What's your opinion on what's happening to this Canuck team?

[Jovocop]

Fox models himself after Bolland though lol, so who knows how these guys come out playing in a couple years.

Fox likes to base his game around leaves forward Dave Bolland, who Canucks fans know very well. A little too well, actually.

“He has won at every level,” said Fox. “He won a Memorial Cup in London and a pair of Stanley Cups.

I like the fact he can go from being a third line shutdown guy when asked in Chicago to a first line scoring role in Toronto. He is someone that can do it all and is someone I want to base my game around.”
http://canucks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=700430

At least Fox is willing to drop his gloves...

[herb]

Fox models himself after Bolland though lol, so who knows how these guys come out playing in a couple years.

Yeah, training camp should be legitimately fun next year.

I've read mixed reviews on Fox. Most say he is very competitive and hard to play against, but needs to work on his skating and some have questioned his defensive commitment in the past (which seems to have improved this year, but that may just be the 50+ goals skewing things a bit!).

Maybe Naslund isn't a great comparison. I was thinking more about Fox's shot. Naslund was certainly never described as "a very competitive player".

Some have said Gaunce has top six potential if he can improve his skating. Here's hoping the Canucks hire a skating coach for these guys this summer!

[Meds]

Fox models himself after Bolland though lol, so who knows how these guys come out playing in a couple years.

Yeah, training camp should be legitimately fun next year.

I've read mixed reviews on Fox. Most say he is very competitive and hard to play against, but needs to work on his skating and some have questioned his defensive commitment in the past (which seems to have improved this year, but that may just be the 50+ goals skewing things a bit!).

Maybe Naslund isn't a great comparison. I was thinking more about Fox's shot. Naslund was certainly never described as "a very competitive player".

Some have said Gaunce has top six potential if he can improve his skating. Here's hoping the Canucks hire a skating coach for these guys this summer!

One thing I am really liking about Gillis right now is that he seems to be loading up on young centers. It's the one position that I don't think you can go overboard on as centers can transition to play the wing fairly easily where the reverse is certainly not true.

Cassels
Dalpe
Fox
Gaunce
Horvat
Kesler
Lain
Richardson
Santorelli
Schroeder
Sedin

There are 11 centers in our system right now, 7 of them already have NHL experience, this especially bodes well for the team when you consider that 7 of them are under the age of 25, and only one of them is over 30. It's also nice when one thinks about how the younger ones project at this point.

[Strangelove]

Yeah. I have no problem with discussing those things. If you think the GM should be fired that's fine, I don't agree right now but that's fine and I'm totally willing to discuss it.

What I have a problem with is having any hope for reasonable discussion completely fucking demolished by people who know full well the current shortcomings of this team, have known what they would be since July, and still can't stop becoming unhinged about them in January. Those people need to get a grip.

But anyway like I said, I have no problem with people debating the job management has done here, I've done it at length on several occasions, recently at great length here. In fact it was in direct response to one of your posts Mondi but I don't believe you even bothered to reply.

So what exactly is your point here, are you just dropping in to defend the whiners and complainers and attempt to legitimize their emotional response, or do you want to actually take part in decent discussion?

My point, is that the Canucks have two forwards out of the lineup and the GM has put them in a position where they scratch a third player (Booth) and dress a defensemen at forward.

In my respectful opinion, the fault there lies with Mike Gillis.

And, it is fucking embarrassing for the team.

So "your point" is that Booth sucks to the point that his teammates are embarrassed.

THAT is why GMMG should be fired.

Well my pal Dave explained exactly how GMMG ended up in this awkward Booth situation.

You responded to David thusly:

“As for your long-winded defense of Booth, I don't disagree with anything you said. I was not advocating for ex post facto assessment of why Vancouver didn't get rid of him. All I'm saying is that the guy sucks, and GIllis acquired him.”

So you’re saying all GMs should be fired.

Also, they scored 8 goals in a seven game span. That's my point.

So "your point" is that your Vancouver Canucks scored 8 goals in a seven game span.

THAT is why GMMG should be fired.

What do you say now to the fact they have scored 11 goals in a four game span (winning 3 of the 4)?

Do you now want GMMG to receive a bonus?

I'm not screwing around here, I'm curious as to what makes over-emotional folk tick.

Also, their PP is 28.

With two former Art Ross trophy winners playing 50%+ of all PP time.

So "your point" is that GMMG trusted two former Art Ross trophy winners to run his power play?

THAT is why GMMG should be fired.

[Strangelove]

Only one made the world juniors and he (Horvat) was acquired by trading a guy that was already here! You can't give Gillis credit for that.

LOL.

Gillis can't even get credit for a trade he made! I guess the Ballard trade doesn’t count because Grabner went the other way.

Any reasonable chance at an intelligent discussion = over.

Yeah. I seriously don't even know how to respond to something that stupid. It's like, you can't give a carpenter credit for building a house with materials that he didn't speak into existence because, you know, the raw materials were already present in nature, the carpenter hand nothing to do with building the house.

Fuck me running, do they come much dumber than you Zedlee?

What's next with these guys??

Gilman gets credit for the good re-signings, Gillis is blamed for the bad re-signings?

The scouts get credit for the good draft picks, Gillis gets blamed for the bad draft picks?

OMG it's a Kangaroo Court and Dude is Captain Kangaroo!

[rats19]

^^
Who is Mr. Greenjeans?

[Strangelove]

^^
Who is Mr. Greenjeans?

I'd tell you... but I'm supposed to be being nice to Mr. Greenjeans.

Besides, he's been trying to distance himself a tod tad from Captain Kangaroo lately.

[rats19]

I see..

[Strangelove]

I believe that hand puppet under the clock was named Mr Mondi amirite?

[Topper]

^^
Who is Mr. Greenjeans?

I know

[SKYO]

Sick of trying to make this atrocious defense work, when clearly it never will!

Henrik and Santorelli get injured and all of a sudden we are an AHL team. ffs.

[mathonwy]

I .. refuse .. to .. believe .. our .. team .. can .. be .. so .. (permanently) crappy .. so .. god .. damn .. fast.

This is ridiculous.

And this is absolutely affecting my real life mood as I'm not a happy camper right now.

Is feeling this shitty because of a sports team normal?

Fuck.

I still believe that this is a slump but in-my-not-so-good-memory-opinion, this slump is unlike the other ones we've endured in the last 6-8 years and Luongo is the only member of the core that doesn't seem to be affected.

The real question I'm asking myself right now is, is three years the max amount of time for me to expect this team to perform at a Pittsburgh/Anaheim level and start tempering my expectations down to a Carolina level.

[SKYO]

The real question I'm asking myself right now is, is three years the max amount of time for me to expect this team to perform at a Pittsburgh/Anaheim level and start tempering my expectations down to a Carolina level.

It's all up to Mike Gillis and if he can fix this mess he created..

The core needs a wakeup/trade to shake things up, they are tired, they are looking like they are lacking a bit of enthusiasm, they WANT to win but DO NOT have the SUPPORT the likes of the Kings, Ducks, Sharks and Blackhawks core players have.

That support was supposed to be Booth and Ballard, but that was a miserable failure and it's costing the team an entire season and another year of aging and a contract year lost.

This is not soley on Booth/Ballard I might add, but a lot of injuries again have really hampered our core, once again.

Anyways this is why it's paramount MG act accordingly and swiftly to trade a core player or two for what value they have left and what other GM's perceive.

With Booth bought out, and the cap going up, <--(getting tired of saying that) MG will target a few players and overpay.

And he'll probably leave one spot open for a young gun next season, at least he should.

Ultimately all this team's success now resides in Mike Gillis ability to surround our core with talented scorers/getting right chemistry in our defense, fixing holes up front and defense. And he'll have way more flexibility with that starting July 1st, this is his make or break year.

[BladesofSteel]

I just got back from sitting in a line up at the dump for THREE hours! It wasn't city garbage trucks, or construction laborers or even u haul loads. Their were mini-vans, Toyota Echo's, a considerable number of base model mustangs with sweet rims, and the odd pick-up. I'm sitting in line wondering what the fuck the deal was; why on a Thursday morning their was a line-up half-way down the 99 with vehicles all carrying seemingly light loads.

Once I got to the scale, the dude seemed pleasantly perplexed at what I was actually looking to unload. He hurried me through the scale, so I didn't get a chance to question the high volume of 'irregulars". While waiting to be waved into the desired aisle, I noticed a majority of the vehicles were being directed towards the end of the lot, often reserved for old tires, empty paint cans and a pile of compost available for a small fee.

I unloaded my asbestos laden materials in the open bin -er- I mean, recyclable wood and metal products in the allocated area, and proceeded to exit down the aisle. Still confused at the hold-up, I drove ever so slowly towards the end of the lot to find a common theme. At first I thought, "oh, that's interesting, there must be a sale at Sleep Country." There were "custodial engineers" frantically scurrying about in search for more acreage to absorb the massive influx of yellow stained mattress's frantically tossed off in droves upon droves...upon droves.

[5thhorseman]

Is this a long-winded way of saying the Canucks should "go to the mattresses"?