W-GDT: Canucks @ Leaves Jan 11/25 4 PM PST CBC/SNet

[donlever]

I so much want him to be better and earn his contract and help the Canucks win a Cup.

There may indeed be snippets of his game which are similar.

But.

He is not Pavel Datsyuk.

Not buying into that Cuz.

[Topper]

Read a decent bit on socialz this morning about EP and his defensive play against top competition during last nights game.

It laid out a series of analytics (taken with a grain of slug salt) commending his "shut down" role.

It also noted some physical play and matching QH as leaders in the category with 5 blocked shots.

It was pleasant to read some positives about the player.

Should have clipped it.

It will be interesting to see how Demko performs Tuesday and moving forward (if he can stay on the ice that is).

Bob-E.
Bob-E.
Bob-E.

Boudreau had 40 and 9 paired in a PK role and they feasted with several short handed goals. Very effective. He also had Scooter matched up against opponents top lines.

It comes back to how much Ricky's structure is stifling creativity vs a kid who needs to get his head out of his ass and play.

Scooter wasn't physical last night. He shied away or turned his butt to face checks.

He's still happiest cashing cheques.

[Meds]

Leaves the whole Datsyuk comparable didn't come from yours truly. He was often compared to PD for defensively responsible play like last night.

For me this has been more the norm than the exception up until 11 months ago

Yeah. As previously noted, His defensive numbers (blocks/takeaways/etc) have been very good…..even going back to the 2024 ASG. It was his offense that dried up.

You don’t have to be the biggest or most explosive guy to be play a game that puts you in the Selke conversation. Just smart with some above average open ice speed…..he has both of those things. I’ve said before this year that if Pettersson could learn to win a faceoff, the way Miller does, he would definitely be among the Selke finalists.

He has also looked more engaged offensively the past two outings. No results there though, and frankly, unless the PP starts really clicking, I don’t expect to see them to be anything more than a 75 point pace because he is too easy to shutdown with aggressive, physical, defense. Maybe having him back on a line with Boeser finds some chemistry that turns him into the Gretzky half of Cuz’s comparison and he becomes an assist machine. He does have the hands to make that first move that forces defenders to respond…..he just needs to gel with someone that he can then find with an immediate quick pass. Kuzmenko was that guy for him in his 102 point season.

That being said, unless he can recapture that consistently to go along with the defensive game, he’s still nowhere near an $11.6M player.

[Meds]

I so much want him to be better and earn his contract and help the Canucks win a Cup.

There may indeed be snippets of his game which are similar.

But.

He is not Pavel Datsyuk.

Not buying into that Cuz.

What set Datsyuk apart from Petey was the footwork to go along with the hands and brain.

Coming from me that’s actually intended as high praise of Petey.

[Meds]

Read a decent bit on socialz this morning about EP and his defensive play against top competition during last nights game.

It laid out a series of analytics (taken with a grain of slug salt) commending his "shut down" role.

It also noted some physical play and matching QH as leaders in the category with 5 blocked shots.

It was pleasant to read some positives about the player.

Should have clipped it.

It will be interesting to see how Demko performs Tuesday and moving forward (if he can stay on the ice that is).

Bob-E.
Bob-E.
Bob-E.

Boudreau had 40 and 9 paired in a PK role and they feasted with several short handed goals. Very effective. He also had Scooter matched up against opponents top lines.

It comes back to how much Ricky's structure is stifling creativity vs a kid who needs to get his head out of his ass and play.

Scooter wasn't physical last night. He shied away or turned his butt to face checks.

He's still happiest cashing cheques.

Well he has always turned his butt to face checks. The times he didn’t he got blown up…..even when he was the one throwing the hit.

Maybe someone sat him down and showed him a 30 min clip of his countryman, Nik Kronwall…..

[Carl Yagro]

I praised his game last night because it deserved praise, so don't melt down and take it as a grain of slug salt...

If there's one thing to observe aside from his lack of expected offensive finish since early 2024, it's that he needs to be engaged in this way defensively without the puck because Marner's line had, checks notes, 2-1 possession time in their matchup.

Now, that is not to say it wasn't a great defensive performance just looking at numbers in a vacuum, this is where the eye test showed... his inspired defensive play disrupted so many leaves chances that it severely limited their high danger chances (to 1) when he was on the ice.

Could he keep this up every night as "the man", having to get back to or exceed his best offensive output, driving play while matched up against other teams' top lines if his nemesis was moved? I have doubts he could handle the load by himself regularly. He certainly can't play the matchup game as well like the other guy in a physical sense, so this is the way he must continue in his zone without the puck... sneaky, quick, disruptive and getting into the lane to block attempts.

Imagine a full, healthy team with a few more NHL-caliber defensemen, with two engaged centers at both ends of the ice... the offence would eventually return (I'm sure of it) and they would look more like the team you expected at the beginning of the season.

[donlever]

He certainly can't play the matchup game as well like the other guy in a physical sense...

Potentially a major problem come post season.

Not sure the frail lad can handle it through 4 grinding post season series where the violence upticks and the whistles disappear.

Please lets not go on (and on) about one time 5 years ago.....

...at this point it is an anomaly.

[Carl Yagro]

A good kitchen needs an array of knives.

Obviously he'll never be the meat cleaver (every team wants and needs a couple of these), but he can and should be the best chef's knife, slicing and dicing.

I have no problems with the bottom centers as utility knives this season.

[donlever]

Miller
EP
Suter
Blueger

...however you want to lay them out, should be the least of our lineup worries as a group.

[Carl Yagro]

...and it would be if the arsonist media didn't continue to stoke the fires of a "feud". Ray Charles could see the problem is with the D, even with healthy Hughes and Hronek in the lineup.

The D is like one-eye Malhotra... there's no perception of depth.

Better D, better O.

On paper, you could say that Miller/Pettersson could/should be better than even Hank/Kesler. I mean, you could debate that. However, HOFer and Old #17, their games had much, much greater impact, consistently and for a good stretch of very good and dominant seasons. Their hometown discounts created necessary NHL depth throughout their lineup.

[donlever]

Arguably Miller gave us a Kesler.

EP didn't do the Hank however....

[Carl Yagro]

Miller also gives us an occasional Hank without the Dank with his passing and a Bertuzzi with the girth and personality.

EP is Naslund with D, but without the wood stick and PP quarterbacking.

[donlever]

....this team requires more adjustments to set it straight than a Dude weekend OF tirade.

[Blob Mckenzie]

Miller
EP
Suter
Blueger

...however you want to lay them out

And they arent great. What a revelation. The current centre position isnt an issue. They absolutely need to replenish the position moving forward.


They have a great 1/2 punch on D and two 5 D men and a bunch of 7/8 guys. They let Cole go for 500K. He and Schenn kept JT and his bullshit in line. Not to mention they could play. The D is the biggest current condition.

[Blob Mckenzie]

Read a decent bit on socialz this morning about EP and his defensive play against top competition during last nights game.

It laid out a series of analytics (taken with a grain of slug salt) commending his "shut down" role.

It also noted some physical play and matching QH as leaders in the category with 5 blocked shots.

It was pleasant to read some positives about the player.

Should have clipped it.

It will be interesting to see how Demko performs Tuesday and moving forward (if he can stay on the ice that is).

Bob-E.
Bob-E.
Bob-E.

Boudreau had 40 and 9 paired in a PK role and they feasted with several short handed goals. Very effective. He also had Scooter matched up against opponents top lines.

It comes back to how much Ricky's structure is stifling creativity vs a kid who needs hto get his head out of his ass and play.

Scooter wasn't physical last night. He shied away or turned his butt to face checks.

He's still happiest cashing cheques.

Another garbage post. He had a solid game but Bitter gonna do bitter.