Canucks Q&A: Geoff Courtnall on current club: 'They can go as far as they believe they can'

[Captkirk888]

1 minute ago, NewbieCanuckFan said:

So help me if Lafayette hit's the post again.

Aman would be our Lafayette this year, but he’ll score!

[iceman1964]

3 hours ago, Sophomore Jinx said:

Canucks Q&A: Geoff Courtnall on current club: 'They can go as far as they believe they can' 

 

Canucks Q&A: Geoff Courtnall on current club: 'They can go as far as they believe they can'

Story by Ben Kuzma

 

Head coach Rick Tocchet is the no-nonsense straw that stirs the commitment drink for the high-flying Canucks

 

They are talk of the town and the league — and sit atop the NHL heap.

For this crop of Vancouver Canucks to become true believers, they had to go where previous editions often feared to tread. Elite fitness had to become the focus, the roster required additions and deletions, and a push to put out and leave no doubt was imperative.

 

To reach first-overall status with a 23-9-3 record — including most goals, second fewest allowed, 20-0-0 mark when leading after 40 minutes, and four players in top 16 of scoring — it’s the culmination of commitment.

A collective understanding of immediate goals and the greater good allowed the Canucks to establish a club record with 20 wins in their first 30 games.

Rick Tocchet’s tough love and non-negotiable systems, structure and culture demands were the foundation. So was the bench boss getting general manager Patrik Allvin to address lineup deficiencies and not mortgage the future. And it was president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford gaining the ear of ownership — especially impatient managing director Francesco Aquilini.

Add it up and you get a plan, a purpose, a future focus and success.

“It was giving ownership confidence that decisions being made were the right decisions,” former Canucks winger Geoff Courtnall said Tuesday.

“Unfortunately, for the last five years every move backfired. Getting a new group in was what a lot of people talked to Francesco about for a long time — including myself — and it needed to happen.  

“He’s got to be happy now.”

 

Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller are trending toward career scoring seasons with the first-place Canucks.

 

 

Finally trending to end elusive and failed pursuits of a post-season position has revved up the hype meter here for good reason.

“They can go as far as they believe they can — they have all the pieces,” said Courtnall. “They’ve got the goaltending to go far in the playoffs and you have to play physical. They keep playing like this, anything can happen.”

 

The 1992-93 Canucks were a high-octane bunch, but missed their only chance to move into first overall on Jan. 19, 1993 at the Pacific Coliseum. They had won 11 of 15, but surrendered three goals in less than eight minutes of the opening period, including the opener at 2:23 by Tocchet, and fell 5-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“Whether we were tired, or just took it lightly, it was corrected,” recalled Courtnall. “That was one of the great things with Pat (late coach and GM Quinn) “Only a few times he would come into the room and lose it. And that was one after the first period.”

Here’s more Courtnall in our latest Canucks Q&A:

Q. Tocchet got the buy-in from J.T. Miller. How crucial was it?

A. That’s why we were so successful in ’92-’93. Pat let us play. We frustrated him defensively, but we had such a good offensive group (team record 346 goals) that we gave ourselves a chance. J.T. is one of the most competitive guys I’ve seen in a long time.

 

Great skill and wants everybody to play hard and maybe to a fault, but he’s a good leader. Rick was one of the toughest guys I played against.  

Q. Pavel Bure had 60 goals in ’92-’93. Brock Boeser’s ceiling?

A. Scoring in the NHL is not easy (Boeser has 24 in 35 games). When they’re not going in, you lose confidence and start to fight your stick. And when they go in, you believe every shot has a chance. That’s where he’s at. He’s playing fantastic and in the system. When you play good team defence, and are aggressive on the puck, you get great scoring chances.

Q. Do you see Dakota Joshua as a Sergio Mommesso clone?

A. Yeah. Nobody expected Dakota to gain confidence (tough love, healthy scratch). He has a chance to score every game and that line (Joshua has nine goals and five in his last six with Conor Garland and Teddy Blueger) has been fantastic. Sergio was good for us in ’92-’93 with 18 goals.

 

Q. What’s the unexpected secret sauce to get to playoffs?

A. Pat instilled confidence. And that (’92-’93) year, Petr Nedved was 20 and scored 38 goals and had a 15-game points streak. It was his best year with us (71 points). We had an amazing PP, but we had a lot of young guys who really played well (Bure, 21, Trevor Linden, 22).

Q. Why did Kay Whitmore mesh so well with Kirk McLean?

A. It worked so well to have that guy back then (ahead of the management curve with McLean playing 54 games and Whitemore 31 in ’92-’93) and especially to go a long way in the playoffs. Great attitude and a great backup and Kirk felt confident. They had a great camaraderie. (Much like Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith).

Q. Game 7 of Cup final in ’94, but why a so-so regular season?

A. Hard to say. I didn’t understand why we struggled so much (41-40-3). We didn’t start to play our best until Game 5 of the playoffs against Calgary and facing elimination. We went further from the experience the year before (Round 2 exit) and adding Jeff Brown. The team was better than we played in the regular season.

 

 

 

Good article from Kuzma, with Q & A with Geoff Courtnall

Nice try but no way, we have no depth for injuries as usual, wishful thinking at best, nothing new though, same reason why we don't have a cup.

 If we had the same roster with young guys ready to step out of the farm and move everyone up then I'd agree but that's just not the case. 

 We looked that way when we lined up against the Bruins and then it fell apart when it started and Hamhuis went down, and then nagging injuries on D with Eddie, Tanev, and Salo nowhere near 100% killed us but if back then we had depth to step in from the farm, I believe we could have pulled that off but we all know how that ended, the Bruins woke up, we had no answer and the rest is history... And unless we get some backup it's doomed to repeat itself, I wish it wasn't so but realistically it will end the same way simply because we all know how brutal the post is and there's no getting around it.

[Western Red]

GC is not a decent human so read into what he says at your own discretion.

[Alflives]

1 minute ago, Captkirk888 said:

Aman would be our Lafayette this year, but he’ll score!

Remember to vividly watching that game 7 from ‘94. Linden was phenomenal. IMHAO we were the better club on the night. But the Raggedy Andys has Leetch. 
Now we are the club with a generational D man. We have Quinn Hughes. He’s why we will win multiple Cups over the next several seasons. 
 

[Sophomore Jinx]

10 minutes ago, iceman1964 said:

Nice try but no way, we have no depth for injuries as usual, wishful thinking at best, nothing new though, same reason why we don't have a cup.

 If we had the same roster with young guys ready to step out of the farm and move everyone up then I'd agree but that's just not the case. 

 We looked that way when we lined up against the Bruins and then it fell apart when it started and Hamhuis went down, and then nagging injuries on D with Eddie, Tanev, and Salo nowhere near 100% killed us but if back then we had depth to step in from the farm, I believe we could have pulled that off but we all know how that ended, the Bruins woke up, we had no answer and the rest is history... And unless we get some backup it's doomed to repeat itself, I wish it wasn't so but realistically it will end the same way simply because we all know how brutal the post is and there's no getting around it.

 

[PeteyBOI]

1 hour ago, stawns said:

Absolutely, no argument there.  But the article says every move in the last 5 years missed.  That's a ridiculous take when the entire core are guys from that era.  Like Gillis, PA gets the advantage of inheriting a team that has the core pieces in place.

well maybe courtnall misunderstood the question, and you are misunderstanding him.

 

Courtnall said Move he could have meant Trade, which would be much closer to the truth minus miller

[Captkirk888]

7 minutes ago, MidKnight Ego said:

well maybe courtnall misunderstood the question, and you are misunderstanding him.

 

Courtnall said Move he could have meant Trade, which would be much closer to the truth minus miller

Hronek says hi

[AatuD2]

 

 

[PeteyBOI]

1 hour ago, Captkirk888 said:

Hronek says hi

not sure why he's saying hi, but ill wave back...

 

oh did you think benning traded for hronek?

[PeteyBOI]

3 hours ago, iceman1964 said:

Nice try but no way, we have no depth for injuries as usual, wishful thinking at best, nothing new though, same reason why we don't have a cup.

 If we had the same roster with young guys ready to step out of the farm and move everyone up then I'd agree but that's just not the case. 

 We looked that way when we lined up against the Bruins and then it fell apart when it started and Hamhuis went down, and then nagging injuries on D with Eddie, Tanev, and Salo nowhere near 100% killed us but if back then we had depth to step in from the farm, I believe we could have pulled that off but we all know how that ended, the Bruins woke up, we had no answer and the rest is history... And unless we get some backup it's doomed to repeat itself, I wish it wasn't so but realistically it will end the same way simply because we all know how brutal the post is and there's no getting around it.

im pretty sure we do have depth...

 

1st line quarter back... Miller,Hughes.... and depth hronek garland

1st PP scorers EP,Miller,Boeser,Kuzmenko and depth Garland and Joshua

PK centers... all our centers can play PK Including Aman Joshua and Lafferty, who all have played center before

PK wingers... Di Guiseppe and Mikheyev can fill in for the above 7 in a pinch....

Pk defenceman Myers,Cole,Hronek,Zadorov,Soucy and we can add Juulsen to that list too now...

Juulsen is our 7th defenceman and is looking to be a solid 6th defencman> Friedman Mcward Hirose,Wolanin,Brisebois.

Aman or maybe DiGiuseppe is our 13th forward but we have Bains,Dries,Podkolzin,Raty,Karllson ready to fill in

 

and we have 2.25m cap to spare...

Edited December 27, 2023 by MidKnight Ego

[Gawdzukes]

4 hours ago, Tusk said:

I think the biggest improvement here over 94 and 2011 is we have depth in abby as well. We are going to run out of Cap over the next bunch of signings that need to be done.... but we have some cheap guys who can come up.

I think we can do it this year.

But with the depth I think we can do it next year too! Then we got cap issues.

 

Yup. It will be interesting to see what they do to flesh out the roster. We surely should be looking at adding a RD moving forward, in addition to seeing how this year plays out and any additional moves (forwards mainly) that need to be made to put the finishing touches on. Will they address stuff like that at the deadline planning for now and the future? Or, will they load up just for this year and keep next year separate. As you say, we have some room to maneuver next year but after that the OEL penalty plus a handful of raises and Boeser as well. It will be tricky to say the least.

[LillStrimma]

4 hours ago, iceman1964 said:

Nice try but no way, we have no depth for injuries as usual, wishful thinking at best, nothing new though, same reason why we don't have a cup.

 If we had the same roster with young guys ready to step out of the farm and move everyone up then I'd agree but that's just not the case. 

 We looked that way when we lined up against the Bruins and then it fell apart when it started and Hamhuis went down, and then nagging injuries on D with Eddie, Tanev, and Salo nowhere near 100% killed us but if back then we had depth to step in from the farm, I believe we could have pulled that off but we all know how that ended, the Bruins woke up, we had no answer and the rest is history... And unless we get some backup it's doomed to repeat itself, I wish it wasn't so but realistically it will end the same way simply because we all know how brutal the post is and there's no getting around it.

This year it’s playoffs that is the main target.

next season we have the young guns you’re asking about.

[Elias Pettersson]

5 hours ago, Captkirk888 said:

One thing to remember about the 94 team, almost the same roster won the Smythe division with 101 points and finished 7th overall in the league the season prior. So it was proven they had the stuff, 94 reg season was an aberration.

 

True.  However, in 1992-1993 we had Nedved who had 38 goals and 71 points.  We didn't have Nedved in 1993-1994, he held out and didn't play a single game.  The assets for Nedved didn't arrive until the trade deadline in March.  So, I think that had alot to do with our slow start to the 1993-1994 season...

[IBatch]

2 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

 

True.  However, in 1992-1993 we had Nedved who had 38 goals and 71 points.  We didn't have Nedved in 1993-1994, he held out and didn't play a single game.  The assets for Nedved didn't arrive until the trade deadline in March.  So, I think that had alot to do with our slow start to the 1993-1994 season...

Sure did.   It was also a distraction.   That was a deeper team in the regular season for sure (91- 93), we'd also lost Larionov.   

Edited December 27, 2023 by IBatch

[Boudrias]

4 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

 

True.  However, in 1992-1993 we had Nedved who had 38 goals and 71 points.  We didn't have Nedved in 1993-1994, he held out and didn't play a single game.  The assets for Nedved didn't arrive until the trade deadline in March.  So, I think that had alot to do with our slow start to the 1993-1994 season...

I still consider the '94 team the best ever Canuck team. Better than '82 or '11. That said IMHO the current Canuck team has all the ingredients to go further and win a CUP. A lot of depth and a talent pool that could make the difference. 

[Sativika]

11 hours ago, Alflives said:

The ‘94 team was great. But it didn’t have Quinn Hughes. We’ve never had a generational D man. This club does. And it has a great number 2 D, a superstar number one C, a fantastic number two C, a terrific goal scoring winger, an elite goalie, and a lot of depth in the supporting cast. 
Cup for us! 

 

I appreciate your (and all others here in CFF.) enthusiasm Alf, but a Cup?!??!?? Okay. I'll agree only in that's a possibility. In the playoffs, our chances are as good as any. I'm enthused by virtue of our Canucks seemingly successful season thus far to be sure. But I'm too much of a realist to give 'em the Cup just yet. Season's not done yet. But yea. We're due!!!!

 

11 hours ago, Alflives said:

Alf accepts Benning, as terrible as he proved to be, was the GM who (minus Hronek) built this elite core. 

 

As mentioned by someone in this thread. Just as Nonis left a core for MG to work with, so did Benning do the same for JR/PA.  Also when we revisit what he did in his first entry draft in 2014; Demko is the only one left and thank God for that. Then there's the three that got away, McCann, Forsling, Tree. Of course the fiasco in Virts and a couple of other duds; four out of seven? That ain't bad. But it's moot now and we got the one that matters in Demmer. Yay!!!!!

 

Benning's reign here wasn't all bad. But his business acumen left a lot to be desired.

 

10 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

 

McLean - Demko

Whitmore - DeSmith

 

10 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

Lumme - Hughes

Hedican - Myers

Brown - Hronek

Babych - Zadorov

Diduck - Juulsen

Murzyn - Soucy

 

Bure - Petey

Craven - Mikheyev

Adams - Boeser

Linden - Miller

Lafayette - Hoglander

Courtnall - Kuzmenko

Momesso - Joshua

Ronning - Suter

Gelinas - Garland

Antonski - Lafferty

McIntyre - Blueger

Hunter - PDG

 

The similarities are quite scary actually.  We may have more talent this year than in 1994.  1994 was a much bigger and nastier team.  But in today's NHL, we don't need guys like Antonski and Hunter.  So our team in 2023-2024 is better built for today's NHL.

 

In 1994, we were barely a .500 team and then went all the way to game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.  This year we are the equivalent of the 2011 team, being in 1st place overall.  As Geoff Courtnall has said, we can go as far as we believe we can...

 

Kind of trite. It's like Benning and others said, "Anything can happen in the playoffs!" Be that as it may, this team has the belief that they can win games against any team.

 Yea. They can. So far.

 

Their chances are pretty good though as I've seen thus far. They do give me more hope than I've felt in years for sure.

 

10 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

 

I agree.  Hughes is a massive upgrade on Lumme.  He is the equivalent to Brian Leetch, who New York had in 1994 to win the cup.  You flip Lumme for Leetch and the Canucks easily beat the Rangers in the finals.  That is the biggest key difference of 1994 versus today...

 

This is a good comparison, but I think Huggy's even better. He's built for today's faster paced NHL. I thought he was the definitive choice for captain when talk of such was going on last off season. We need Huggy for any kind of playoff success!

 

9 hours ago, NewbieCanuckFan said:

So help me if Lafayette hit's the post again.

 

Hit posts  till the cows come home, but be in the lead to begin with

 

Go Canucks Go!!!!!!

[Rubik]

14 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

 

McLean - Demko

Whitmore - DeSmith

 

Lumme - Hughes

Hedican - Myers

Brown - Hronek

Babych - Zadorov

Diduck - Juulsen

Murzyn - Soucy

 

Bure - Petey

Craven - Mikheyev

Adams - Boeser

Linden - Miller

Lafayette - Hoglander

Courtnall - Kuzmenko

Momesso - Joshua

Ronning - Suter

Gelinas - Garland

Antonski - Lafferty

McIntyre - Blueger

Hunter - PDG

 

The similarities are quite scary actually.  We may have more talent this year than in 1994.  1994 was a much bigger and nastier team.  But in today's NHL, we don't need guys like Antonski and Hunter.  So our team in 2023-2024 is better built for today's NHL.

 

In 1994, we were barely a .500 team and then went all the way to game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.  This year we are the equivalent of the 2011 team, being in 1st place overall.  As Geoff Courtnall has said, we can go as far as we believe we can...

 

 

[EdgarM]

Petey did a good comparison but this is how I rememeber it:

 

McLean - Demko

Whitmore - DeSmith

 

Lumme -(Hronek) - #2 PMD

Hedican -(Soucy) - Younger dman who can skate

Brown -(Hughes)- #1 PMD

Babych -(Myers) -veteran dman

Diduck - Juulsen - physical dman

Murzyn - (Zadorov) -big and physical dmam

 

Bure -(Boeser)-Sniper

Craven -(Blueger) experienced center

Adams - (Mikheyev) - Offensive winger

Linden - Miller - Heart and Soul of the team

Lafayette - (Suter) -Young Center

Courtnall - Kuzmenko - Offensive winger

Momesso - Joshua -Big and physical

Ronning -(Petey)(Garland) - 2nd line center/small spark plug playmaker

Gelinas -(Hoglander)- sparkplug winger

Antonski - Lafferty- physical

McIntyre - (Aman)- young center

Hunter - PDG

 

Just like how the 94' team could adapt to different type of play, this group has the same ability. I don't think our team has been so complete since the 94' team.

[Captkirk888]

12 hours ago, MidKnight Ego said:

not sure why he's saying hi, but ill wave back...

 

oh did you think benning traded for hronek?

It’s still a trade within the last five years. The story didn’t specify Benning trades

[Ballisticsports]

19 minutes ago, Captkirk888 said:

It’s still a trade within the last five years. The story didn’t specify Benning trades

It did 

 

“Unfortunately, for the last five years every move backfired. Getting a new group in was what a lot of people talked to Francesco about for a long time — including myself — and it needed to happen.  

“He’s got to be happy now.”

[Elias Pettersson]

8 hours ago, IBatch said:

Sure did.   It was also a distraction.   That was a deeper team in the regular season for sure (91- 93), we'd also lost Larionov.   

 

We win the cup with Larionov.  Playing with Bure.  I still haven't forgiven Pat Quinn for letting Larionov go...

[Tusk]

Kuzmenko with Petterson. I hope no one is letting kuzy go....

37 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

 

We win the cup with Larionov.  Playing with Bure.  I still haven't forgiven Pat Quinn for letting Larionov go...

 

[PeteyBOI]

2 hours ago, EdgarM said:

Petey did a good comparison but this is how I rememeber it:

 

McLean - Demko

Whitmore - DeSmith

 

Lumme -(Hronek) - #2 PMD

Hedican -(Soucy) - Younger dman who can skate

Brown -(Hughes)- #1 PMD

Babych -(Myers) -veteran dman

Diduck - Juulsen - physical dman

Murzyn - (Zadorov) -big and physical dmam

 

Bure -(Boeser)-Sniper

Craven -(Blueger) experienced center

Adams - (Mikheyev) - Offensive winger

Linden - Miller - Heart and Soul of the team

Lafayette - (Suter) -Young Center

Courtnall - Kuzmenko - Offensive winger

Momesso - Joshua -Big and physical

Ronning -(Petey)(Garland) - 2nd line center/small spark plug playmaker

Gelinas -(Hoglander)- sparkplug winger

Antonski - Lafferty- physical

McIntyre - (Aman)- young center

Hunter - PDG

 

Just like how the 94' team could adapt to different type of play, this group has the same ability. I don't think our team has been so complete since the 94' team.

i keep laughing when you guys get to the 4th line... they are not alike...  maybe mcintiye.

 

i think thats about as best you can do... Having 3 bruisers on your team that played regularly its hard to fit those players in...

 

 

 

 

[The Duke]

For fun vs the 2011 group:  not done by lines with our current group, just player comparables.
 

H Sedin - Petey  (healthy Petey might give Hank a run for his money.  And I love the Sedins.  Iron Hank was indestructible though.)

 

D Sedin - Boeser (You’d think Daniel clears this easily, but Boeser is having one heck of a season.  Daniel wins but if this is the “new Brock” that gap closes in a hurry.)

 

Burrows - Garland (Burrows puts up better numbers, elite PK and matchup ability… he’s better. But I actually think Garland is driving a 3rd line better than Burrows would have, which is something for the Elf.)

 

Kesler - Miller (Gotta go “beast mode” 40 goal, Selke Kesler here but I could see Miller writing his own legend in the playoffs.) 

 

Samuelsson - Kuzmenko  (Kuz has the higher skill here by far, but not as rugged as Samuelsson, who at 34 was also running out of gas.) 

 

Higgins - Suter (Higgins was a 2-way beauty.. but so is Suter.  Different styles of player but similar impact.  Higgins a step better.)

 

Raymond - Hoglander (50 point Raymond was better than his legacy around here is… but Hoglander has shown some real pop lately.  Would anyone trade Hoglander for Raymond?  I didn’t think so.)

 

Malhotra - Bleuger (Manny will always be the prototypical 3C’s 3C - but was injured for the playoffs. Teddy doesn’t have the size but having a heck of a season.) 

 

Hansen - Mikheyev (People love the Badger and rightfully so, but Mikheyev has been the better player since joining the team even with a torn knee.)

 

Torres - Joshua (Love Torres but Joshua is bringing that offensive pop and physicality without the suspension-worthy hits.)

 

Lapierre - Lafferty (way different styles of players here and Lapierre scored some clutch goals - but I could see Lafferty doing the same.  Not as scrappy but the better hockey player - big and fast with some offensive pop.)

 

Glass - PDG (PDG actually puts up a lot more points per game, but Glass was more of an NHL regular.) 

 

Oreskovich - Aman (Aman looks poised to have a lot longer career than Oreo, who retired and got into finance a year after the cup run!)

on the back end
 

Ehrhoff - Hughes (Ehrhoff had a heck of a season in 2011 but Hughes is going to go down as the very best.)

 

Bieksa - Hronek (This is a close one, but the current club doesn’t need Hronek to bring the edge Bieksa did.  I think Hronek ends up the better player but it could be a toss up.)

 

Hamhuis - Cole  (Hamhuis takes this one by having a better impact in the O zone… but Cole does bring a few cups worth of experience and shows his nasty side quite a bit.)

 

Edler - Zadorov (Easy win for Edler here, but Zadorov’s size is pretty impressive.) 

 

Salo - Soucy (Salo is the better player, but Soucy does a lot of similar things.  Big body, moves well, good in his own zone with a bomb from the point.)

 

Rome/Ballard/Alberta - Myers (Give this one to the Chaos Giraffe by his mega neck, though the 2011 team’s depth is laudable. You could cheat and say baby Tanev as well but he was just breaking through and only playing 13 min a night.)

Luongo - Demko (Luongo’s HOF career is mostly built on consistency and longevity rather than red hot stretches. I’d say Demko’s show vs Vegas back in the bubble rivals any stretch Luongo put up… but of course this goes to Lou.)

 

Schneider - DeSmith (Schneiderman clears but DeSmith has been all class.) 

 

Anyways, probably not news to anyone that the 2011 team is a step or two ahead - especially in top of the lineup matchup ability, on the PK and 2nd pair defence.  It’s fun to see how close it is, though.  
 

I actually like our current forward depth scoring better.  Maybe a lot better.  And 2011 didn’t have Hughes to tilt the ice for nearly half the game.  We’re also bigger and younger than that group, maybe a little less dependant on the PP to score.  

[IBatch]

18 minutes ago, The Duke said:

For fun vs the 2011 group:  not done by lines with our current group, just player comparables.
 

H Sedin - Petey  (healthy Petey might give Hank a run for his money.  And I love the Sedins.  Iron Hank was indestructible though.)

 

D Sedin - Boeser (You’d think Daniel clears this easily, but Boeser is having one heck of a season.  Daniel wins but if this is the “new Brock” that gap closes in a hurry.)

 

Burrows - Garland (Burrows puts up better numbers, elite PK and matchup ability… he’s better. But I actually think Garland is driving a 3rd line better than Burrows would have, which is something for the Elf.)

 

Kesler - Miller (Gotta go “beast mode” 40 goal, Selke Kesler here but I could see Miller writing his own legend in the playoffs.) 

 

Samuelsson - Kuzmenko  (Kuz has the higher skill here by far, but not as rugged as Samuelsson, who at 34 was also running out of gas.) 

 

Higgins - Suter (Higgins was a 2-way beauty.. but so is Suter.  Different styles of player but similar impact.  Higgins a step better.)

 

Raymond - Hoglander (50 point Raymond was better than his legacy around here is… but Hoglander has shown some real pop lately.  Would anyone trade Hoglander for Raymond?  I didn’t think so.)

 

Malhotra - Bleuger (Manny will always be the prototypical 3C’s 3C - but was injured for the playoffs. Teddy doesn’t have the size but having a heck of a season.) 

 

Hansen - Mikheyev (People love the Badger and rightfully so, but Mikheyev has been the better player since joining the team even with a torn knee.)

 

Torres - Joshua (Love Torres but Joshua is bringing that offensive pop and physicality without the suspension-worthy hits.)

 

Lapierre - Lafferty (way different styles of players here and Lapierre scored some clutch goals - but I could see Lafferty doing the same.  Not as scrappy but the better hockey player - big and fast with some offensive pop.)

 

Glass - PDG (PDG actually puts up a lot more points per game, but Glass was more of an NHL regular.) 

 

Oreskovich - Aman (Aman looks poised to have a lot longer career than Oreo, who retired and got into finance a year after the cup run!)

on the back end
 

Ehrhoff - Hughes (Ehrhoff had a heck of a season in 2011 but Hughes is going to go down as the very best.)

 

Bieksa - Hronek (This is a close one, but the current club doesn’t need Hronek to bring the edge Bieksa did.  I think Hronek ends up the better player but it could be a toss up.)

 

Hamhuis - Cole  (Hamhuis takes this one by having a better impact in the O zone… but Cole does bring a few cups worth of experience and shows his nasty side quite a bit.)

 

Edler - Zadorov (Easy win for Edler here, but Zadorov’s size is pretty impressive.) 

 

Salo - Soucy (Salo is the better player, but Soucy does a lot of similar things.  Big body, moves well, good in his own zone with a bomb from the point.)

 

Rome/Ballard/Alberta - Myers (Give this one to the Chaos Giraffe by his mega neck, though the 2011 team’s depth is laudable. You could cheat and say baby Tanev as well but he was just breaking through and only playing 13 min a night.)

Luongo - Demko (Luongo’s HOF career is mostly built on consistency and longevity rather than red hot stretches. I’d say Demko’s show vs Vegas back in the bubble rivals any stretch Luongo put up… but of course this goes to Lou.)

 

Schneider - DeSmith (Schneiderman clears but DeSmith has been all class.) 

 

Anyways, probably not news to anyone that the 2011 team is a step or two ahead - especially in top of the lineup matchup ability, on the PK and 2nd pair defence.  It’s fun to see how close it is, though.  
 

I actually like our current forward depth scoring better.  Maybe a lot better.  And 2011 didn’t have Hughes to tilt the ice for nearly half the game.  We’re also bigger and younger than that group, maybe a little less dependant on the PP to score.  

There is a real possibility, that what we are witnessing right now is this current cores peak.   Hope not.   That will come down to a couple things.   Cap structure over the next few years for one.    Going to be fun to see how things shake out.   I still like the early 90's comps more, because I'm holding onto some hope, that once we get to the post season, we will see an even better team then the sum of their parts.   Also think they've done an exceptional job of changing the culture of this team the past year.   Character is more than just a word that's thrown around.    Not that JB didn't get it mostly right as far as assembling the core.    

Edited December 27, 2023 by IBatch