Jeremy Hronek

Kuzmenko is a proven goal scorer. The Canucks top line with Pettersson is struggling to score (which was not the case at the start of the season when Kuz was there). There are always ways to improve one's team. Period.

In that case, I agree with the premise of Patrick Johnson's article (ignoring his retarded take on Phil Kessel obviously). We need to move Kuzmenko before this shit becomes a distraction. Right now, this whole issue has been swept under a rug since we've had a great season so far. But now? We've got a tough 7 game road trip and we've already started 0-1 (and didn't particularly look good.....especially our top line). If this road trip goes awry and we see more Kuzmenko benchings, this issue could snowball.

Friedman always acts like a 14 year old Californian blonde girl whenever there is a hint of adversity surrounding the Canucks. He feigns objectivity but the guy is a Maple Leaf ball-licker through and through.

I mean, that's all well and good, but the coaches are making it look like Kuzmenko is a 19 year old kid that is just learning the big leagues. In actuality, the guy scored 39 goals last year and clearly has an elite skill set........that can help this team. You know, with our top line currently struggling with offence. I mean seriously - if 1994 Pavel Bure was inserted into this line-up, would it make sense to let Pavel "work his magic" so to speak or would it be better if he was forced to play "Tocchy hockey" like a fucking retard? Elite coaches tailor systems to maximize player strengths. I like Tocchet but this is one area where I believe he's lacking in.

Good article by Patrick Johnson..........until he mentioned Phil Kessel. Seriously - what's with fans' and media's obsession with this guy? It's not 2012 anymore. There's a reason why Kessel barely played in last year's playoffs. I say this semi seriously and semi jokingly, but we'd be better off coaxing Daniel Sedin out of retirement rather than signing Kessel. Daniel Sedin is still in elite shape. Phil Kessel on the other hand, has breasts the size of Pamela Anderson.

Maybe to the Habs for Josh Anderson. Similar cap hit + Anderson’s lower point total is offset by his heavier style of play.

With the way Joshua-Bluegar-Garland have been playing however, that might not be the case.

What the fuck did I just watch?

Kuzmenko looked like he almost teared up after being interviewed that one night when he was named first star. Of course he's upset over what's going on. I also prefaced my original by stating that I'm a huge fan of Tocchet's work. So, what are we arguing about?

Don't get me wrong bro, I'm a huge fan of Tocchet. I'm just upset with the way Kuz is being dicked around like a kid at Neverland Ranch. However - if the rumours are true that Kuzmenko's fitness wasn't up to par when the season began (and unlike Joshua, never got his way back into shape), then I take back everything I said.

Playing guys like Lafferty and Suter on Petey's wing is the dumbest shit ever and I have no idea why Tocchet is doing this. If coaching wants Kuzmenko to have less minutes while he gets his conditioning up to snuff, that's fine, but why make Petey suffer for it? Miller-Pettersson-Boeser (welcome back Lotto line) Joshua-Bluegar-Garland Mikheyev-Suter-Hoglander Kuzmenko-Lafferty-PDG Or something like that. So - if it truly is an issue of getting Kuzmenko's fitness back, then fine, but atleast give Petey some good line mates.

But Kuz's fitness wasn't an issue last season was it? Or did Kuz celebrate a little too much this past off-season? I wouldn't mind seeing your Podkolzin idea come to fruition if he's truly ready.

Despite Kuzmenko's mediocre play to begin the season (which if we're being honest, wasn't really *that* bad), Pettersson had 20 points in the first 10 games. Is it coincidence that Petey's game started to drop ever since Tocchet started treating Kuzmenko like Lonny Bohonos?

Fair enough point but I can't stop thinking about that game awhile back where Kuzmenko was the #1 star and was interviewed. You could tell that Kuzmenko was getting emotional during the speech, and that all of those healthy scratches/4th line stints had gotten to him. The Canucks and the coaching staff need to figure this Kuzmenko stuff out. If there is a plan in place, it looks like Rosie O'Donnell's shit to me.

Before I get into this post, I'll pre-face it by stating that I'm a huge fan of Tocchet's coaching and the work he has done in Vancouver. The guy has implemented a very structured system that mandates two-way hockey and holds players accountable. However - perhaps one can make the following argument: 1) Poor-to-Mediocre coaches have their heads in their own sphincters with their tongues hanging out (i.e. Willie Desjardins, Tom Renney, Rick Ley, etc.) 2) Average to "very good" coaches know how to implement systems and get most of their players to buy in (i.e. Tocchet). [players need to adjust to the system] 3) The greatest coaches in the league know how to implement and tailor systems that cater to individual strengths (i.e. Pat Quinn, Scotty Bowman, Joel Quennville, etc.). [systems are implemented to maximize player strengths]. Which leads me to our current Tocchet/Kuzmenko situation. For the life of me, I don't understand what the hell Tocchet is doing with Kuzmenko here. Sure, Kuzmenko has significant warts in his game but he also has significant strengths........strengths that we could use right now (i.e. putting the puck in the net]. Instead of trying to fit square pegs into round holes, Tocchet needs to allow a bit of flexibility as far as Kuz goes. By continuously making him a healthy scratch and/or playing him on the 4th line, all you're doing is hurting the guy's confidence...........and if Tocchet isn't careful, this could start making others in the locker room upset. Kuzmenko is a popular and well-liked teammate that has a lot to offer this team. Play the guy, give him some rope, and let him play his way out of his funk. If this isn't an option for Tocchet, then just move the guy ASAP and get rid of the potentially burgeoning elephant in the room. EDIT: Something interesting that I found: The 2022/2023 season stats seems to indicate that Kuzmenko's "dip" in play this season might have more to do with the following: -Unsustainably high shooting percentage -Not being in shape As opposed to Kuzmenko not being a good fit for Tocchet's system. Based on Kuzmenko's performance last season under Tocchet, there was no dip whatsoever in AK's performance. In fact, he might have actually played even better. Kuzmenko's 2022-2023 season output: 39G + 35A = 74P (81 games) Kuzmenko's production when Tocchet took over last season: 20G + 13A = 33P (36 games) https://www.espn.com/nhl/player/gamelog/_/id/5077308/year/2023

I think Hughes and Pettersson makes it but Miller and Demko get snubbed. Meanwhile, a bunch of undeserving thespians from the Maple Leafs make the team.

All good points. If we're eyeing JG, it would likely be a trade deadline acquisition since both Vancouver and Pittsburgh would need to see where they stand at the deadline. For all we know, Pittsburgh finds its groove and becomes a playoff calibre team. We've seen Edmonton do a 180 as of late and Pittsburgh definitely has the talent to do the same. My other thought is this. Is it really another scoring forward that we need or would the Canucks be better off getting a #2A/#3 calibre defenseman? I feel like we are still missing that calibre defenseman. Allow me to explain: #1: Hughes #2: Hronek #3: ??? #4: Zadorov #5 Cole/Soucy #5A/6 Myers #6A/7 Juulsen In other words, I still think there is a significant drop off between Hronek and our 3rd best defenseman.........which could ultimately spell trouble if one of Hughes or Hronek goes down with injury. Perhaps it would be better to take a calculated gamble on Kuzmenko getting out of his slump, while moving Myers and a draft pick for that #3 calibre guy.

Assuming that would be true: Mikheyev-Pettersson-Kuzmenko Guentzel-Miller-Boeser Joshua-Bluegar-Garland PDG-Suter-Lafferty Hughes-Hronek Zadorov-Myers Cole-Soucy Demko DeSmith

#VancouverPenguins #RussSwedUSACanucks In all seriousness, Guentzel would be a fantastic addition.

All good points and when creating this post, I had completely forgotten about the fact that we have Zadorov now. While you are correct that the age of the enforcer is long gone, I still think you need that one guy that can beat up all/most players in the league if it came down to it. Is fighting being phased out of the game? Absolutely. Will opposing players still take liberties with your star players if they know that they won't pay the price for it? (i.e. 2011 Bruins, 2015 Michael Ferland, 2020 Ryan Reaves). My line of thinking is that you could have someone like Johnston as your 13th forward and then dress him if things are getting out of line. Bruins in 2011 had Shawn Thornton as their 13th forward and then dressed him from Game 3 onwards. In 1994, although we had guys like Sergio Momesso and Tim Hunter, we had Odjick waiting in the wings.

I’d love to have Crouse but I doubt Kuzmenko and a pick gets errr done. Arizona is also in playoff contention right now and so won’t be looking to sell (although I suspect that they will drop in the standings in this coming half).

I completely forgot about the fact that we have Zadorov.

Any appetite for Anaheim’s Ross Johnston or Montreal’s Arber Xhekaj?