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ESQ wrote:Orcasfan wrote:I realize that we are all suffering from post-playoff depression still, but to have people seriously suggest that we trade Edler is just mind-boggling!He just turned 26, he scored 49 points...in his "off" year. He plays in all situations; he is a key on the PP, and someone wants him gone. Unbelievable! Yes, he has his deficiencies - who doesn't (even St Weber!). Like most of the team, his play deteriorated in the 2nd half of the season, and culminated in a difficult playoff series. But, in the guy's defense, he played with an assortment of D partners, none of whom really jelled. One problem was that the so-called shut-down pair of Hamhuis and Bieksa was much less effective this year. So, AV was forced to mix and match to try and create a new shut-down pair. Didn't really happen.
Given the prices out there for quality D men, Alex Edler is a bargain. I believe that he will put the last few months behind him and have a real career year next season (his contract year). No way will he get traded!
I think the real challenge for the organization is what to do about Bieksa and Hamhuis as a pair. Will they slip back into their "groove" next year, or not? If not (again), then who becomes the shut-downers?
I mostly agree with you on Edler - if the PP had been better, he could very well have been a 60-point dman. That being said, I don't agree that he's immovable. He can't move unless its part of a package to upgrade the D though. I would not want to see a top 4 of Hamuis, Bieksa, Ballard and Tanev (I guess?).
I don't agree with you on Hamhuis-Bieksa this year. Hamhuis IMO was our #1 dman for the entire year, he had a huge offensive year and was still solid. They were fine until they were split up, which is something I didn't understand.
The Canucks allowed .13 goals/game more this year than last. The bigger difference was the .21 fewer goals for/game. The issue from January on was offense and powerplay, not defense and PK.
No argument about how Hamhuis and Bieksa played for most of the season. But they were awful (together with Edler and Salo) against LA in the 1st round! A decent article over on CDC from the Edmonton Journal looks at how badly our D played against LA. Looking at the stats for scoring chances, Hamhuis came out at -15; Bieksa was -14 and Edler was - 11. That, together with no scoring, really spelled DOOM for the Canucks' chances!
That top 4 is just getting punished to death by big and fast forwards. Unfortunately, I can't see how we can land (realistically) a real #1 D who is a physical, take-charge presence. But we definitely need a new guy to on the R side of our 2nd pairing, at least.
