The Official 2013/2014 Canucks & NHL Thread

[FS1992EG]

Two non calls by the refs, NHL looks really shady in 2014!

[subordinate]

That non-call on PK Subban pushing the net off....

[Harvey Specter]

The Hawks, Kings and Bruins are prefect examples of teams which never really fell off after winning the cups but instead got stronger by adding players. I look at the Canucks and within a matter of a few seasons after 2011 they completely fell off and literally hit rock bottom and made real additions to the roster that would take the team in a positive direction.

It speaks volumes on how fucked up the situation is in Vancouver and how long it might take to get this team back on track. And it pisses me off even more to see ex Canucks like Dale Weiss playing his heart out for the Habs and contributing in big ways but yet in Vancouver he was sitting the press box half the bloody time.

[Hondaracer]

One word: Sedins

[dbaz]

Originally Posted by highfive

As for Jordan subban, I think pk mentioned somewhere that he learned a lot of his training stuff from his brother or something. Or somewhere on the lines his bro is as good as him? Maybe pk just trolling.

pk mentioned that jordan is the most talented of the 3, but he has height problems which are really holding him back

also couple rumours going around that linden/gilman have been talking to tallon about 1st overall.

[m3thods]

Originally Posted by dbaz

pk mentioned that jordan is the most talented of the 3, but he has height problems which are really holding him back

also couple rumours going around that linden/gilman have been talking to tallon about 1st overall.

Let's imagine that this actually happens for a second. I seriously wonder which way Trevor and the GM would go here. Do they go for what looks like the undeniable stud number 1 defenceman that the Canucks have never had in their 40+ year history, or do they go with that skilled "soon to be #1" center. Personally, I'd draft Eckblad and deal with scoring later. Every Stanley Cup winner in the last decade or so had that number 1 stud d-man bringing them the Cup. Perhaps the only exception is maybe Pittsburgh, but Letang in his prime I'd put just below guys like Doughty.

[dbaz]

id draft ekblad as well, because it basically means they will tank and trade all they can for prospects and picks. greater chance to strike with forwards in the next draft than this + forward prospects we recieve. i prefer the idea of ekblad and mcdavid/eichel/etc than reinhart/bennet and hanifin/kylington/etc

[jeedee]

lol what

"deal with the scoring later"

have you not watched the canucks for the past 3 years? the same team that can't score if their lives depended on it.. especially in the playoffs.

if the canucks somehow got the 1st overall I'd take Reinharts offensive skills over Ekblad easily. the d core is pretty much set for the next few years sadly..

[dbaz]

as bad as our forwards are, our d is just as bad. a bunch of #3s, #4s, and a #2. i have more faith in the sedins turning it around for the rest of their contract than garrison, edler, bieksa, stanton having constant solid defence. also the fact we have no shut down dman who can actually handle the big men on the kings, ducks and sharks.

[Ch28]

I hope they go for Ekblad, so we can finally dump Edler and his -4953 rating

[murd0c]

I say go for the #1 center, we have a strong D core and we need that skilled top 6 guy that we have been missing for years.

[Hondaracer]

Canucks are like the oilers at this point

You watch teams like ducks, hawks, kings, and it's like, there is -never- gonna be a time where the core of the Canucks/oilers can compete with these teams

Yea because the Sedins or fuckin Hall/RNH can go head to head with perry Getzlaf or Toews/Kane?

Lol it's a joke, and those are just single match ups, try getting through three rounds of that

At this point I'd take Thornton over the Sedins like that.

[Sid Vicious]

this is all true

good luck to our new gm dealing with perhaps the 2 worst contracts in the nhl right now

[m3thods]

Originally Posted by jeedee

lol what

"deal with the scoring later"

have you not watched the canucks for the past 3 years? the same team that can't score if their lives depended on it.. especially in the playoffs.

if the canucks somehow got the 1st overall I'd take Reinharts offensive skills over Ekblad easily. the d core is pretty much set for the next few years sadly..

Yes I have watched the last 3 years of Canucks hockey. I've also watched every Cup winning team in the last decade (and further back if you want to go that far) win a Cup with a bonafide stud number 1 d-man.

If you stack a good defensive system with a great-excellent defence, you can get as far as the Canucks did in 2011. (2003 Ducks, the NJ Cup final teams). It's not something I want to see as a fan, but I'm just stating an observation.

Once Hamhuis is done his contract in 2-3 years, the Vancouver defence will take a huge hit. That's about as long as I give the current D-Core for the Canucks before they start their inevitable decline. Why not guarantee (to an extent, Eckblad is only 18 after all) having a stud defenceman for the foreseeable future.

Offensive talent comes and goes at a much faster pace than stud defenceman- I think we can agree on that at least.

[Ch28]

Nashville is a prime example of a team that benefits from having a stud D. It might not be entertaining hockey, but they're still able to put wins on the board despite having a forward group that most people would have problems naming 2 people

[Spoon]

Lets bring AV back

IMO I'm ok with the turn out for this season. We had a new coach and new system. Canucks aren't a tough/gritty team to begin with, so I'm optimistic if we go back to playing a skilled game. Worked for Detroit.

[Not really racist!]

The question we should be asking is why would Florida trade their #1?

Barkov and Bjugstad are their future center wise, but of course having more center depth doesn't hurt, but they're relatively thin on D prospect wise. They already passed on the BBC last year already so I can't see them passing on another potential #1 D again.

They only consider trading down IMO, if they are really eyeing a winger. If for any reason they go center they will probably pick Bennett cause he can play wing and his speed will mesh well with Huburdeau et al and it wouldn't technically be a waste at #1. So that probably leaves it to Ehlers or Dalle Colle, the former with huge bust potential.

And if they trade the #1 to us, what assets do we have to give? The 6th and Tanev? Hansen? They'll laugh and hang the phone up unless we're offering one of our "top" prospects which isn't likely to happen. The Oilers have much more give, cause they're way more desperate for a #1 D and the #3 reassures them that the player they will want is still available at #3. Of course, assuming Bennett is still available at #3 (if not still Reinhart, or Draisaitl), and pretty much all the wingers in the draft.

Almost every year the GMs will be kicking tires regarding the #1 pick unless its a generational talent a la Crosby and McDavid so I guess we shouldn't look too deep into it,

[Sid Vicious]

Originally Posted by Spoon

Lets bring AV back

IMO I'm ok with the turn out for this season. We had a new coach and new system. Canucks aren't a tough/gritty team to begin with, so I'm optimistic if we go back to playing a skilled game. Worked for Detroit.

you mean the same detroit team that almost get swept by a grittier, more physical team? worked real well for them

cant win a cup with a pussy team

[murd0c]

This is a great article for the vacant coaching position

The Big List of Canucks Coaching Candidates

Trevor Linden did the expected last week, firing head coach John Tortorella. Once Linden hires a new general manager, possibly before then, the Canucks will hire a new head coach as well.

I liked some of what Tortorella brought to the Canucks, the team showed a lot more grit and hustle under him, but the results speak for itself. The Canucks finished 25th out of 30 teams this season. Injuries and a tough division are not enough to forgive that kind of drop-off. Torts wasn’t the right coach for this team and letting him go was the right decision.

But enough about that. It’s time to pick the next head coach of the Vancouver Canucks. Here are the top 10 candidates, in no particular order, according to yours truly:

1. Todd McLellan

Experience:

Sharks: 2008-present

Why they will hire him:

McLellan will likely be at the top of everyone’s list if he gets let go by the Sharks. McLellan has been very successful with the Sharks, despite not being able to get them over the hump. The Sharks play an aggressive, exciting style that would likely be a good fit with the Canucks roster.

McLellan won a Stanley Cup as Mike Babcock’s assistant in Detroit and has been to two conference finals with the Sharks.

Why they won’t:

Unfortunately for the Canucks, he hasn’t been fired yet and Doug Wilson doesn’t sound like he has any plans on firing him. There remains a possibility that Sharks ownership cleans house (Wilson and McLellan) after their epic playoff collapse to the Kings.

X-Factor:

McLellan took over from Graham James for his first full-time coaching gig in 1994, proving that he can follow anyone.



2. Barry Trotz


Experience:

Predators: 1998-2014

Why they will hire him:

The Preds missed the playoffs in each of their first five seasons, which is to be expected for an expansion team. After that, Nashville made the playoffs in seven of eight seasons. Trotz managed to do that despite the cash strapped Preds regularly losing key players to free agency. He is known as a players’ coach, which might be a nice change from Tortorella.

Why they won’t:

Trotz is the only head coach the Nashville Predators have ever had, so he must have done something right. The problem is that playoff success isn’t one of those things (Nashville has only won one playoff series in their history).

X-Factor:

He has no neck.



3. Guy Boucher


Experience:

Lightning: 2010-12

Why they will hire him:

After some impressive seasons in junior and the AHL, Boucher took the NHL by storm in 2010-11. Tampa was a surprise team in Boucher’s first season, making it to game 7 of the conference finals.

Why they won’t:

The following two seasons the Lightning came crashing back to earth. Some may say that was because the league figured out Boucher’s 1-3-1 trap system, but he was also given very little to work with in goal (41 year old Dwayne Roloson) and on defence.

X-Factor:

The dreaded 1-3-1.






4. Kevin Dineen


Experience:

Panthers: 2011-2013

Why they will hire him:

After playing more than 1000 games as a player, Dineen paid his dues as a coach of the Portland Pirates of the AHL for six seasons. His first season in the NHL was extremely successful, leading a sub-par Panthers team to the playoffs (Tomas Fleischmann was his top scorer and Jose Theodore was his goaltender).

Why they won’t:

Reality sunk-in after Dineen’s first season with the Panthers and he didn’t last much longer in South Florida.

X-Factor:

He coached Jason Garrison during his breakout 16 goal season with the Panthers.



5. Adam Oates


Experience:

Capitals: 2012-2014

Why they will hire him:

As the 17th highest scoring player in NHL history, it goes without saying that Adam Oates has a great mind for offence. The Capitals had the #2 ranked power play in the NHL this season and the #1 ranked power play last year, up from #18 the prior to his arrival. Oates was able to return Ovechkin to be a 50 goal scorer again as well.

Oates, like most coaches, will probably be a better head coach in his job than his first.

Why they won’t:

Oates doesn’t have a proven track record. The Caps missed the playoffs this season and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs the prior.

X-Factor:

Oates is a former teammate of Trevor Linden, during Linden’s 34 game stint with the Capitals.



6. Doug Jarvis


Experience:

Hamilton (AHL): 2003-05

Why they will hire him:

With the Boston model all the rage these days, you knew I would put a Bruins assistant coach on this list. While Bruins assistant Doug Houda is getting most of the publicity lately, Jarvis has the more complete resume. Houda has never been a head coach at any level, while Jarvis coached Hamilton for two seasons in the AHL as well as being an assistant coach in the NHL for 22 years with Minnesota/Dallas, Montreal and Boston. He won the Stanley Cup with Dallas (1999) and Boston (2011) as a coach and won four Stanley Cups with Montreal as a player.

Why they won’t:

The fact that Jarvis has been almost exclusively an assistant coach in his career raises a red flag for me. Does his personality not lend itself to being the man in charge?

X-Factor:

Jarvis is the NHL’s all-time iron man record holder, playing every single one of his 964 NHL games consecutively.



7. Luke Richardson


Experience:

Binghamton (AHL): 2012-present

Why they will hire him:

Richardson has experience as an assistant coach with the Senators as well as being the head coach for one of the best teams in the AHL for the last two seasons.

Why they won’t:

He doesn’t have any NHL head coaching experience and his teams were upset in the first round of the AHL playoffs in consecutive seasons.

X-Factor:

He has 2055 career penalty minutes, leaving no doubt that he could beat-up Bob Hartley (though he probably won’t attempt it).



8. Jeff Blashill


Experience:

Grand Rapids (AHL): 2012-present

Why they will hire him:

A career coach, Blashill paid his dues in the CCHA and the USHL before becoming Mike Babcock’s assistant with Detroit in 2011-12. He won the Calder Cup last season in his first season as head coach of Grand Rapids and has his team in the second round of the playoffs this year.

Why they won’t:

Detroit might not let him leave, as Elliotte Friedman explains:


One subject Holland politely refused to discuss: compensation for losing your employees to other clubs. (He will not allow contact with AHL Grand Rapids coach Jeff Blashill, who would be a big-time contender for open NHL jobs.) This is a big issue for several teams who strongly believe you shouldn’t lose good people for nothing. This practice ended in 2006, when commissioner Gary Bettman had to negotiate Peter Chiarelli’s move from Ottawa to Boston because Senator owner Eugene Melnyk was mildly unhappy with the whole thing. Bettman ended this.

Personally, I find it very hard to believe that the Wings wouldn’t allow Blashill to advance his career, given that Mike Babcock is likely to keep his job for the foreseeable future.

X-Factor:

At age 40, Blashill would be one of the youngest head coaches in Canucks history.



9. John Stevens

Experience:

Flyers: 2006-2010

Why they will hire him:

Remember him? Stevens was thought to be the front-runner for the Canucks head coaching job last offseason until the team eventually chose John Tortorella. He was successful as a head coach in Philadelphia, getting the Flyers to a conference final in 2007-08. He also won a Calder Cup as head coach of the Philadelphia Phantoms and won the Stanley Cup in 2012 as an assistant coach in Los Angeles.

Why they won’t:

He hasn’t had a head coaching job since 2010 which makes me wonder why no other team has wanted to give him another chance.

X-Factor:

Perhaps he can make the Canucks defense remotely as stingy defensively as the LA Kings.



10. Kirk Muller

Experience:

Hurricanes: 2011-14

Why they will hire him:

Muller has a great reputation from his playing days and as an assistant coach with Montreal, but so far that hasn’t transferred to his head coaching career. Did the Hurricanes struggle the last three seasons because of a sub-par roster or was Muller to blame also? Cam Ward was injured/terrible the last two seasons, which compounded things for Muller.

Why they won’t:

The Hurricanes were terrible from head to toe. They gave up goals, didn’t score many and were terrible on special teams.

X-Factor:

A good Kingston boy, Muller would solidify the Canucks in Don Cherry’s good books.

[highfive]

I feel everyone likes to categorize teams and just say oh they are big and gritty, they are made for the playoffs, oh you need speed and skills to win, you need goaltending, you need defence. etc etc...

Fact is, for a team to be successful, you need players to step the fuck up in the playoffs. From the first line to the 4th line.

Example
Look at Minnie with Granlund and Parise stepping it up in the playoffs.

Look at Kings with Schultz and Greene boxing out the Ducks.

Look at Subban stepping it up against the Bruins.

Or Bergeron trying to wake up their team last night.

Canucks has too many invisible players in the playoffs.

[XplicitLuder]

The more results I see from Weise.. The more I miss him

[Not really racist!]

Meh, playing him and the bottom six limited minutes in the first half of the season destroyed his confidence, and was the odd man out when guys from injury came back and we had talent ready to call up to take his place, coincidentally needing a defenseman, so he was the one to go

He was really never the bang and fight player we played him as, naturally more of a checking-type guy. Sucks that he always had different linemates and didn't get enough playing time. Torts probably not a fan of him since he couldn't crack the line-up back in New York and got waived before coming here

[Harvey Specter]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Canucks are like the oilers at this point

You watch teams like ducks, hawks, kings, and it's like, there is -never- gonna be a time where the core of the Canucks/oilers can compete with these teams

Yea because the Sedins or fuckin Hall/RNH can go head to head with perry Getzlaf or Toews/Kane?

Lol it's a joke, and those are just single match ups, try getting through three rounds of that

At this point I'd take Thornton over the Sedins like that.

I would add the Avs in that mix because they're only going to get stronger as their roster matures and even Dallas is starting to show life and could be another powerhouse in the making. I seriously cringe at the thought of playing these teams next season with the roster we have.

[Not really racist!]

Old article (late April) but I feel really bad for Alberts, not the best guy defensively and really slow and pretty much forgotten ever since that bad hit

Botch article, but a lot of direct quotes so it isn't bad.

Botchford: 'Health is No. 1,' says still-concussed Andrew Alberts

Andrew Alberts played just 10 games this season: His last, Dec. 29.

Now, he is not sure when his next game will come.

"It could be in a year, five years or..," Alberts says.

He doesn't need to finish the thought.

The Brian McGrattan hit which injured him was as ugly as it was awkward. As McGrattan initiates contact he raises both arms, and wraps his right around Alberts neck, working it like a clothesline strike you'd see in wrestling.

The hit, deemed unworthy of supplemental discipline from league offices, concussed Alberts while tearing all the ligaments in the right side of his neck.

Four months later, the symptoms have improved but ever so slowly.

He didn't start skating again until mid-March. But that only lasted four days. He tried again a couple of weeks ago, both skating and working out.

"But I hit a road bump, and went back down and started the cycle again," Alberts said.

"I just had a couple of days headache free, so that's good."

It is the second time in his career the defenceman has missed four months with post-concussion symptoms. He said the last time, in 2007, he made the mistake of returning too soon.

"I wasn't going to let that happen again," Alberts said.

"Health is No. 1 right now. I'm not 22 trying to get back into a game. I'm 33 years old.

"I'd like to play again. Absolutely, I'd like to. But No. 1, I'd just like to get healthy.

"Dealing with headaches every day is not something you want to live with."

Fortunately for Alberts, he's had access to Vancouver chiropractor Dr. Don Grant, a leading concussion specialist who is helping to change how concussions are treated.

Grant has seen hundreds of NHL players during the past six years, and doesn't subscribe to the belief that players should be relaxing while waiting to resume workouts.

His techniques are sometimes dismissed as strange, partly because a lot of his work is centred around improving spinal fluid circulation.

But before the concussion, Alberts was already seeing Grant, just about from the time he arrived in Vancouver on the recommendation of Mason Raymond.

"He does a lot of small, micromanipulation work that needs to be done, instead of putting a guy in a dark room and telling him to wait," Alberts said. "He's unbelievable.

"You go see a neurologist and they may say, 'Go wait until you feel like you did before.' "You could be waiting for a long time. Then you don't know what normal is. You start feeling like crap every day because you're sitting on your couch and you're depressed.

"How do you get better? You be proactive."

The idea that NHL players can be both proactive and have resources to seek different, innovative treatments is something of a sea change for the league, one that has been further pushed along with the latest collective bargaining agreement, Alberts said "I think it's changed," Alberts said. "We had to wait for Sidney Crosby to get a concussion for it to happen.

But it happened. We now have a list of doctors and we have the right to a second opinion to go wherever we need to go around the world to see someone.

"It's no questions asked. You can see whoever you want and they don't need to share anything with the team if you don't want him to.

"He basically works for you.

"He reports to you and it's up to you what you want to do with the information."

© Copyright (c) The Province

Botchford: 'Health is No. 1,' says still-concussed Andrew Alberts

[jeedee]

Originally Posted by m3thods

Yes I have watched the last 3 years of Canucks hockey. I've also watched every Cup winning team in the last decade (and further back if you want to go that far) win a Cup with a bonafide stud number 1 d-man.

If you stack a good defensive system with a great-excellent defence, you can get as far as the Canucks did in 2011. (2003 Ducks, the NJ Cup final teams). It's not something I want to see as a fan, but I'm just stating an observation.

Once Hamhuis is done his contract in 2-3 years, the Vancouver defence will take a huge hit. That's about as long as I give the current D-Core for the Canucks before they start their inevitable decline. Why not guarantee (to an extent, Eckblad is only 18 after all) having a stud defenceman for the foreseeable future.

Offensive talent comes and goes at a much faster pace than stud defenceman- I think we can agree on that at least.

Drafting a defenceman 1st overall doesn't guarantee he's going to become a true #1D in any way shape or form.

And realistically speaking, it's more likely that you'll hit on a #1D later on in the draft, than finding yourself a true #1C. Defencemen tend to be far more difficult to project, and the concern with Ekblad specifically, is that he's been a man amongst boys in Juniors, and what will happen when he loses that edge as an NHL player amongst other men.

Don't get me wrong iI'd love to have a Doughty or Pieterangelo but this team clearly needs offense. A good example would be the Avs taking Mackinnon over Jones.

Do you think they regret that pick?