Reefer2 wrote:I put a lot of blame on AV, I have never liked him because he puts his ego in front of the team, he loves his plumbers and they can do no wrong. While on the other hand players he does not like is on a short leash and gets away with bad game after bad game.
The PP is going at 12% since the Boston game something like 16 for 130, don’t remember what they said last night on the radio. Why on earth have they not changed it up, the PP is so predictable and there is zero urgency from the team. Again this is something the coached manage and making a change in 3 of the playoffs is too late, this should have occurred 10 games before the end of the season.
I know everything that was said about CH and his parent issues but again that was a trade done at the wrong time. The PP 2nd unit would be a hell of a lot better with CH on it vs. who is there now. I don’t blame this one on AV but I assume he has some say in the deal. I also don't say that having CH would have made a difference but when he was on the team the PP 2nd unit was better, correct?
Down 2 – 0, can they come back? Sure anything can happen but that mystery switch needs to be found and soon.
Gillis got the players that AV wanted, front loading the team with plumbers, meat and potato's and shut down specialists. Is it no wonder we have terrible puck possession and can't score and that our PP has been worst in the entire league over the last 3 months, which makes even more sense to trade the player who centered your 2nd unit PP. You all know I'm a fan of fan of Puck Possession, intelligent hockey players. What the fuck has happened to our high octane offense, puck possession, cycling hockey team? Again, no offense to Kassian, he's innocent in all of this, he may turn out to be an OK player 2-3 years into the future, I ain't seeing it, but that trade was just damn stupid. Hey, I don't mind trading CoHo, I guess, not really, but for a player who was parked in the AHL when we are trying to make a run for the Finals? Why him of all fucking people, oh I forgot, he was the answer to Milan Lucic. Fucking Hell. Zack played a whopping 6 minutes last night with 8 shifts, holy crap. Trading a player who provided us with 16 goals, in his rookie year, great at setting team mates up along the half wall, patient with the puck, hard to knock of the puck, doesn't give up Puck Possession all that easy and giving your 2nd unit PP some life??? It's an indication to our lack of depth in the skill department at forward when you see the 2nd unit PP. This is the kind of trade that sets a team back years, that gets GM's fired, if it doesn't work out. Could be Naslund for Stojanov all over again. Ya just don't trade skill for meat and potato's, seriously. Fucking sign a Goddard if you feel that way. It's funny, all the lame criticisms that Naslund received when he was young, back in Pittsburgh and early on in Vancouver were almost the same as what CoHo is getting now, 'a liability on defense, not strong enough, etc. etc. Totally ignoring the skill set and letting said player get a little confidence and maturity to capitalize on that skill set which cannot be taught. But hey, we got a player who can fight, which is mightily important in the playoffs.
I think Kesler's monster season last year was an anomaly, and that he is truly playing up to his capabilities this season, the two way 2nd line centre that he was always projected to be. I don't think that Kesler is an elite 1st line high end offensive centre-man, but a true Shut Down Centre who can score 25 goals a year, which makes even no sense as to why we traded the skill set of Cody Hodgson. Cody Hodgson is more of the classic set up man centre-man than Kesler is, in the Hank Sedin mold. Using his line-mates a helluva lot more effectively than Kesler. Again, there were a few times last night like every game where Kesler had great opportunities to use his linemates but instead chose to take his patented low percentage wrister.
You all know how I feel about Booth, dumb, has his head buried in the ice when he has the puck and no playoff experience. For all my frustrations with Samuelsson, he was a crafty player and had an amazing shot but most importantly, he comes with loads of playoff hockey experience. He's been playing great hockey in Florida lately, he picked up an assist on both of Florida's goals last night, he most likely would be helping fix some of our scoring woes right now, especially on the 2nd unit PP. Booth is just so not a PP player.
I think we really miss a player like Torres, he was a cannon ball out there, and kept the other teams D on their toes. Great at creating puck turnovers due to his hitting/forchecking. Can't help but wonder how a Torres/Hansen 3rd line would look.
Probably the biggest player loss was Erhoff. Yes, he got a crazy contract, but sometimes crazy contracts you have to sign, but hey we have Ballards 4.2 million and the great Booths 4.5 instead, those contracts give us may more in return as to what Erhoff would be providing like um, a great point man on the PP, a great puck rushing D-man, great hitter, great at puck possesion, getting the puck out of danger, smart, big, strong, blah, blah, blah. Need I say more.
You can really see why Higgins has been a journeyman his whole Pro Hockey Life, he looks really weak and ordinairy and behind the play out there, bouncing off L.A. players, totally non-affective and for all of Lapierre's love he gets around here, he is terrible with the puck, seriously.
Anyhow, like Leves says. I'm a braying, negative donkey for not being too hip on the team and for the job that Gillis has done with the great team that he inherited from past management. I will be curious to see Gillis true worth now that the team the previous management built has gone full circle and seemingly past their prime.
If the Canucks bow out in the first round, there is no choice to blow things up. I see a ringing similarity to what happened in Philly, they go to the Finals with Richards and Carter against the Blackhawks, lose and then the following year, stink the joint out in the playoffs and bow out early. What happens, they blow it up, which was the smart thing to do. MGMT there saw that the core group needed a change and they did it the right way. Nothing but a promising future in Philly now with that amazing young group of players they got there. That has to be the quickest rebuild in Hockey History. Gillis will have no choice but do the same as to what Philly did. And will have to be a lot more than trading a goalie. The real smart thing would have been, keep CoHo and trade Kesler but ya know, can't be done now.
Anyhow, Mr. Negative will stop now.
“Tyler Myers is my guy... I was taking to Scotty Bowman last night and he was bringing up his name, and saying he’s a big guy and big guy need big minutes to play, he is playing great for ya… and I agree with him… He’s been exceptional” - Bruce Boudreau