Has AV's time come?

[wafflecombine]

Whoa whoa whoa.

lol... no worries DBR. Not trying to derail the thread. Just pointing out that there are a lot of house keeping issues coming up in the off-season ALONG with some of the BOLD moves being talked about in this thread.

I am concerned with the current level of play by the Canucks but I am still unsure if its a coach/GM issue as advocated by some here or if its a more garden variety loosing streak. Unfortunately, both possibilities are valid.

[Zamboni Driver]

I posted in another thread and I'll post here too...

Yes, AV's time has come and gone. I still say he should have been fired after the 2010 loss to Chicago. Had the team been able to show something in their 2nd consecutive year facing the Hawks then maybe, but they got blown out twice by the same team. The following year they almost lost again to that team after taking a 3-0 lead in the series.

The team lost 4 of their final 5 playoff games that year and duplicated that feat the 1st round the following year bowing out to LA in 5. That's 2 victories in their last 10 playoff games.

Whenever AV is asked about an injured player he always has the same answer - "that player is not on my roster right now and I'm moving forward as if he's not here at all" - after the loss to LA, AV admitted not being prepared as he thought the injured Daniel Sedin was going to be back on the ice in-time to start the playoffs.

When a coach admits to not being prepared for a playoff series after capturing the president's trophy 2 years in a row and making it to the SCF the previous year, something's wrong.

Year after year it's the injuries, travel, refs, starting goalie not performing up to expectations, back up goalie not getting enough starts, no 3rd line center, losing to the better team, blah blah blah blah blah...

+1

The Blues dumped their coach last year when they were around .500 (7-7-1 or something?) because management felt that they were not playing up to potential. Same deal here.

Just to add to Vic's post - Leaving Lu to get gassed for 8 goals against Boston and then explaining that "Lu told me he wanted to stay in" ... WTF? Who the **** do we pay to coach the team, AV or Lu?
Didn't he realized that his goalie was shitting the bed, and it was going to deflate the team for the next game?

And another snow-man on the scoreboard this year against the Wings, and Lu left to hang out to dry?
How the **** is that going to help improve Lu's trade value so we can get something decent in return?

Too bad some of the better coaches have already been snapped up, but AV has gotten stale, time for a change

[sagebrush]

Alain Vigneault says his team is 'exactly where I thought we would be' at the midpoint of this shortened NHL season

[Topper]

Granted we are missing Kesler and now Malhotra, that's a tough situation to be in.

and KB3

Four game winless streak, fire the coach, panic trade ...... how much urine can your mattress's absorb?

3 wins in 12.... PP has reeked for over a year. Garbage effort in the playoffs, failure by the coaching staff to adjust to other teams game plans. For the record I wanted FF gone last season after that debacle in April.

If AV were to get the ax, it would not because he is a bad coach, he is an excellent one, it would for the same reason as Ruff. Shelf life, gone stale.

Newell Brown on the other hand, horribly over ratted

[black ace]

.

If AV were to get the ax, it would not because he is a bad coach, he is an excellent one, it would for the same reason as Ruff. Shelf life, gone stale.

Newell Brown on the other hand, horribly over ratted[/quote]


I totally agree. AV could pick his job if and when he leaves.


I dont think Gillis' job is on the line at this point. I think he gets at least 2 more seasons after this but he needs to make some moves.

[spooner]

Four game winless streak, fire the coach, panic trade ...... how much urine can your mattress's absorb?

Indeed. It's smelling pretty sour around these parts lately.

I can only think of two occasions during Gillis' tenure that have caused this much panic.

The first was shortly after adding Sundin to the line up. I think it was about a 10 game winless streak. It was during that streak that I really gained an appreciation for both AV and Gillis. Why? Because neither of them panicked. The team came out of that streak a much better club. In my mind, that was the birth of the top-tier team that followed for the next couple years.

The second was after blowing a 3-0 series lead in the first round to Chicago two years ago. There were a lot of urine-soaked mattresses after that 6th game. I'm pretty sure the majority of Canucks fans would have fired the entire coaching staff before the 7th game and sent the team in with nobody behind the bench.

There are always going to be ups and downs in a season. The last season that the Wings won the cup, they went on a 10 game winless streak during the regular season. Babcock didn't get fired. They ended up doing okay for themselves.

Good teams go through shitty patches. Now you could argue that these Vancouver Canucks are no longer a good team. I don't agree. Time will tell. Their effort level has been poor for this recent stretch but the main issue is that their special teams have been horrible for the first 24 games and their goaltending has been average or worse for the past month. They'll turn that around and the wins will start coming.

[Reefer2]

If AV were to get the ax, it would not because he is a bad coach, he is an excellent one, it would for the same reason as Ruff. Shelf life, gone stale.

Newell Brown on the other hand, horribly over ratted

I agree Topper - AV is a good coach, I liked his style and his fresh post game interviews.

But he is stale and maybe it is time for him to go.

[damonberryman]

I think we are spoiled with hockey. We have not won a Cup but everything else in sight has been done. The year the Bruins won they played like shit until the trade they made. We need to shake the club up and bring in another center but I am not bed wetting just yet. There is a ways to go AND I would be OK with missing playoffs if it gets Gillis off his ass to make some changes. We could really use a top pick right now for out future. The Sedins are good but not driven like others such as Toews, Crosby, Richards.

LA did nothing till just before the playoffs and won it all. I want to give our kids like Jensen, Archibald, Corrado and Mallet a chance. Bring up Cannouton and see if he can run the PP. Edler is useless on point and AV is way too rigid. Give the kids a chance. BTW. Where is McTavish these days?

[Mondi]

Give the kids a chance?

Guys less polished and prepared to play than J. Schroeder?

There is reason these guys aren't in the NHL yet.

The whole LA did nothing before the playoffs, or we just need to get in, is nonsense. LA underachieved, but was highly talented. Right now we are trying to dress a set of 12 NHL forwards, 7 to 8 of which cannot score a goal to save their lives. That is the long and short of Vancouver's problems.

Sestito, useless on offence
Weise, useless on offence
Lapierre, useless on offence

Booth, zero goals
Kassian, zero goals in 17
Schroeder/Ebbet, useless on offence

Raymond, 31 goals over his last 149 NHL games not too mention small and easy to bump off the puck.

We are also relying on 3rd liners to be 2nd liners. Hansen and Higgins a great grinders and gritty players but they belong on the third line. That leaves the top line as the only offensive players on the team filling the role they are suited for. Until a second line emerges and Kesler returns, this team is going no where. If and when it does, they will be fine.

Between Raymond, Booth, Kassian and Kesler there should be an NHL second line on this team. Between Higgins, Hansen and who is ever left out there should be a third line. And a fourth line of Lapierre, Wiese and Sestito ain't too bad, though I'd prefer a grizzled vet who used to be offensive down there (think Dave Andreychuck circa 2004).

The missing piece which everyone can identify is a creative offensive forward to glue that 2nd line together. It's as clear as day that this team has nothing up front after 3 or 4 guys. Once they have Kesler and player X they should be okay. Though there is enough time left to right the ship, there isn't an overabundance given the short season.

As for the rest, the defence is serviceable though extremely mentally fragile, save for Hamhuis. And goaltending should be solid. AV can get the job done, we know he can.

What the team need is someone like Ribero, Vanek, Hossa...a big name star that can ignite the second line. I'd be okay with giving up a 1st or 2nd or both for him, as this team will not be a contender when the Twins retire.

No amount of Nick Jensens, Brendan Gaunces and Jordan Shroeders can convince we otherwise. Time to win is now, not going to kill us to give up a 1st that is likely to be 20+ overall.

[Canuck-One]

^^^gotta agree. After the first line we can't score. Everyone keys on the Sedin line and if they can't break free we're sunk.

[Lancer]

^^^gotta agree. After the first line we can't score. Everyone keys on the Sedin line and if they can't break free we're sunk.

The along comes tonight. Blip or trend? We'll see, but it seems there's a bit less heat on AV's neck these days. Just win, baby...

[paddy]

The Daniel situation was strike 3... Listen he is a great coach and given the situation this yr he deserves a pass but its time...

[herb]

AV and the Canucks agreed to a two year contract extension last year, meaning he only has one year left on his deal after this season. I'm sure ownership wouldn't be too happy about having to eat the salary of the current coaching staff, but I don't think one year would be a deciding factor if Gillis thinks a change in direction is needed.

At the time, I thought two years screamed the coaching staff is on a short leash.

[herb]

The Daniel situation was strike 3...

What are you referring to?

[Benjo]

AV and the Canucks agreed to a two year contract extension last year, meaning he only has one year left on his deal after this season. I'm sure ownership wouldn't be too happy about having to eat the salary of the current coaching staff, but I don't think one year would be a deciding factor if Gillis thinks a change in direction is needed.

At the time, I thought two years screamed the coaching staff is on a short leash.

If GM MG thinks Av + staff's time is up I doubt ownership would give 2 shits about eating the salary.