season. And the Canucks organization itself is not in such a position of great tactical advantage that they can afford to snap one of the only arrows remaining in their quiver.

You can read this - and more great hockey wording! - at my new Canucks blog, Green Men and Millionaires.

Score-Predicting Wizards: 2012 -13 (Updated FINAL: May 9)

2013-05-10T02:41:00Z

Congrats to FormerHab and Nathaniel Perlow (who picked Marleau to score the winner in Game 4 to end up in a tie with FH.) Well played, both of you! You both win a dirty sock from me. My socks stink really bad, like the Canucks do in the playoffs. Thanks to everyone for playing this season. We will be doing the same competition next season, with altered rules, I would think. Maybe. We'll see.

FormerHab: 12

Nathaniel Perlow: 12

Bobby Canuck: 11

Twin Terror: 11

gmonk33: 10

patrik e: 10

andrew21nz: 7

EvianBubble: 6

Meat Mayos: 6

PeaceJo: 6

raincity: 6

BW79: 5

Sean Zandberg: 5

Tengeresz: 5

acg515: 4

Geordie Nuck: 4

team pinnelli: 4

vancitydan: 4

Vancouverguy: 4

westy99: 4

ChuckinNux: 3

DeathdogIGBL: 3

ktownfan: 3

marcness52: 3

pheenster: 3

Soundergarden: 3

Twitchy2010: 3

Coach Ryan: 2

jwolf0: 2

Sandwich76: 2

seedvt: 2

Slegna: 2

WindyCitySharksfan19

YorkAveOrca: 2

beardstache: 1

bygfeete: 1

dshaps: 1

Herculoid: 1

Kent Basky: 1

KYCanuck: 1

missy: 1

NS_Cix: 1

nucksandpucks: 1

radepalma: 1

Smoboy41: 1

Supr49er: 1

Tangent: 1

Thursday: 1

ZeeTee: 1

You can enter this competition by entering your prediction for a Canucks game in the Game Preview Posts comments.

You get:

2 points for correctly guessing the correct score and winning team. But you have to get both right. There's no points for getting one right and not the other.

1 point for predicting the correct game-winning goal scorer.

FormerHab: 12

Nathaniel Perlow: 12

Bobby Canuck: 11

Twin Terror: 11

gmonk33: 10

patrik e: 10

andrew21nz: 7

EvianBubble: 6

Meat Mayos: 6

PeaceJo: 6

raincity: 6

BW79: 5

Sean Zandberg: 5

Tengeresz: 5

acg515: 4

Geordie Nuck: 4

team pinnelli: 4

vancitydan: 4

Vancouverguy: 4

westy99: 4

ChuckinNux: 3

DeathdogIGBL: 3

ktownfan: 3

marcness52: 3

pheenster: 3

Soundergarden: 3

Twitchy2010: 3

Coach Ryan: 2

jwolf0: 2

Sandwich76: 2

seedvt: 2

Slegna: 2

WindyCitySharksfan19

YorkAveOrca: 2

beardstache: 1

bygfeete: 1

dshaps: 1

Herculoid: 1

Kent Basky: 1

KYCanuck: 1

missy: 1

NS_Cix: 1

nucksandpucks: 1

radepalma: 1

Smoboy41: 1

Supr49er: 1

Tangent: 1

Thursday: 1

ZeeTee: 1

You can enter this competition by entering your prediction for a Canucks game in the Game Preview Posts comments.

You get:

2 points for correctly guessing the correct score and winning team. But you have to get both right. There's no points for getting one right and not the other.

1 point for predicting the correct game-winning goal scorer.

Playoffs Open Thread

2013-05-10T00:55:05Z

Well, the Canucks may be out of it again, but there is still playoff hockey going on :)

Some people don't blog jump like I do, so I figured we could maybe use an Open Thread to follow the other games or just hang out :)

If you are watching the other teams and want somewhere to hang out this is the place :)

Who are you rooting for in each of the series?

Caps, Blues, Isles, Leafs, Wild (not happening but I can dream), Sens, Wings for me :)

Well, the Canucks may be out of it again, but there is still playoff hockey going on :)

Some people don't blog jump like I do, so I figured we could maybe use an Open Thread to follow the other games or just hang out :)

If you are watching the other teams and want somewhere to hang out this is the place :)

Who are you rooting for in each of the series?

Caps, Blues, Isles, Leafs, Wild (not happening but I can dream), Sens, Wings for me :)

Good Boy Hockey

2013-05-08T09:03:27Z

Who's a good boy? Whoooooooooooo's a good boy? It's you! Yes it is! Yes you are a good boy! Yes you are. wikimedia

I've seen it for all my 24 years on this earth, up close and personal. Golden Retrievers are the world's best thing.

Terabytes of words have been written about that already, and this is not that. I just bring it up because I like Golden Retrievers, and because thinking about Golden Retrievers is way more pleasant than thinking about our current hockey team. Which I guess is where I'm going with this, but, one last time before we do: WHO'S A GOOD BOY?

Alright, so the Vancouver Canucks. I don't really believe that there's a sea change going on in boardrooms around the league, with those who favour thumpers slowly out-breeding those who favour, like, Linus Omark. And even if there is, the Canucks would do well to avoid it. There are always deals to be had when people go crazy for something. Maybe my favourite quote in sports is the following, a smart man paraphrasing Darcy Reghier paraphrasing Al Arbour:

In his story he asked Arbour 'what were the keys to building a contender?', expecting a laundry list like "a sniping winger, two quality shut down defenceman, a powerplay quarterback, a great checking center, a top notch first line center and two power forward wingers". Arbour replied by saying "Just get good players. Keep adding good players. You'll end up with a good team."

Get good players. That's it. Hockey games are won by having the puck, keeping the puck, and putting the puck on net [1]. I don't care if my team does it by means of speed or puckhandling or violence or cleverness, or by any combination thereof. I don't care if a potential third-line center is 4'3" and blind; if he can play hockey, sign the fucker. I also don't think this is a new or particularly interesting philosophy.

With all that said, there is one specific characteristic I'd like the Canucks to target and foster in this summer's inevitable shake-up. Call it...decorum. The Canucks have a reputation for being diving shitheads. We can argue forever as to whether it's deserved, relative to other teams, but the perception is real and any additional incident only reinforces the idea. Additionally, it seems (and I'll admit this impression may be way off--I have no goddamn idea what goes on in, like, Raleigh) Canucks personnel spend an inordinate amount of time talking to the media about officiating.

These actions (oh, along with "looking for calls" in-game--a personal bête noire) amount to embarrassing the game officials, and so are bad for a reason testable and related to hockey outcomes: I suspect (alas, no proof) that referees, being human, exact revenge on players and teams that pester them. And there are other reasons to eschew the bullshit--personal preference aesthetic stuff: Diving is ugly to watch. I don't care how much other teams do it; I'd prefer my team abstained altogether. I'm baffled that we've somehow ceded the hockey-circles moral high ground to the Boston fucking Bruins. And, on a macro level, I'm tired of hearing fans and media and players screech about "embellishment". It's circular and uninteresting and composes like a quarter of all hockey banter.

So, a summer wishlist:

(Continue to) sign and keep good players, who...
Stay on their skates and...
Shut the fuck up about everything, forever

Go Canucks.

[1] And by not employing Marc-Andre Fleury, which, phew.

Good boy! wikimedia

Who's a good boy? Whoooooooooooo's a good boy? It's you! Yes it is! Yes you are a good boy! Yes you are. wikimedia

I've seen it for all my 24 years on this earth, up close and personal. Golden Retrievers are the world's best thing.

In his story he asked Arbour 'what were the keys to building a contender?', expecting a laundry list like "a sniping winger, two quality shut down defenceman, a powerplay quarterback, a great checking center, a top notch first line center and two power forward wingers". Arbour replied by saying "Just get good players. Keep adding good players. You'll end up with a good team."

So, a summer wishlist:

(Continue to) sign and keep good players, who...
Stay on their skates and...
Shut the fuck up about everything, forever

Go Canucks.

[1] And by not employing Marc-Andre Fleury, which, phew.

Good boy! wikimedia

Yet another Canucks post-mortem.

2013-05-08T07:12:50Z

I can't believe I have to write another one of these. Yes, yes, I know. Statistically, the odds are against me... but still, I wasn't ready to write it yet. Not this soon.

I haven't followed the team fervently like some of you guys have. I only started following the team with the success of the West Coast Express, and it carried forward into today. I survived Lidstrom putting the nail in the coffin to Cloutier's career, Big Bert's temporary loss of humanity. I've been disappointed with losing Championships in the last game (SCF '11), last minute (EPL '12, to a hometown rival no less). I've survived. I dealt with crap that went on in that Boston series, and I believed our team was better. We were screwed by the refs, I told myself. I dealt with the disappointment of the Sundin era, I dealt with Kesler struggling on the ice with one leg, and I figured I could deal with this too.

After the SCF 11 run, there was bitter disappointment, and resentment, but all feelings of that was erased by the disgust and sickening sight of a bunch of inebriated morons destroying our collective reputations and our beautiful city. I was able to look forward to a new season, and the team lived up to its lofty standards with stellar play. It all changed with that fateful Boston game, and from then on, nothing was the same.

The SCF '12 run was disappointing too, and yet, it made sense. The Kings were a better team, and they deserved to win. Again, there was some semblance of hope looking into the future, because with a full and healthy compliment of players, I felt the team was going to be a match.

Tonight, is a different story. For the first time in a long time, the result of the game felt.... empty. I couldn't stand that feeling, I didn't even watch the end of the third period. I can't find any reasons for optimism, any positive signs to cling to. I wasn't mad, annoyed, upset. I just felt hollow. Granted, the refereeing was atrocious, and I do hope the NHL look into it if they hope to continue to field a good product, because the job those refs did ruins the game. There is so little consistency between LA series and this series, I just wonder whether we're watching 2 separate sports at times. But to blame the result on the calls would just be taking the easy way out. The team didn't deserve to beat the Sharks, not with them playing such poor hockey. The refs merely guided the inevitability of the results.

I'm going to get some rest and get away from the board for a little while. I just need to get over this whole thing. But I'll be back. I'll be there when the new season begins. I'll be there when there IS something to look forward to. I'll be there when we make our way back to the playoffs and the Cup again.

I can't believe I have to write another one of these. Yes, yes, I know. Statistically, the odds are against me... but still, I wasn't ready to write it yet. Not this soon.

The Solution? Trade Corey Schneider!

2013-05-08T05:15:03Z

Despite Schneider's weak performance in the final games of the Sharks/Canucks playoff series, this is not meant as criticism of Vancouver's young netminder. Corey is a top-notch 'keeper in the NHL, and will be for years to come. The loss to the San Jose Sharks was not his fault alone.

So why would anyone consider trading him instead of his former mentor. Roberto Luongo, who he seems to have surpassed?

What was clear in the playoffs and for much of the regular season was that the Vancouver Canucks do not have a goaltending problem, despite all the ink and airtime wasted opining that they did. Schneider was great and Luongo was very good for most of the year, and the two got along like blood brothers.

The problem is scoring depth especially at centre.

The season-long trade watch on Roberto Luongo was much more of a distraction than the conduct or play of the two goalies themselves. All that came of the fruitless process was to prove that Luo's contract makes him untradeable, especially with the lower salary cap kicking in next year. If the Canucks insist on getting rid of their former captain they will have to either take back a player with an equally unappealing contract, settle for minimal value, or buy out Luongo and get nothing but cap space in return. What a waste!

Schneider, however, has a much more attractive contract, both in terms of cap hit numbers and length. He is also younger and would be far more in demand than Luongo is. But doesn't that mean Vancouver would be nuts to trade him? Well, if you're talking about trading him to a conference rival, perhaps. Being beaten by the young Bostonian in the playoffs in years to come is not an appealing prospect.

But that leaves 16 teams in the larger eastern conference after realignment next year, a much bigger pool than the one or two teams who kicked the tires on Luo. Schneider should easily bring help at centre ice and on the scoreboard.

Meanwhile, the Canucks would retain the services of their best goaltender in franchise history and still a top flight player in that vital position. Eddie Lack, despite an injury filled season, remains a blue chip prospect. By the time he rounds into a potential NHL starter, Bobby Luo will be in his mid-to-late thirties.

Of course, all of this flies in the face of conventional wisdom and expectations. Big deal. It makes sense. End the two-headed monster in the crease, restore Roberto Luongo to starter status, boost centre-ice depth and scoring prowess, perhaps even free up some other trade options to further fine tune a line-up that clearly is not getting closer to winning a Cup as things stand.

So why would anyone consider trading him instead of his former mentor. Roberto Luongo, who he seems to have surpassed?

The problem is scoring depth especially at centre.

The problem of the Vancouver Canucks 2013-14

2013-05-06T17:10:33Z

photo by Don Smith

The series with San Jose is most cases is irrelevant to the problem the Nucks face next year.

Here is our opening day roster for next year

FORWARDS
Daniel Sedin ($6.100m) / Henrik Sedin ($6.100m) / Alexandre Burrows ($4.500m)
David Booth ($4.250m) / Ryan Kesler ($5.000m) / Jannik Hansen ($1.350m)
Chris Higgins ($2.500m) / Zack Kassian ($0.870m)
DEFENSEMEN
Alexander Edler ($5.000m) / Kevin Bieksa ($4.600m)
Jason Garrison ($4.600m) / Dan Hamhuis ($4.500m)
Keith Ballard ($4.200m) / Frank Corrado ($0.599m)
GOALTENDERS
Roberto Luongo ($5.333m)
Cory Schneider ($4.000m)
Joe Cannata ($0.900m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $64,402,778; BONUSES: $0
CAP SPACE (17-man roster):- $102,778

Do you see some glaring problems like I do? We seem to be short of players. Of course we still need to sign guys like Tanev, Lappy…maybe MayRay again. But we won’t be able to do that with this group of guys as the Canucks are over the cap already with these 17 players. Some of the money needed will be freed up without buyouts or trades….or both. The debate about who should get moved has been going on since the new CBA was announced.

In the post mortem of this team, I think the causes of its demise can’t focus solely on this year’s events. You would have to go back and look at the creation of this roster over time and take guesses at management was/was not thinking. I really wonder how far the owners and management think ahead when it comes to salary cap and player signings. Two years ago did the Aquillinis believe there would be a salary rollback that would help them sign others down the line or did they realize that eventually the team would have a group of high paid players and minimum wage players with not a lot in the middle?

GMMG and his reign as GM is always a hot topic at the end of the year. And this year’s signings and trades (or lack of) will be discussed the moment the Canucks pack their bags. I am sure NM will have all of its writers take a crack at it. And AV and his style of coaching will fill another month of blogging.

I am sure there is enough blame for everyone to share, but I am more interested in seeing the direction the team goes in fixing this salary cap problem. I doubt the ship gets blown up but I wonder how much money the Aquillini’s are willing to spend for buyouts. It’s easy for me to sit here and say the Nucks should buyout Booth, it’s not my money being spent. Personally I would trade Schneider. The Canucks would get more for him, and the farm system needs to improve. Lu’s contract is one of GMMG’s biggest blunders and yet I have no problem keeping Lu. The return in trading this top 10 goalie is going to be minimal except for salary cap space. Schneider is a great goalie but Canuck fans seem to get stuck on potential instead of actual results. Lu has results…..Schneider has potential. I think the Cam Neely trade still haunts old fans and the Hodgson/Kassian trade seems to be the mental roadblock for younger fans who see Lu as the reason the Canucks lost the SCF and therefore want Schneider to stay.

Going back to Booth, I would buy him out in a second. It would cost the Aquillini’s $6.3 million to buy him out and pay over 4 years. I wonder if they would take the hit. I would keep Ballard as he is at least versatile as a defenseman/forward. Ballard is overpaid, but again I think the Canucks would get nothing in return if they traded him. Also the Canucks defensive core is thin at the minor league level now that Tanev is a regular and Corrado will probably be a regular to help balance the salary cap.

So in the end I don’t have answers, just hypotheticals. And my hypothetical still has holes in it. Here’s what it looks like.

FORWARDS
Daniel Sedin ($6.100m) / Henrik Sedin ($6.100m) / Alexandre Burrows ($4.500m)
Chris Higgins ($2.500m) / Ryan Kesler ($5.000m) / Jannik Hansen ($1.350m)
Maxim Lapierre ($1.000m) / Zack Kassian ($0.870m)
Jordan Schroeder ($0.851m) / Nicklas Jensen ($0.894m)
DEFENSEMEN
Alexander Edler ($5.000m) / Kevin Bieksa ($4.600m)
Jason Garrison ($4.600m) / Dan Hamhuis ($4.500m)
Keith Ballard ($4.200m) / Frank Corrado ($0.599m)
Chris Tanev ($1.300m) / Andrew Alberts ($1.225m)
GOALTENDERS
Roberto Luongo ($5.333m)
Eddie Lack ($0.750m)
OTHER
Buyout: David Booth ($0.000m)

SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $61,312,444; BONUSES: $0
CAP SPACE (21-man roster): $2,987,556

I resigned Lappy, Tanev, and Alberts. I traded Schneider for hopefully a first round pick (and some cap relief). I bought out Booth. Good Riddance. There are still 2 forward spots left open and I have one extra d-man signed for the 21 man roster, but at least there is almost $3 million in wiggle room to try and sign a 3rd line forward.

This is not a first place team, but it still can get into the playoffs if injuries can keep away from the top lines and defense pairings.

photo by Don Smith

The series with San Jose is most cases is irrelevant to the problem the Nucks face next year.

Here is our opening day roster for next year

So in the end I don’t have answers, just hypotheticals. And my hypothetical still has holes in it. Here’s what it looks like.

This is not a first place team, but it still can get into the playoffs if injuries can keep away from the top lines and defense pairings.

Higgins out with sprained knee, Tanev ankle: TSN

2013-04-09T23:55:47Z

Here's the Team 1040 link, with audio from AV's press meeting today. It sounds like neither will join the team on their upcoming 5 game roadtrip, and Chris Higgins is 'hopefully' to be healthy by the playoffs. Dale Weise will step up to take his role tomorrow against the Flames.

Ed. note: Thank you Jezz for pointing these injuries out. Hearing that Dale Weise will step in for Higgins does not exactly thrill me. Maybe Derek Roy will make Weise back into a Dutch Gretzky.

Losing Chris Tanev's presence on the blue line really sucks. Period.

TSN's Farhan Lalji had this to say today on Twitter:

@FarhanLaljiTSN: AV re Tanev & Higgins: lower body. Neither will make trip at all. Hopeful to have Higgins back for playoffs. #canucks

But remember: the closer it gets to playoff time, the less the coach's say about player injuries.

Ed. note: Thank you Jezz for pointing these injuries out. Hearing that Dale Weise will step in for Higgins does not exactly thrill me. Maybe Derek Roy will make Weise back into a Dutch Gretzky.

Losing Chris Tanev's presence on the blue line really sucks. Period.

TSN's Farhan Lalji had this to say today on Twitter:

@FarhanLaljiTSN: AV re Tanev & Higgins: lower body. Neither will make trip at all. Hopeful to have Higgins back for playoffs. #canucks

But remember: the closer it gets to playoff time, the less the coach's say about player injuries.

GMMG Needs To Go - Ship is Rudderless

2013-04-04T14:10:12Z

The trade deadline came and went yesterday and the Vancouver Canucks stayed on the sideline. There has been much disappointment in the #Canucks twitter sphere because of expectations that were set earlier in the week when Asst. GM Lawrence Gilman stated that the Canucks were going to be active and had more deals in the works. The fan/team wish list which included Raffi Torres and Ryan Clowe went unmet as those players and others went to other teams in exchange for draft picks – which is frustrating to any fan who knows that most NHL draft picks never even play a game in the NHL.

The fan base was restless for change largely because the present team has been hit by significant injuries and the players that have been on the ice have at times seemed listless. Most significantly the saga between the Canucks and Roberto Luongo continues with no end in site. Whereas on the one hand the Luongo contract albatross was given as the reason for a lack of movement, on the other was the Canucks wanting to get fair value for a very good goalie regardless of his contract. Well, if the contract is the problem then anyone taking it on is not going to give “fair value” for the player, right? This all seems pretty simple, like one of those commercials with the kids sitting around talking about whether its better to be “fast” or “slow”…

Change Was Needed

The Canucks needed to be active yesterday because they said they needed to be – their words, not ours. The shuffling of players back/forth from Chicago and juggling of lines has been indicative of the fact that Coach V has not been happy with his players performance. For most fans getting a player like Derek Roy was a welcome step, though not one that dealt with the core issue of playoff readiness and increased physical play. Booth, Weise, Kassian, Pinnizotto, Kesler, Ballard and Raymond have all been hit by the injury bug and there is no way to know if any of them will be ready for the playoffs or will be able to last through 3 – seven game series if they are ready. Further, returns on all of these players (except Kesler) have been uneven.

Mostly however, it was important for this team to become Cory’s team and to give him his chance to lead the team forward outside of Luo’s shadow. That will not happen now and who knows when it will. The return for Luo was largely beside the point – though getting a first round pick or starting D-man would have been nice. Goalies are finicky, kind of like kickers in the NFL, and though they are the most important player on the ice teams are loathe to tie themselves for long periods of time to players who can slump easily and are subject to so much media/on-ice scrutiny. Now Cory has to go through another playoff run watching his back – and even though its not likely that Luo will run over him with a golf cart (sarcasm) – he probably would like to run over GMMG.

Gillis Needs To Go

GMMG needs to be relieved of his duties not because he has done a bad job with the team, but because he has lost control of the team’s direction. This is the second time that he has botched big decisions for the Canucks. First was the Cody Hodgson situation. Whether Cody wanted to be in Vancouver or not was not the point – he is a supremely talented player that showed promise, played center, and worked at his craft incessantly. The same cannot be said of Zack Kassian who though he also shows immense promise is simply not ready for prime-time, and already seems to be turning into a haggard version of Shane O’Brien. The idea that the Canucks were sheltering Cody’s minutes and pumping up his value is laughable. The guy has 13 goals this year, is dynamite on the power play, strong on the puck, terrific around the net and is even killing penalties for the Sabres. His FO % is better than Henrik’s and every other Canucks center. He just needed time to come into his own and overall shows a similar skill set to John Tavares who, if analyzed in the same light that Cody was while in Canuckland, would be deemed expendable because he is not good enough defensively.

The Canucks had a chance to get rid of a terrible contract, add some playoff ready gamers in exchange for picks that will likely never amount to anything – see Anton Rodin, Prab Rai, and the entire 2009 Canuck NHL draft.

Being a GM of a hockey team is about direction – you don’t always have to make the right decision, hell you can even make trades for guys like Ballard, Booth, Kassian, and others and be forgiven. What you can’t do is leave the ship rudderless and listing – exactly where it is now for the Canucks.

Change Was Needed

Gillis Needs To Go

Derek Roy to the Canucks

2013-04-02T16:39:08Z

The fix is enroute as the Canucks have apparently acquired Derek Roy from the Dallas Stars for a 2nd rounder and Kevin Connauton. Good thing too; Connauton wasn't going to play in our top 4 anytime soon.

http://blogs.thescore.com/nhl/2013/04/02/canucks-acquire-derek-roy-from-stars/

What do you think folks?

Is this a pure rental? Will he resign? Will this move help the power play? Can more moves be on the way?

http://blogs.thescore.com/nhl/2013/04/02/canucks-acquire-derek-roy-from-stars/

What do you think folks?

Is this a pure rental? Will he resign? Will this move help the power play? Can more moves be on the way?

Poll

Will this move help the Canucks abysmal power play?

Yes

10 votes

No

2 votes

Where's my third line centre?

2 votes

14 votes | Poll has closed

Thank You, A Year Later

2013-04-02T14:10:53Z

One year ago today, our family lost my niece's three month old baby, Peyton Isabella. In a tail spin, and not knowing how to pay for the funeral, I reached out to our hockey family here on SB Nation, and the community here at Nucks Misconduct came through huge.

Thank you all for the assistance when we needed it most. A special thank you to Sean for bringing it to the attention of the community, and for sponsoring the donation threads. As my family remembers the past year, I felt it necessary to stop by and thank you all again for the compassion you showed a year ago. Even today, it is humbling, yet completely unsurprising that hockey fans would help a complete stranger the way all of you did.

My family will be releasing balloons tonight to remember the day we lost our angel. I will make sure one goes up from the Nucks Misconduct family.

Thank you all, again. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

My family will be releasing balloons tonight to remember the day we lost our angel. I will make sure one goes up from the Nucks Misconduct family.

Thank you all, again. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Canucks haven’t had same lineup in consecutive games for SIX WEEKS. . .and it’s hurting them

2013-03-29T22:47:05Z

Earlier in the season, I had mentioned in a post that the Canucks led the NHL with the fewest lineup chances from game to game. Of course, that is no longer the case. In fact, I did some checking and found that the string of games in which the Canucks have made at least one lineup change has now reached twenty. TWENTY GAMES!

And the constant juggling of the roster appears to have had an adverse effect on their play. In the first ten of these games, their record was a pitiful 3-4-3. And to make matters worse, in two of the three wins, they managed to just squeeze by their opponents by a single goal. The one game they won by more than one goal was that HNIC 5-2 victory over the Kings. . .and it is interesting to note that they got the victory having been off since the preceding Tuesday, giving them days to acclimatize to the new lineup change.

Their record in the last ten games has been much better; they have gone 8-2-0 despite having lineup changes for each of the games (with half of the games seeing even more than one change). However, their record is a bit misleading, for it does not reveal the fact that in five of the eight wins, they won by the mere single goal (six. . .if you include Friday’s 4-1 win over Colorado which was, in essence, a 2-1 game augmented by a couple of empty-netters).

For more evidence the Canucks do not play well when the lineup is constantly changing, one need only look at the one part of their season where they were able to play a string of games with no lineup changes. From Jan. 30 to Feb. 9, they managed to keep the exact same lineup together for five straight games, and what happened? FIVE STRAIGHT WINS! And they weren’t just squeaking past their opponents like they’ve been doing recently; this string saw scores like 3-0, 4-1 and 5-1. . .and it also include the shoot-out win over Chicago, the hottest team in the league at the time. Maintaining a stable lineup is just so important for this team. . .who knows how far they can go if they are able to keep a set roster together?

Yer Hydro's Out! (Goin' in the Pool)

2013-03-26T04:18:28Z

After Tampa Bay decided the problem was their Coach of Many Faces (rather than, say, going into the season with Lindback and Garon as their goaltenders), you have to wonder how long the coaches in the Nucks Misconduct league are going to be safe. Then again, if Jon Cooper doesn't work out... Power outages for everyone!

So how did Week 20 go for the leaders, the trailers, and the mob in the middle?

Division 1nder What They Were Thinking, the top two teams went head-to-head and the second place Zanstorm beat out AmeriCAN Win It All 7-3-3 by virtue of Ovechkin remembering he's ALEX OVECHKIN and dragging Nicklas Backstrom along for the ride. Now only six points separate the two teams with just two weeks left before the playoffs. Let the trash talk er, continue, knowing these guys.

The Second (Thoughts) Division top two of Jew Crew and RipYouFaceOff went 5-5-3... but not against each other. The JC (hmm...) played Respect My Edler to the draw using special teams to their advantage despite RME's Nazem Kadri mocking those fans who thought he should have gone to Vancouver in a package deal last year; Rip tied up Raffi Torres with not only special teams, but also by the clever tactic of having goalies who play for winning teams.

ThreeSomeDay Division had no change at the top as marcness52 got away with a 6-6-1 record against the truly awe-inspiring Quicker Pickers after convincing Jaromir Jagr that outscoring the opponent's entire team on two separate days was a good idea. Not that it was difficult once their opponents decided that goals were for the weak... Amazing SchneiderMan gained points from Beantown Canuck with a 7-5-1 week with, fittingly, Cory Schneider's huge week lifting to tie for the division lead and a playoff spot on the line.

And in Division 4Square Meals, Booth's Kills had the league's best week (10-1-2) against Lafayette's_Post94 who tried getting through the week short a goalie (or two) and paid for it. So now BK has the division lead from the much more deserving (and cuter) Quicker Pickers, again with just two weeks to go before the playoffs. HankYouVeryMuch had a weak outing against BW with goalie SNAFUs all around, and it may cost a spot in the top eight, currently held by Beantown Canuck.

So! Now that I've had Kovalchuk deside to leave for 2-4 weeks (right into our playoffs), I've got to decide whether to hang on to him (for later) or drop him (for points now), as my one IR slot is full of someone who may just come back nest week. How about you guys? Any crunch decisions leading into the home stretch you're agonizing over?

So how did Week 20 go for the leaders, the trailers, and the mob in the middle?

Ballard as "WINGER/D-MAN" hybrid: solution to persistent problem?

2013-03-24T23:37:37Z

The quirkiest injury I’ve ever seen involves--you guessed it--Sammi Salo. It was back in the 2009 playoffs, in game 2 of the Canucks-Hawks second-round series. The Canucks were on a first-period power play when Salo took a pass in the high slot and wired a slap shot past Nikolai Khabibulan to open the scoring. However, Salo somehow managed to injury himself taking the shot; it was too weird for words!

So, there were the Canucks, taking the lead not even six minutes into the game--and, in fact, adding to the lead with another power-play goal a mere 69 seconds later--thus building on the momentum they had got going with a late push-back in game 1, regaining a lead they had relinquished by allowing the Hawks a third-period three-goal outburst. However, all that momentum evaporated as the game went on, with defensive breakdown after defensive breakdown, allowing Chicago to score five straight goals en route to a 6-3 win.

The Vancouver defense had a hard time keeping it together when their ranks were reduced to five, forcing them into new pairings. And this is a phenomenon I have noticed often in the ensuing years, so much so that whenever they lose a d-man early in a game, I simply resign myself to the fact they are going to lose. . .like with game 3 of the Canucks-Bruins Stanley Cup Final. At the 5:07 mark--the game still scoreless--Aaron Rome gets tossed for his hit on Nathan Horton. Right then, realizing the Canucks were now down to five d-men, I said to myself, “The game’s over. . .they’re going to lose.” And it was hard to watch as the defense did indeed disintegrate, resulting in four goals against in the second period, and another four in the third.

The Canucks’ propensity for suffering such defensive meltdowns upon losing a d-man has led me to conclude: they need to develop a forward/d-man hybrid, that is, a player who will usually play on the fourth line, but who can drop back into the third-pairing on defense should a d-man get injured or ejected. When the Canucks gave Jim Vandermeer an invitation to training camp this season, I thought they were finally going to have their forward/d-man hybrid. . .but, of course, he got sent down to the Wolves.

Then came news on Thursday that due to the rash of injuries the Canucks were experiencing, Keith Ballard would be playing up on the wing. And I thought, “This is perfect! Ballard seems to have a propensity for defensive meltdowns even when the Canucks aren’t down to five d-men. So, why not use him as a forward/d-man hybrid, putting him up on the wing as a matter of course, ready to be dropped back into the third pairing should the Canucks lose one of their d-men?" He may not be that reliable defensively, but having him slot in as an emergency sixth d-man has got to be better than risking the total defensive meltdown that happens so often when being forced to play with only five d-men.

Of course, with the current shortage on defense due to Alex Edler’s suspension, Ballard is needed back on the blueline. However, once Edler is back, perhaps Ballard should be worked into one of the bottom two lines for the long haul; having him there to be dropped back mid-game onto the blue line to fill in for an injured or ejected d-man may very well allow the Canucks to avoid a defensive meltdown at a crucial juncture during the playoffs.

March 23 Hockey Night Open Thread

2013-03-24T00:27:10Z

There were still some stragglers in the gamethread, so perhaps an OT thread is needed for tonight. Seems like a good idea, especially with the Canucks playing the matinee.

Tonight's schedule focuses on Hockey Night In Canada, with CBC showing the Maple Leafs going up 2-0 against the big bad Bruins. Those of you will get the Sabres playing the Canadiens. Later on, we get to watch the Blues visit the Oilers.

Pop open the Saturday night brews and enjoy watching the other teams fight like dogs. Hockey go!

There were still some stragglers in the gamethread, so perhaps an OT thread is needed for tonight. Seems like a good idea, especially with the Canucks playing the matinee.

Pop open the Saturday night brews and enjoy watching the other teams fight like dogs. Hockey go!