Vancouver Canucks

[gigidy gigidy]

Brind'Amour would have been nice. I always wanted Vancouver to get Keith Primeau.

I would say Naslund is one of those Captains named for his skill level (top player on team when Messier left) Linden is a leader but not Captain material anymore. For the most part the Captain does need a bigger if not regular role. Linden may only play 50-60 games this year. Luongo would be the obvious choice. But a Captain needs to be able to be a skater so as to have discussion with the ref. Its why Martin Brodeur was never Captain.

I feel Willie Mitchell, yes people blast him for some reason? He makes 20 good plays and than deflects a goal on our net and he is criticized. He just prevented 20. Well he is passionate, aggressive, communicates and lays it on the line night out. He is my choice for Captain. When Nazzy is done Mitchell gets the C.

 

[LittleAsianGuy]

Luongo would make a great captain but they havent had goalies as captains for over 30 + yrs now.

 

[gigidy gigidy]

He is the heart of the team for sure.

 

[JonnyStudd]

Hay Gigidy

I agree with the Mitchell idea, although I don't know if he "has the team" so to speak...yet.

Where I disagree is that somebody gets the "C" when Naslund is done. He has been done awhile now (2+ years), its time to make the hard choice remove the "C" and give it to someone who wants to take the cup home as opposed to just wanting to go home.

Also, with respect to Linden no longer being "C" material...who was Vancouver's leading scorer in the playoffs last year? The "C" is about heart, determination, desire, respect, intelligence, and leadership...not skill.

 

[gigidy gigidy]

Yes all valid good points. Mitchell would be my choice over others as his style and the way he carries himself seems he would be more suitable than say a Brendan Morrison or Mattias Ohlund, Bieksa a future Captain? if we can afford him in 4 years.

I agree Naslund is done. I chuckle when i hear "He is out of his slump and back to the way he was" no. He is on the downward slide and as been pointed out playing with the Sedins. Happy to see him getting points nonetheless.

Yeah if i had my way Linden would be Captain, Messier never would have and he would never have been traded. Huge Linden fan. Yes as you say playoff performer, an understatement i believe. He was awesome! Its simply politics.

I think Naslund should have lost the C years ago. He is your highest paid player, the team's image before Luongo. The guy that the players,media, the city look to, although i got pretty sick of his depressing analysis of games after losses.

If you take the C away, there will be dissention in the room. A fuss will be created and it will give media something to start rumours and speculation. The organization will simply wait til he is out than pass the C on. They won't be trading him so why take the C away. Would be a distraction.

As for Linden, politics again. He would never take the C if offered anyway. Too classy, he is effective in a more limited role now, a great leader, not a Captain in this situation. I think it would have been awesome if he was never traded and kept the C until retirement. Too bad. Have a good one Jonnystudd

 

[JonnyStudd]

Hey Gigidy

We should have beers sometime.

My question to you is "If you don't remove the "C" now...when do you do it"? The sooner the better in my opinion. Let the boys adjust to it before the playoffs, why wait till next year. If there is "discension in the room" let the new guy handle it. It might even lighten old Naslund up by taking that big weight off of his shoulders....maybe put the puck in the net...maybe...heaven forbid...backcheck!

I couldn't agree more that the "C" should never have been given to Messier and that Linden should never have been traded.

 

[AA_Train]

The REAL Vancouver Canucks

I'nm going to get a lot of hate for this but Ifeel I need to address Canuck fans in this city and everywhere for that matter.

The Canucks are NOT a good team and they are NOT a good franchise. The Canucks are essentially the best goaltender in the world, a solid back end and one big line. This is a team that has historically drafted poorly and it's glory times lasted a mere 3 years in the 1990s. Back then you could cheer for this team, now, i'd rather watch paint dry. Lets look at the trade and draft debocals that this team has partaken in during the last 20 years.

The Cam Neely/Barry Pederson deal. What is forgotten is the draft pick that went with Neely was Glen Wesley. The Canucks had been scared to make a deal for a top player until Luongo.

Trevor Linden: Not a debocal per say and a character guy but Teemu Selanne or Rod Brind'amour would have been better choices.

Subsequent first round picks include such names as Jason Herter, Shawn Antoski, Petr Nedved (who never became a superstar) Libor Polasek Alex Stojanov (although he did bring Markus Naslund, a fluke trtade that will NEVER happen again) and Josh holden. In fact, very few first round picks have worked out for Vancouver except for Linden, Ohlund and the Sedins. Kesler and Bourdon are still wait and sees

The Kennan years: WHAT A JOKE!!!! Messier was $20 million down the tubes and The Canucks lost Mike Wilson and Mike Peca who would have been far better long-term fits over Alexander Mogilny.

NOw I will give Nonis and Vigneault a lot of credit Vigneault especially for turning shit into solid gold (relatively speaking) but remember this: the Canucks play in a veery weak division and will probably have to win it to make the playoffs. Also if Luongo goes down, their season is DONE!!! And not even the most ardent Canuck fan will dispute that. The Canucks need to take a page out of the books of teams like Pittsburgh Montreal And Chicago and tear down what they got, keep a few key guys like Luongo and the Sedins, draft well and draft high, take a five year hit for 10 years of prosperity by stocking their farm. It will also make them a whole lot more entertaining to watch, as the previous teams mentioned most definitely are. If people will look at this team with their head instead of their heart they will see what they really have and if they were smart they woulkd send a whole lot more love the Giants way. A team that became a champion in five years by doing what I said; Drafting well, putting players in their lineup that are the rightr fit and being patient.

 

[gigidy gigidy]

Backcheck? Naslund? hmm think you had a typo! I would remove the "C" sooner than later. My only fear is they are winning right now, they are a cohesive unit (the team). I wouldn't mess with anything.

Did you mean just remove the "C" and leave it til next year or give it to someone else? Hmmm? oh thats where Linden would fit in?

I can assure you the guys in the locker room know who leads the team, who is the leader. The "C" is merely the image. Think most guys listen to Linden's experiences more then Naslund's. Naslund shouldn't be ripped too much, a gifted player. I feel just in a role he could hide behind better when he was part of the "westcoast express" line. Now we see his flaws more.

I would have liked a switch of the "C" earlier myself. Looks like we will wait til season's end for that.

I think when the playoffs come around it won't really matter who is Captain, i mean everyone will elevate their play. Who knows? Kesler may be the perfect playoff performer this year. Captain material? one day.

I am an out of towner, beers should always be enjoyed over hockey talk. Have to figure something out.

 

[gigidy gigidy]

Hey AA_Train, The Canucks are a good team. A little annoying part i have to get out of the way. Don Taylor said it best " the goaltender is part of the team" because we have Luongo does make us a good team. He is part of the team.

We could go down the list of drafted players from all over the leaque and come up with complete duds. Doesn't mean Vancouver has not had duds, all teams have.

Neely trade hurt the team. At the time the coach would not play him as he preffered the veterans to get the ice time, like a Marc Crawford. So he was expendable. Barry Pederson a veteran not bad. As for Wesley well just look at the Bertuzzi trade. To Vancouver D-Bryan McCabe,F-Todd Bertuzzi,and a draftpick of Jarkko Ruutu for Trevor Linden. That was a nice trade, draft pick became an effective player "Ruutu" sure got under opposition's skin.

Right now the team is best positioned as it can be in the Cap era. It has a franchise goaltender, another one coming, asset(Corey Schneider) for trade or develop if Luongo gets to expensive. They have alot of depth organizationally right now. They can use more offense for sure. You can't have strength in all positions with the cap. For the Canucks offense is the less of the three. Build around the goaltender.

To scrap the team down is a mistake. It has good parts and the strength is on D and Goal which wins you championships.

There will always be iffy trades and draft picks. Its the business, nobody has a crystal ball. The team is good, a playoff team. When the Canucks get in they have as good a chance as any. The division they play in, not the weakest. Sorry.

So the farm is stocked, the team is strong and the world's best goaltender is a part. Management is strong and stable. The Canucks have positioned themselves very well for now and the future. Adding key players will help, maybe off season free agents to fill holes and bringing in a mix if cheap youth. Always the chance to move from the defense to bring in offensive depth. Teams salivate at our D corps. Thats how you trade, you build up a strength and trade from it (the D)

 

[hunsperger]

...

AA Train...

I agree with your post 100%...

except for a few trifling details...

it's almost as if I dictated it to you...

the Canucks are essentially a one trick pony...

there is only one player on this team that determines their destiny...

his name is Luongo...

the rest of them are nothing but widgets...

as I said earlier, if Luongo stands on his head they may make it to the second round...

if not, they will struggle to make the playoffs...

btw gigidy, love your passion...

hopefully your not a homer like Don Taylor...

I remember Don Taylor saying the Canucks were going to make it to the Stanley Cup final in 2006 because they make it every twelve years, i.e. 1982 and 1994...

the man is an absolute dolt...

and homer...

you can do better than to quote Don Taylor...

 

[AA_Train]

Let me present my rebuttle to gigidy

A typical Canuck fan respose, fair enough I suppose. All i'll say is that enjoy this years second round appearence because they will be right bck to 2005- 2006 next year, on the golf course come April

 

[gigidy gigidy]

The beauty of the playoffs, either one of us has any idea how things will go. Would be nice to see them get to the second round, maybe further. Who knows? You make great points BTW. Good to talk hockey. We all have different views which makes things interesting for sure. I am a Canucks fan yes.

 

[ThighMan]

Great November

9-2-2 in November. Not bad. Lets hope they can continue it. If they can stay on this roll then it will be a great season. Next up at home - Pittsburg. Looking forward to the game.

 

[hunsperger]

9-2-2 in November. Not bad. Lets hope they can continue it. If they can stay on this roll then it will be a great season. Next up at home - Pittsburg. Looking forward to the game.

i must preface this by saying i am not a canuck fan...

that said, as long as the canucks have the best goaltender on the planet, and he continues to perform like the best goaltender on the planet, they will be in the mix for the stanley cup...

in today's game, it is all about goaltending...

you can have the most talented team from defence out, but if you don't have goaltending your done...

see detroit and ottawa...

with the canucks the only player that matters is luongo, the rest of them are nothing but interchangeable widgets...

see kevin bieksa...

one other observation...

the regular season means nothing aside from making the playoffs...

you can go 82-0-0 in the regular season and if you get knocked out in the playoffs your season is considered a failure...

conversely, you can make the playoffs on the last day of the season on a shootout, and if
said team gets hot for the months of april, may and early june and wins the cup they will be recognized as the best team in hockey for the year...

 

[ThighMan]

one other observation...

the regular season means nothing aside from making the playoffs...

you can go 82-0-0 in the regular season and if you get knocked out in the playoffs your season is considered a failure...

conversely, you can make the playoffs on the last day of the season on a shootout, and if said team gets hot for the months of april, may and early june and wins the cup they will be recognized as the best team in hockey for the year...

I have to somewhat agree with your statement. True the main purpose of the regular season is to determine the team standings in the playoffs, however it can still provide a lot of enjoyable and exciting hockey. I personally think that if a team went 82-0-0 it could be a somewhat boring season for the fans (but it would be a fun ride). It is a lot more exciting when the team barely makes the playoffs but not always a place a "true fan" wants to be heading into the final weeks.

As for getting hot during the playoffs, winning the cup and being crowned "the best team for the year", that is also true in almost all professional team sports.

 

[hunsperger]

I have to somewhat agree with your statement. True the main purpose of the regular season is to determine the team standings in the playoffs, however it can still provide a lot of enjoyable and exciting hockey. I personally think that if a team went 82-0-0 it could be a somewhat boring season for the fans (but it would be a fun ride). It is a lot more exciting when the team barely makes the playoffs but not always a place a "true fan" wants to be heading into the final weeks.

As for getting hot during the playoffs, winning the cup and being crowned "the best team for the year", that is also true in almost all professional team sports.

thighman...

you sound like a hockey fan first, canuck fan second...

that i respect...

in this town that makes you atypical...

just ask any bar owner after the canucks have been knocked out of the playoffs...

you made some good points...

i'm of the opinion, that if the canucks were working on an 82-0-0 season most of the fans in this city would wet their underwear or panties...

most cansuck fans in this city would sell their soul or first born for a stanley cup...

the only other fans that compare to the vast majority of canuck fans, are leaf fans...

 

[Hoops]

i'm of the opinion, that if the canucks were working on an 82-0-0 season most of the fans in this city would wet their underwear or panties...

Altho I know that you're being hypothetical and trying to make a point I think that this is a bad example.
If any team went 82-0 they would be considered a GREAT team irregardless of playoff success.
Perfection is greatness in sports.
There's a Stanley Cup Tournament Champion every year. How many teams have gone 82 -0?