-dlc-

I thought the same thing. Great update.

Miller can. Win face offs, shut down players, hit/play physical and score when it counts.

Yep. The same "reasons" were called excuses when the Canucks were exhausted.

Bieksa was the same....risky player. Jumped into the play at times when it put the team in a bad position. Then he took a summer to work on timing and decision making. When to jump, when not to based on where the puck AND other players were. Not just to go without a quick assessment first. These are things you can correct. You can't inject the killer instinct in...it's either there or it's not. JT showed it. Bieksa showed it. Burr showed it. Go for the jugular will to win. It's not really "night and day"...he's cleaned it up. And he always said/knew that he was that type of player and had to reel it in. Thing is, some saw him as a lazy floater. Didn't care. Wasn't a team player. Stick and gate slams were a character defect....NOT a guy who was all in (as some of us saw it). Those were way off base inaccurate. People really hated on JT and that was on them, not him. He always showed the attitude that some saw as a winning one while others bought into drama. Players don't completely turn their game around "because" someone else. It was always there with JT and he just needed a chance...which some here didn't really give him. They jumped on him at the first sign of struggle. If they had their way, he would've been long gone. And that would've been a huge mistake. This team needed moody, surliness.

A team like that.

@Alflives was also on board the JT bus when others were trading him for dirty socks.

Yep, there's a brutal honesty in that and it's admirable. They don't fake it. What you see is what you get and JT wasn't satisfied. Rightfully so. People didn't like that he was vocal and it ruffled feathers. Oh well....that needed to happen. Complacency wasn't serving them well.

Me. I did not expect this team to flounder or fall too far. They've learned how to regroup and not buckle. I really feel they're fed up with that side of things....they're determined and refuse to let things slip away. They're a group who've weathered storms and taken stuff out of that....learned from it. With Tocchet guiding them they're not throwing in the towel at any point whereas, in the past, they may have mentally done so when they didn't have answers. This team's for real. This core's too good to not be in the mix.

I was reading some of the old posts that you and I had flung at us back then. How we had to valiantly defend our stance in a hostile environment because "they knew and we didn't". Except...we knew. I may be a woman. I may not have played the game before. But I've watched sports my entire life and never miss a game that this team plays. And I can pick 'em. Heart and soul players (Bieksa, Burr). Long before they're the hot ticket items that everyone gloms on to. Not going to name names, but some of the stuff floating around out there was such garbage... What others saw as a character defect ("attitude") was his extreme desire to win/compete. When he gave up on plays on occasion, he was either gassed and KNEW he couldn't get back into them or...yes....frustrated. It's o k. I'd rather have a guy display all in emotion than a meh "attitude" that accepts losing. Gate slams and stick slams are ok by me. Shoulder shrugs, not so much. Cheers to the 7 or so of us who NEVER ever could imagine this team without JT. I normally don't like "told you so" gloating moments but we took a LOT of abuse for defending JT. Stood in there swinging. We've earned the "told you so" moment because we never bought in to the crap that was being served back then. Many wanting to not only board the Miller bus but drive it now absolutely ripped him before. I remember. We didn't know anything and he was detrimental to the team and a cancer in the room. O really? Pace yourself....with the team, with our players. There's a lesson to be learned here.

People keep wanting to find reasons we're not as good as our record/wins. It's always something to defend why the other team lost. Make excuses for them. When we win, they're tired. When we lose, that's just an excuse and good teams battle through it. When, really, it's just that this team is one of the top teams and we need to recognize that. They're proving it.

I don't accept the "exhausted" stuff for the Jets. At all. They had a back to back, sure. Before that they had 3 out of 4 nights off...played only one home game. No excuses. We don't accept them for this team. Which has to play morning games on the road.

That's awesome!!!

Our last goal .... Jets had all but given up here. 1 vs 5? No problem. Am I the only one who, when I hear Pionk's name, it's in a donkey bray? PI-ONNNNNK

More Big Z. Love how well thought out his answers are...he's just a beaut.

Love this guy...honest, pulls no punches (except when he punches).

Yep, wife loves it here. Young kids in school here....it's a no brainer. Plus he wants to retire in NA. He's gotta stay a Canuck, no two ways about it.

I really enjoyed that interview. And I was already a huge fan of Big Z's....that's through the roof now. What a great guy to have on our side.