HKSR Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 10 minutes ago, Artemus said: I have been thinking for some months now, the way Hughes is playing, that it is reminiscent of watching Brian Leetch in the 1994 playoffs. Leetch was dominant and IMO the best player on that team. Leetch also had a very good puck moving partner in Sergei Zubov. Hronek would be our version of Zubov. Interestingly, IIRC, Zubov was moved to Dallas and became a dominant defenseman for the Stars. Of the three Hall of Fame defensemen that you mention, Leetch/Housley/Park..... Leetch, IMO was by far the most dominant. Park, when he went to Colorado, was not (again in my opinion) the best defenseman on that team and that team won a cup. Housley was a good puck mover and a good well rounded defenseman, similar to Leetch's sidekick, Sergei Zubov. Not at the same level as either Leetch or (IMO) Hughes. Leetch is a good comparable for Hughes. He is one of the biggest reasons why that 94 Rangers team won. Without him, there's no way they'd have even gotten past the Devils that year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Biestra Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 11 minutes ago, Artemus said: I have been thinking for some months now, the way Hughes is playing, that it is reminiscent of watching Brian Leetch in the 1994 playoffs. Leetch was dominant and IMO the best player on that team. Leetch also had a very good puck moving partner in Sergei Zubov. Hronek would be our version of Zubov. Interestingly, IIRC, Zubov was moved to Dallas and became a dominant defenseman for the Stars. Of the three Hall of Fame defensemen that you mention, Leetch/Housley/Park..... Leetch, IMO was by far the most dominant. Park, when he went to Colorado, was not (again in my opinion) the best defenseman on that team and that team won a cup. Housley was a good puck mover and a good well rounded defenseman, similar to Leetch's sidekick, Sergei Zubov. Not at the same level as either Leetch or (IMO) Hughes. Interesting to think about Zubov. If I remember right from 1994 he was maybe the first and only defenseman to lead a Presidents Trophy winning team in scoring. Housley...terrific player but also had a bit of reputation for folding in the playoffs. I forget who it was from the early 90s but when they played Winnipeg they just went at Housley and bodychecked him until he didn't want the puck anymore and treated it like a hot potato. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBatch Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 3 minutes ago, Kevin Biestra said: I think you might be confusing Brad Park with...either Ray Bourque or Rob Blake here. Or the goon Parker lol. Brad Park mentored Ray Borque. And he sucked it up like a sponge. One thing I do agree with, Brian Leetch is actually a good comp for Hughes. Both guys were/are phenomenal puck movers, skaters and passers. Won't find many errors in Leetch's run to the final. Park had a physical component to his game none of these guys had though, and would argue was better in his zone. Ray Borque had all the gifts, Park took off those rough edges and off he went. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBatch Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 (edited) 8 minutes ago, Kevin Biestra said: Interesting to think about Zubov. If I remember right from 1994 he was maybe the first and only defenseman to lead a Presidents Trophy winning team in scoring. Housley...terrific player but also had a bit of reputation for folding in the playoffs. I forget who it was from the early 90s but when they played Winnipeg they just went at Housley and bodychecked him until he didn't want the puck anymore and treated it like a hot potato. That was us. "Hudson Bay" rules, Babych told the story a year or two ago, "Where is Housley?" front page news as the series wore on in WNP 92-93 I think, Housley was also at the peak of his powers. Edit: It was the bubble. When Babych brought this up, wondering if QHs would be able to keep up the heat he was getting. Mixed results, Vegas targeted both QHs and Stecther deliberately, throwing the puck in their corner. Before Vegas QHs was also targeted, it did start wearing on him. Came out unscathed, and now he's more mature so reason for optimism (isn't a rookie anymore). EP also got a lot of attention. So did Brock. They did pretty good considering. Edited February 7 by IBatch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artemus Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 1 minute ago, Kevin Biestra said: I think you might be confusing Brad Park with...either Ray Bourque or Rob Blake here. I think you are correct. I apologize for that. I think that I got Borque and Park mixed up. Remembered Brad Park being traded to the Bruins. I guess the old memory is not always infallible. They always looked a lot alike to me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Biestra Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 4 minutes ago, Artemus said: I think you are correct. I apologize for that. I think that I got Borque and Park mixed up. Remembered Brad Park being traded to the Bruins. I guess the old memory is not always infallible. They always looked a lot alike to me. I always thought Brad Park looked like Jimmy Page with a haircut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strawbone Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 (edited) 1 hour ago, grumpyone said: the ONLY trophy I want is named Stanley. I'd accept losing all the others if we win him. THIS! You might have to change your handle if they win it all. Edited February 7 by Strawbone 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedWooster Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 8 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said: Hart Memorial Trophy: Quinn Hughes James Norris Memorial Trophy: Quinn Hughes Frank J. Selke Trophy: Elias Pettersson Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Elias Pettersson Vezina Trophy: Thatcher Demko William M. Jennings Trophy: Thatcher Demko Casey DeSmith Jack Adams Award: Rick Tocchet Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award: Patrik Allvin Conn Smythe Trophy: Quinn Hughes Elias Pettersson JT Miller Thatcher Demko Presidents' Trophy: Vancouver Canucks Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: Vancouver Canucks Stanley Cup: Vancouver Canucks These are the awards we have a shot at winning this year. Some are individual awards and some are team awards. There are 12 awards in total that we have a shot at winning. My prediction: We will win 10 total awards: Norris - Hughes Lady Byng - Pettersson Vezina - Demko William Jennings - Demko/DeSmith Jack Adams - Tocchet Jim Gregory - Allvin Conn Smythe - Hughes President's - Vancouver Clarence Campbell - Vancouver Stanley Cup - Vancouver How many awards do you think Vancouver will win this year? Am a big Canucks but have to be realistic, here are my thoughts: Hart - I believe that Miller is the Canucks MVP, but with Pettersson, Hughes and Demko having great seasons the vote will be split. Likely MacKinnon's trophy unless McDavid wins the scoring title Gretzky - Hughes Time the league had a trophy for the most assists Orr - Hughes Time that the league has a trophy for Defenceman leading scorer.. Norris - Hughes will narrowly beat out Makar Lady Bing - Either Pettersson or Boeser. Might split the vote Masterton - Boeser Vezina - Hellebuyck will beat out Demko Better GAA and save percentage. Is more valuable to his team. Jennings - Winnipeg have better numbers right now. Even during a 4 game losing streak they only gave up 2.5 goals per game. Adams - Tocchet Gregory - Allvin Presidents - Maybe but not important to go for rather then rest players during the long home stand at the end of the season. I'd be happy with home ice in the Division. Conference and League would be nice but not as important Campbell- Hoping, but will be difficult. Stanley - see above Smythe - ask me in mid June. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Biestra Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 (edited) 16 minutes ago, RedWooster said: Gretzky - Hughes Time the league had a trophy for the most assists Orr - Hughes Time that the league has a trophy for Defenceman leading scorer.. I've been for this sort of thing and would much rather have seen this than the Messier Leadership Award. Most assist and most points from the blueline are the first two statistical trophies that come to mind. I guess maybe goalie wins and maybe even goalie minutes on the season if I were to think of a couple others. Not sure what I would name any of them though. Gretzky and Orr are decent choices...can't think of better names really but most assists sounds kind of minor for Gretzky. Orr was if I remember right the first player to get 100 assists in a season too. Kind of wild...the only three players to have 100 assists in a season - Gretzky, Orr and Mario - were also the goals in a season record holders for forwards and defensemen (and Mario's 85 goals in a season would have been the record for the league if Gretzky hadn't existed). If you wanted a passing specialist... I dunno... Adam Oates maybe but he could still score. Henrik Sedin was a passer who didn't get a whole lot of goals at all. Never had 30 while Adam Oates had 45 in a season. However Oates and Henrik have done well to be in the Hall. I don't think either rises to having a year end trophy named after them. Then again I don't think Messier does either...boy he milked that "guarantee of a win" against New Jersey in 1994 for all it was worth. That goalie workhorse award I would probably name after Glenn Hall. Had an ironman record for consecutive games that any forward or defenseman would be proud of. The league also celebrated the +/- leader with a trophy in years past. Instead of just calling it the plus minus award or naming it after a corporate sponsor like Emery Edge...Larry Robinson Trophy if you ask me. Guy was #1 all time with a bullet at well over +700 for his career while nobody else got to 600. Edited February 7 by Kevin Biestra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tas Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 there's really only one I care about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyone Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 34 minutes ago, Strawbone said: THIS! You might have to change your handle if they win it all. IF the Canucks win the Stanley Cup.... I vow to change my name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoop Hogg Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Well, all I know is no Canuck will win the Steve Moore Entitled Victim Of The Year Award. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBatch Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 1 hour ago, Strawbone said: THIS! You might have to change your handle if they win it all. To the sometimes grouchyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coconuts Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 (edited) Seems optimistic, but that's fair. My take is the following. Hart will be MacKinnon or Kucherov, hopefully MacKinnon. The Canucks have largely been healthy this season, the Avs less so, that works against Hughes imo. MacKinnon has picked up the slack despite having Makar and Rantanen as running mates, he is the driver on that team. Same goes for Kucherov, Tampa probably wouldn't even be in the playoff picture if not for Kucherov. If they make the playoffs he's probably at least the runner up. Art Ross will probably be one of the aforementioned unless McDavid goes on an absolute tear. Calder is anyone's guess, Bedard isn't a shoe in given he's been out. Masterton could be a lot of guys, probably not a Canuck. I'm less confident about our winning a western final or a cup final, I'm not going to chime in on those and will stick to individual awards. Same goes for Conn Smythe. At this point it's wishful thinking. Selke's a weird one, Bergeron not being in the mix opens it up for a lot of players. Pettersson could win it, but I wouldn't call it a slam dunk. Being a runner up could give him leverage to win one going forward. Canucks have a good shot at the Jack Adams, but lots of season left. What Boston's managed this season is also impressive, Florida too. Winnipeg could also be in the mix. If the Canucks can avoid losing skids I think Tochett could take it. Norris I'm less sure about, Makar is the bigger name leaguewide and their point totals are close. I'm less convinced by the +/- argument than some. It'll be one of Hughes or Makar and they should both split votes. I think Hughes could win it but I'm not gonna call it. I think the Allvin gets the Jim Gregory, what he's managed to do is impressive. I think Pettersson gets the Lady Byng. Could be Matthews though, he's the bigger name leaguewide. King Clancy is a tough one to predict, not gonna bother. Lot of solid player initiatives around the league. Could see Pasta or MacKinnon winning the Messier. Matthews probably gets the Rocket. I think Hellebuyck wins the Vezina despite Demko having a fantastic year. Would love to be wrong, as of today Hellebuyck would probably win it. We have a good shot at the Jennings, but it's not a runaway thing. Boston's right behind us and Edmonton is actually right there too, but they have games in hand. Pittsburgh and LA are right there too, but also games in hand. Winnipegis the frontrunner for it at this point, they're 1st in goals allowed. https://www.statmuse.com/nhl/ask?q=nhl+team+goals+against+2023-24 Mac gets the Ted Lindsay imo. Only award I'd really definitively call for the Canucks at this point is the Jim Gregory. Edited February 7 by Coconuts 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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