[PGT]Round 2, Game 7 - Canucks vs Oilers - May 20th, 2024

[Jaimito]

49 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said:

Rib and shoulder. 

 

 

Will get the full story soon. 

 

He took a beating during preds series.  There is no reason he wasn't able to shine like his usual self during the second round.

 

It is what it is.  Great captain, did all he could this playoffs.  He's gonna win the Norris and be even better next season.  

 

 

[Dr. Crossbar]

14 minutes ago, BC_Hawk said:

Agree, though I think Joshua left a bit to be desired. He made amazing first games in both series, but became invisible for most others. He needs to provide more energy and physical play if he wants a big pay day. Given how Garland was a huge reason for his play (like others say of Hronek), he is a 2-2.5m guy in my books. Any more.....let RT do some scouting and find another harder working guy he can coach up and place with Garland.

 

Agree. It's going to be an interesting offseason.

 

My thing is that guys will ebb and flow, get neutralized, get shut down. We need others who can elevate their game and contribute when that happens. 

 

Agree about Joshua's contract. The good thing is that some of these contracts will come back to earth and be more reasonable. If not, yeah, scouting will be key. 

 

 

 

Edited May 21 by Dr. Crossbar

[BC_Hawk]

7 minutes ago, Mike Vanderhoek said:

 

Poor assessment in general, the last paragraph is agreeable though.

 

1) Canucks would not have made it to the second round nor pushed the second round to seven games if not for Lindholm's contributions. Solid Playoff run with him on the club. Hoglander looked better as the Playoffs went on, he struggled to adjust. Aman played a solid bottom six role as required and Karlsson acquitted himself nicely providing speed, ability to get to the dirty areas and battled hard infront of the net. Looks like a player moving forward. Pettersson was a disappointment in his production and while he is on the verge of earning a huge payday he was responsible in his zone and did play wth some physicality. I expect much more from him moving forward.

 

2) Ian Cole, well you're not wrong. He would have been relied upon greatly by the younger and inexperienced players on the roster, an on ice coach at times which should not go unnoticed. His play though as you mentioned did show his age and loss in his step at times.

 

3) Hronek, have to think there was an injury going back to the regular season. He has shown to be a battler and play hard. If he is simply going to be a 40 point top pair defenseman who plays with an edge then I would like to see him return longer term in Vancouver. Projections of the cap rising annually means he is likely getting paid above the ideal  $6.5m per. The exact type of right handed defenseman this team has been screaming for. We got him, one year in and time to move him, don't think so.

 

4) Miller as a heart and soul guy here played quite well most games. The second round he was not dialed in on at least two games with poor passing and puck management but then again did manage to stifle one of the best players in the world at the same time so. I don't imagine you see a decline in play for a couple more years and that is assuming because of full seasons and long playoff runs.

 

5) Not sure who you have been watching but Boeser has really changed his game. He is a 200 foot player who throws hits, stick checks hard and defenseively blocks shots and gets his stick in lanes. He is a known shooter and that is his bread and butter, but he showed this year and more so into the Playoffs that perceived one-dimensional players can buy in and play a full game. Was quite impressed by what he brought to the table.

 

6) Zadorov would be a nice player to bring back and all indications are he wants to return and make Vancouver his long term home. Like anything it will cost dollars and he still remains a 4/5 defenseman as he has through his career. He has played well and produced in his role yes but he won't be signed here as a surefire top four defenseman. Myers may come in cheaper, Hronek will be brought back as top pairing righty. If money will need to be allocated to get more bodies on defense you may see a push for a Matt Roy or Brett Pesce for example, players who can play more reliable and higher minute totals.

 

Joshua seemed to run out of gas unless injured as the second round went on. I can see him returning to Vancouver, but he has a low career earnings and this may be his one chance to cash in on Free Agency. The Canucks would be wise to not get into a deal for him if it is going to be $ 3m or higher per. We all cried about Garland's caphit as a third liner so.

 

Mikheyev, there was every reason to believe he would prove reliable and add secondary scoring. He did manage to come in 1 point shy of a career high while playing a career high games played and assists so as much as he was frowned upon here for his lack of production he ended the year on his normal/average pace. Not saying it is good enough at all and the team should look at other options.

 

7) Garland is a veteran that the youngers guys can learn from, his work ethic is insane with his never quit attitude. Hughes remained a top player on the Canucks despite the beating he took in round one. He was diminished but was able to skate the puck out and around. I would like to see from him as well as many other Canucks less hesitation and overpassing.

 

8 - Silovs has shown much promise. While he could fix two perceived issues for the Canucks next year by lightening Demko's workload and being the teams back up in an almost 1a/b scenario I still would not be surprised to see him play the majority in Abby next year.

 

9) 3rd and 4th line, depth guys: Blueger I see the team extending here. Lafferty I see moving on, likely Joshua as well. The Canucks are going to need defensemen and as much as you could see Cole losing a step by Playoffs I would not be surprised to see him return at a lower pay rate with a season including maintenance days. DeSmith likely goes to free agency but I wouldn't say Silovs has nailed down the backup role as he is not being developed to be a back up.

 

10) Coach has been huge for this club. I do think Lindholm was brought in to centre the second line with Pettersson on wing and the coach let the temptation of 3 top six centres get the better of him. I think Lindholm may have wanted to extend in Vancouver if he was seen as and played as a top six, that coaching decision may have cost the chance to sign him. Otherwise an inability to better prepare or coach the Power Play was a negative, otherwise his level headed style and highroad respect for bad officiating was class.

Spot on summary Mike...couldn't of typed it better myself.

 

My only comment would be on Silovs. I would almost guarantee he is in the NHL next year as a 1B playing ~30 games. This would accomplish three things 1) See if he can maintain his play over a whole season 2) Give Demko rest so that he doesn't have the late season breakdown that is now becoming the norm. 3) A good backup goalie that is <1m.   I don't see any chance of him playing in the AHL next year, unless he is absolutely abysmal in that role (the canucks will  probably sign a vet for Abby just in case OR for injury).

[Frozen Water Walker]

Way to go Canucks, you made at least some of us proud with the season and up to game 7 in the second round of the NHL playoffs.

 

Management should take a bow, they landed some excellent talent to help the boys get that.

 

Thanks to most of the people on this board for discussing the team and it's performance.

 

And thanks to all the people who put so much effort into making this a fairly special place, your hard work is noticed, way to go keep it up please!

 

GCG

 

 

[PhillipBlunt]

13 minutes ago, Jaimito said:

 

Will get the full story soon. 

 

He took a beating during preds series.  There is no reason he wasn't able to shine like his usual self during the second round.

 

It is what it is.  Great captain, did all he could this playoffs.  He's gonna win the Norris and be even better next season.  

 

 

The experience he and a few other players gained is invaluable. 

[NewbieCanuckFan]

59 minutes ago, IBatch said:

Yes I suppose some folks couldn't separate that (Garland).   As for Myers, he became Edler haters lightning rod pretty fast.   Now people that said mean things about him, want him back.  Go figure.   Maybe, just maybe we were always going to suck after 14 years of kicking ass.    For those who haven't figured it out yet, we are a max tax team, and on pretty much any players 7 team NTC list,  competing against 31 other teams.   This could be as good as it gets right now and for the next 3 seasons for another long period of time.    Embrace it.  

 

And yes bring Myers back.  I sure would.   At OEL's to Ian Cole's cap hit, he's going to get at least a 3 x 3 deal somewhere. 

 

We needed a "finisher".   JB definitely wasn't that. 

 

I should have added, I haven't forgotten that OEL didn't play all that badly for us.  Sure not at the level of his cap hit (but he wasn't likely to do that in any event).  So his play in Florida isn't a surprise.  He sure as heck wasn't remotely playing at the level of Eriksson.

[RU SERIOUS]

21 minutes ago, Mike Vanderhoek said:

 

Poor assessment in general, the last paragraph is agreeable though.

 

1) Canucks would not have made it to the second round nor pushed the second round to seven games if not for Lindholm's contributions. Solid Playoff run with him on the club. Hoglander looked better as the Playoffs went on, he struggled to adjust. Aman played a solid bottom six role as required and Karlsson acquitted himself nicely providing speed, ability to get to the dirty areas and battled hard infront of the net. Looks like a player moving forward. Pettersson was a disappointment in his production and while he is on the verge of earning a huge payday he was responsible in his zone and did play wth some physicality. I expect much more from him moving forward.

 

2) Ian Cole, well you're not wrong. He would have been relied upon greatly by the younger and inexperienced players on the roster, an on ice coach at times which should not go unnoticed. His play though as you mentioned did show his age and loss in his step at times.

 

3) Hronek, have to think there was an injury going back to the regular season. He has shown to be a battler and play hard. If he is simply going to be a 40 point top pair defenseman who plays with an edge then I would like to see him return longer term in Vancouver. Projections of the cap rising annually means he is likely getting paid above the ideal  $6.5m per. The exact type of right handed defenseman this team has been screaming for. We got him, one year in and time to move him, don't think so.

 

4) Miller as a heart and soul guy here played quite well most games. The second round he was not dialed in on at least two games with poor passing and puck management but then again did manage to stifle one of the best players in the world at the same time so. I don't imagine you see a decline in play for a couple more years and that is assuming because of full seasons and long playoff runs.

 

5) Not sure who you have been watching but Boeser has really changed his game. He is a 200 foot player who throws hits, stick checks hard and defenseively blocks shots and gets his stick in lanes. He is a known shooter and that is his bread and butter, but he showed this year and more so into the Playoffs that perceived one-dimensional players can buy in and play a full game. Was quite impressed by what he brought to the table.

 

6) Zadorov would be a nice player to bring back and all indications are he wants to return and make Vancouver his long term home. Like anything it will cost dollars and he still remains a 4/5 defenseman as he has through his career. He has played well and produced in his role yes but he won't be signed here as a surefire top four defenseman. Myers may come in cheaper, Hronek will be brought back as top pairing righty. If money will need to be allocated to get more bodies on defense you may see a push for a Matt Roy or Brett Pesce for example, players who can play more reliable and higher minute totals.

 

Joshua seemed to run out of gas unless injured as the second round went on. I can see him returning to Vancouver, but he has a low career earnings and this may be his one chance to cash in on Free Agency. The Canucks would be wise to not get into a deal for him if it is going to be $ 3m or higher per. We all cried about Garland's caphit as a third liner so.

 

Mikheyev, there was every reason to believe he would prove reliable and add secondary scoring. He did manage to come in 1 point shy of a career high while playing a career high games played and assists so as much as he was frowned upon here for his lack of production he ended the year on his normal/average pace. Not saying it is good enough at all and the team should look at other options.

 

7) Garland is a veteran that the youngers guys can learn from, his work ethic is insane with his never quit attitude. Hughes remained a top player on the Canucks despite the beating he took in round one. He was diminished but was able to skate the puck out and around. I would like to see from him as well as many other Canucks less hesitation and overpassing.

 

8 - Silovs has shown much promise. While he could fix two perceived issues for the Canucks next year by lightening Demko's workload and being the teams back up in an almost 1a/b scenario I still would not be surprised to see him play the majority in Abby next year.

 

9) 3rd and 4th line, depth guys: Blueger I see the team extending here. Lafferty I see moving on, likely Joshua as well. The Canucks are going to need defensemen and as much as you could see Cole losing a step by Playoffs I would not be surprised to see him return at a lower pay rate with a season including maintenance days. DeSmith likely goes to free agency but I wouldn't say Silovs has nailed down the backup role as he is not being developed to be a back up.

 

10) Coach has been huge for this club. I do think Lindholm was brought in to centre the second line with Pettersson on wing and the coach let the temptation of 3 top six centres get the better of him. I think Lindholm may have wanted to extend in Vancouver if he was seen as and played as a top six, that coaching decision may have cost the chance to sign him. Otherwise an inability to better prepare or coach the Power Play was a negative, otherwise his level headed style and highroad respect for bad officiating was class.

 

Poor assessment in general, the last paragraph is agreeable though except the part about Lind- as he will be expecting above the $9M the Flames were supposedly offering him and he turned down ( https://canucksarmy.com/news/take-canucks-re-sign-lindholm-should )  and there isn't  a snowballs chance in hell he's worth even close to that - let alone we can get two younger good players for $10M - let alone our cap problems - so he's gone!

 

 

 

 

Edited May 21 by RU SERIOUS
typo

[Rip The Mesh]

 

[spook007]

44 minutes ago, Canuck You said:

Aren't those things possible nowadays?

 Yeah, I getting too old for this shit

[Rusty Shackleford]

3 hours ago, Googlie said:

Interesting take from a friend this morning  ......  Petey's last-off-the-ice looking around at the Arena and the crowd had all the hallmarks of a player relishing the moment knowing he's played his last game as a Canuck.

 

I replayed that sequence and now get the same vibes. 

 

I took it differently, googz.  I saw someone relishing the moment, taking in fuel to come back better next season.  Petey has never struck me as someone who just gives up.  One thing we didn't see these playoffs was angry Petey; the one who is a game breaker when he's determined.  He's now felt the whole city's support for him and me thinks Petey is going to be putting in work this offseason, he's too competitive to let this loss go.  Same goes for Hughes, and that's what makes championship teams.

[Rip The Mesh]

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9_tKHlQLFQ&t=66s

Edited May 21 by Rip The Mesh

[Breadnbutta]

Those point blank chances that either missed the net or held on too long and shot right into skinners chest.. 

 

I'm looking at Mikheyev, Lafferty, DiGiuseppe....

 

PHIL THE THRILL would have buried at least one of those.

 

Oh well, what could have been.

 

[viking mama]

22 hours ago, RU SERIOUS said:

So I made myself a promise to not post after the game and wait until the next day when all the alcohol had eveporated out my system and i could comment on a fresh sober mind and make any knee-jerk comments.

 

SO after a good nights sleep, I can "clearly" say in complete sobriety that:

 

1) All Swedes (EP40, Amen, Hogs, Karlsson and Lind-) must be let go or traded.  Especially Petty, who barely looked like a $2M timid swedish player and slid under a rock and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is definately not worth $12 million McDavid/McKinnon dollars.  He might be a great regular season Finesse player to take the wife & kiddies to see in December but was completely useless these playoffs and only had 1 goal and only 2 goals since the end of last winter (Mar 25th) - hardly worth mentioning!   In any event, it's should now be pretty clear to "the deniers" that he sure isn't the player to build this franchise around - if there was ever any doubt about that - and as I stated all season.  Unless he can step-it up, put on 25+ pounds, grow a pair and earn his keep, the Canucks should seriously consider cashing him out as they could get a huge haul for him from some desperate, unsuspecting bottom dwelling eastern conf team and we all know better that after 50+ years of having several swedish finesse players at the helm we'll never-ever win a cup with a swedish finesse player being the prominent player on this team.

Been there - done that for half a century - thank you very much!

 

2) Ian Cole was by far the worst D-Man by a country mile, directly responsible for 7 goals (2 of which he put in his own net) which caused two of the losses.    He is too old and it showed as the playoffs progressed and he got slower and slower and made many terrible "panic" plays (too many to mention).  

 

3) Horn-Wreck was just O.K. and has now proven he is not worth more than Q.H.'s and the $8,000,000.00 Million dollars his agent said he's demanding. Keeping him around last years salary - or with a token increase - is about all I'd pay him or let him go.

 

4) Miller played OK and is certainly a good booster for the team but we could all see that as the playoffs wore on he was getting worn out and made more & more bad passes, had trouble stick handling, lost the puck under pressure and missed the net on his shots most of the time.   While he certainly earned his keep for the most part this year, I'd be concerned as he's getting "over the hill" at 31 and he'll be almost 40 when his contract ends at the beginning of the next decade and was outskated/outplayed by some of the younger players throughout both series. Something to keep an eye on and I predict will become more and more problamatic in due course as he ages into his senior years.

 

5) BB6 is a 100% pure "Shooter"!  While he can certainly "put them in the net", he adds little other value to the team as he can't stickhandle, back-check/ fore-check, drive plays (as he always dumps the puck in at the blue line and peels off and never carries it into the O zone) and will rarely get physical - despite his size.

He's about worth his contract value, but I would not be surprised to see the Canucks "cash him out" down the road at contract time for a more "rounded" player.  I'd say he's the most likely "top" player to get sold as he is the most obvious one-dimensional star player we have out of the 5.

 

6) Mikeyev - well, we all know where he needs to go (KHL).   Probably the most useless high paid slug we've ever seen since O.E.L. and should have been removed months ago.  JR/PA missed the boat on this guy - that's for sure!  

 

6) As for Big "Z" and Joshua - we all know they need to sign those guys - so nothing more need be said.  

 

7) Garland, Q.H.'s and most of our defence played pretty good and nothing of major concern there.  Even Myers, who might be worth resigning at a reasonable team friendly rate.

 

8 She-'s did a fantastic job in net and I now officially pronounce him as our Back-up GT for next year.   Thank you D-Smith and good luck in your future endevours.

 

9) As for the rest of the 3rd/4th line "plugs" and one or two 3rd line D's - they can do whatever with those guys and suspect half of them won't be back and they'll become distant memories by Canada day.

 

10) Last but not least, Tock-it did a great job getting the players back on a path forward and while he is personallypartially responsibe for the sucess we've seen this season, I hope he learned to pace Demko better next year and not overplay him in useless games like he did in February so he doesn't get worn out and injured.  Now that She-'s will be our B/U he can better manage crease duties and keep everyone even-keeled.  As for his overall coaching decsions, he did well but made a few questionable decisions along the way (like playing 2 D's on the PP yesterday in the final game) and had a few other "moments" during the season leaving us scratching our heads - but was an asset to the organization - for sure.

 

Finally, on the whole, the canucks did very well this season and exceeded expectations and after these two rounds of playoffs expossed their strengths & weaknesses of the team for PA and JR to address in the off season and next year.  One thing for sure though, is that we need more secondary scoring above all, physicality and size/speed to push thru the playoffs and while Mgmt took big steps in addressing this during the year, there's still more work to be done and to make major decisions re our top players which I strongly feel still needs a shake-up.

 

Congrats Canucks and look forward to next year.  It was a fun ride - best in 13 years!

GCG!

 

 

 

 

Blowing a big fat raspberry at the start of your very anti-viking post. 
 

Canucks Nation certainly needs to dig deeper in exercising & demonstrating more hope, faith & positive loyalty towards our cast of rostered-players, whom I consider to be as dear to me as family members, during these play-off runs,…as long as they have the unique privilege of donning that uniform for us upon the ice. The #1 job we, as the 7th man, have…..is to BELIEVE! 
 

You clearly didn’t get the memo. 
 

Beyond that,… in the talents & very tenured experience of both JR & PA - I trust! These guys are NOT inexperienced in their roles, like Linden & Benning.

The whining of naysayers has been there & heard ‘round the world since the beginning of time. Some people can tune out that  mountainous volumne of negativity…more so than others. I, for one, sincerely desire more happiness for our players & their families while they are associated with this team/organization & living in our fair city.  
 

Let the noise carry-on over the summer,…until next season - when I’ll dutifully ally myself with the efforts of the 7th man, again. 
 

The bandwagon is for….believers.  Welcome aboard it, or perhaps just ride along-side parallel on a bicycle. 
 

 

 

Edited May 22 by viking mama

[canuck73_3]

1 hour ago, RU SERIOUS said:

So I made myself a promise to not post after the game and wait until the next day when all the alcohol had eveporated out my system and i could comment on a fresh sober mind and make any knee-jerk comments.

 

SO after a good nights sleep, I can "clearly" say in complete sobriety that:

 

1) All Swedes (EP40, Amen, Hogs, Karlsson and Lind-) must be let go or traded.  Especially Petty, who barely looked like a $2M timid swedish player and slid under a rock and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is definately not worth $12 million McDavid/McKinnon dollars.  He might be a great regular season Finesse player to take the wife & kiddies to see in December but was completely useless these playoffs and only had 1 goal and only 2 goals since the end of last winter (Mar 25th) - hardly worth mentioning!   In any event, it's should now be pretty clear to "the deniers" that he sure isn't the player to build this franchise around - if there was ever any doubt about that - and as I stated all season.  Unless he can step-it up, put on 25+ pounds, grow a pair and earn his keep, the Canucks should seriously consider cashing him out as they could get a huge haul for him from some desperate, unsuspecting bottom dwelling eastern conf team and we all know better that after 50+ years of having several swedish finesse players at the helm we'll never-ever win a cup with a swedish finesse player being the prominent player on this team.

Been there - done that for half a century - thank you very much!

 

2) Ian Cole was by far the worst D-Man by a country mile, directly responsible for 7 goals (2 of which he put in his own net) which caused two of the losses.    He is too old and it showed as the playoffs progressed and he got slower and slower and made many terrible "panic" plays (too many to mention).  

 

3) Horn-Wreck was just O.K. and has now proven he is not worth more than Q.H.'s and the $8,000,000.00 Million dollars his agent said he's demanding. Keeping him around last years salary - or with a token increase - is about all I'd pay him or let him go.

 

4) Miller played OK and is certainly a good booster for the team but we could all see that as the playoffs wore on he was getting worn out and made more & more bad passes, had trouble stick handling, lost the puck under pressure and missed the net on his shots most of the time.   While he certainly earned his keep for the most part this year, I'd be concerned as he's getting "over the hill" at 31 and he'll be almost 40 when his contract ends at the beginning of the next decade and was outskated/outplayed by some of the younger players throughout both series. Something to keep an eye on and I predict will become more and more problamatic in due course as he ages into his senior years.

 

5) BB6 is a 100% pure "Shooter"!  While he can certainly "put them in the net", he adds little other value to the team as he can't stickhandle, back-check/ fore-check, drive plays (as he always dumps the puck in at the blue line and peels off and never carries it into the O zone) and will rarely get physical - despite his size.

He's about worth his contract value, but I would not be surprised to see the Canucks "cash him out" down the road at contract time for a more "rounded" player.  I'd say he's the most likely "top" player to get sold as he is the most obvious one-dimensional star player we have out of the 5.

 

6) Mikeyev - well, we all know where he needs to go (KHL).   Probably the most useless high paid slug we've ever seen since O.E.L. and should have been removed months ago.  JR/PA missed the boat on this guy - that's for sure!  

 

6) As for Big "Z" and Joshua - we all know they need to sign those guys - so nothing more need be said.  

 

7) Garland, Q.H.'s and most of our defence played pretty good and nothing of major concern there.  Even Myers, who might be worth resigning at a reasonable team friendly rate.

 

8 She-'s did a fantastic job in net and I now officially pronounce him as our Back-up GT for next year.   Thank you D-Smith and good luck in your future endevours.

 

9) As for the rest of the 3rd/4th line "plugs" and one or two 3rd line D's - they can do whatever with those guys and suspect half of them won't be back and they'll become distant memories by Canada day.

 

10) Last but not least, Tock-it did a great job getting the players back on a path forward and while he is personallypartially responsibe for the sucess we've seen this season, I hope he learned to pace Demko better next year and not overplay him in useless games like he did in February so he doesn't get worn out and injured.  Now that She-'s will be our B/U he can better manage crease duties and keep everyone even-keeled.  As for his overall coaching decsions, he did well but made a few questionable decisions along the way (like playing 2 D's on the PP yesterday in the final game) and had a few other "moments" during the season leaving us scratching our heads - but was an asset to the organization - for sure.

 

Finally, on the whole, the canucks did very well this season and exceeded expectations and after these two rounds of playoffs expossed their strengths & weaknesses of the team for PA and JR to address in the off season and next year.  One thing for sure though, is that we need more secondary scoring above all, physicality and size/speed to push thru the playoffs and while Mgmt took big steps in addressing this during the year, there's still more work to be done and to make major decisions re our top players which I strongly feel still needs a shake-up.

 

Congrats Canucks and look forward to next year.  It was a fun ride - best in 13 years!

GCG!

 

 

 

 

Even after sobering up your usual terrible take did not improve 

[EP Phone Home]

16 hours ago, Joshua.Guy said:

Tocchet lost us this game defending the 0-0 tie in the first. We beat this team when we play on our toes. Stop fucking worrying about shutting anyone down and make them worry about shutting us down. 

I will say we didn’t meet pressure with pressure the last two games of the playoffs. 
 

Why RT change the teams forecheck with a dump and change style was what cooked us. If we came out like the last 10

minutes of the same at the beginning of the game, things might’ve been different.

 

Great season overall all. Just can’t shake the fact we didn’t meet pressure with pressure when our backs were against the wall for the duration of the game.

[higgyfan]

28 minutes ago, Mike Vanderhoek said:

 

Poor assessment in general, the last paragraph is agreeable though.

 

1) Canucks would not have made it to the second round nor pushed the second round to seven games if not for Lindholm's contributions. Solid Playoff run with him on the club. Hoglander looked better as the Playoffs went on, he struggled to adjust. Aman played a solid bottom six role as required and Karlsson acquitted himself nicely providing speed, ability to get to the dirty areas and battled hard infront of the net. Looks like a player moving forward. Pettersson was a disappointment in his production and while he is on the verge of earning a huge payday he was responsible in his zone and did play wth some physicality. I expect much more from him moving forward.

 

2) Ian Cole, well you're not wrong. He would have been relied upon greatly by the younger and inexperienced players on the roster, an on ice coach at times which should not go unnoticed. His play though as you mentioned did show his age and loss in his step at times.

 

3) Hronek, have to think there was an injury going back to the regular season. He has shown to be a battler and play hard. If he is simply going to be a 40 point top pair defenseman who plays with an edge then I would like to see him return longer term in Vancouver. Projections of the cap rising annually means he is likely getting paid above the ideal  $6.5m per. The exact type of right handed defenseman this team has been screaming for. We got him, one year in and time to move him, don't think so.

 

4) Miller as a heart and soul guy here played quite well most games. The second round he was not dialed in on at least two games with poor passing and puck management but then again did manage to stifle one of the best players in the world at the same time so. I don't imagine you see a decline in play for a couple more years and that is assuming because of full seasons and long playoff runs.

 

5) Not sure who you have been watching but Boeser has really changed his game. He is a 200 foot player who throws hits, stick checks hard and defenseively blocks shots and gets his stick in lanes. He is a known shooter and that is his bread and butter, but he showed this year and more so into the Playoffs that perceived one-dimensional players can buy in and play a full game. Was quite impressed by what he brought to the table.

 

6) Zadorov would be a nice player to bring back and all indications are he wants to return and make Vancouver his long term home. Like anything it will cost dollars and he still remains a 4/5 defenseman as he has through his career. He has played well and produced in his role yes but he won't be signed here as a surefire top four defenseman. Myers may come in cheaper, Hronek will be brought back as top pairing righty. If money will need to be allocated to get more bodies on defense you may see a push for a Matt Roy or Brett Pesce for example, players who can play more reliable and higher minute totals.

 

Joshua seemed to run out of gas unless injured as the second round went on. I can see him returning to Vancouver, but he has a low career earnings and this may be his one chance to cash in on Free Agency. The Canucks would be wise to not get into a deal for him if it is going to be $ 3m or higher per. We all cried about Garland's caphit as a third liner so.

 

Mikheyev, there was every reason to believe he would prove reliable and add secondary scoring. He did manage to come in 1 point shy of a career high while playing a career high games played and assists so as much as he was frowned upon here for his lack of production he ended the year on his normal/average pace. Not saying it is good enough at all and the team should look at other options.

 

7) Garland is a veteran that the youngers guys can learn from, his work ethic is insane with his never quit attitude. Hughes remained a top player on the Canucks despite the beating he took in round one. He was diminished but was able to skate the puck out and around. I would like to see from him as well as many other Canucks less hesitation and overpassing.

 

8 - Silovs has shown much promise. While he could fix two perceived issues for the Canucks next year by lightening Demko's workload and being the teams back up in an almost 1a/b scenario I still would not be surprised to see him play the majority in Abby next year.

 

9) 3rd and 4th line, depth guys: Blueger I see the team extending here. Lafferty I see moving on, likely Joshua as well. The Canucks are going to need defensemen and as much as you could see Cole losing a step by Playoffs I would not be surprised to see him return at a lower pay rate with a season including maintenance days. DeSmith likely goes to free agency but I wouldn't say Silovs has nailed down the backup role as he is not being developed to be a back up.

 

10) Coach has been huge for this club. I do think Lindholm was brought in to centre the second line with Pettersson on wing and the coach let the temptation of 3 top six centres get the better of him. I think Lindholm may have wanted to extend in Vancouver if he was seen as and played as a top six, that coaching decision may have cost the chance to sign him. Otherwise an inability to better prepare or coach the Power Play was a negative, otherwise his level headed style and highroad respect for bad officiating was class.

 

Excellent post, Mike.

I think Silov will spend most of the season in Abby, as he is still waiver exempt next season.  That

way they have the flexibility of moving him to the big club as per needed.  Nuck luck requires 3

decent goalies.  He will be the starter in due time.

 

Re: Lindy.  I like this player very much and hope that there's a way to bring him back (as a top

6 C of course).  I like him better at C than Petey right now.  EP could benefit switching to LW for

the time being.

 

It was Lindy's play that got the team past the Preds; he is a very good P/O guy.  Very flexible,

well-rounded player, indeed.

[luckylager]

Well, it's over. I'm sad

 

Obviously I'm disappointed to see the boys bow out, it always sucks to have these cup dreams crushed and I serve myself a large dose of cope by thinking we'd have gotten through with a healthy roster..

 

If I park my sorrow for a minute and look back on Sept. and how well I thought they'd do this season - they absolutely exceeded expectations. They were a very fun team to watch all season, and it's been so so soooo long since we've had an exciting team. 

 

There's always next year

[spook007]

Just now, EP Phone Home said:

I will say we didn’t meet pressure with pressure the last two games of the playoffs. 
 

Why RT change the teams forecheck with a dump and change style was what cooked us. If we came out like the last 10

minutes of the same at the beginning of the game, things might’ve been

 

different.

 

Great season overall all. Just can’t shake the fact we didn’t meet pressure with pressure when our backs were against the wall for the duration of the game.

I think the team ran out of steam... and maybe a little belief with the Brock news...

 

They did very well, but there is still a few steps that needs to taken before we are a true contender. 
 

Atm we are a play offs team, but we need everyone of our top players to play like top players to be a contender. 
 

Nevertheless it was a great run, and it will have done the players a world of good to get to the play offs. 
 

Expect them to be a better tram next time around. 

[Blue]

51 minutes ago, Jaimito said:

 

Will get the full story soon. 

 

He took a beating during preds series.  There is no reason he wasn't able to shine like his usual self during the second round.

 

It is what it is.  Great captain, did all he could this playoffs.  He's gonna win the Norris and be even better next season.  

 

 

This is what sucks about the playoffs. Its basically about who can injure the opposing teams top players more.

 

Maybe Hughs learned that he will have to avoid more hits. Maybe Burke is sitting somewhere all smug because he said Hughs was a small body 

[Dr. Crossbar]

A great opportunity today to confront fear of disappointment. 

 

Will make for better, healthier PGTs next year.

[LaBamba]

3 minutes ago, higgyfan said:

 

Excellent post, Mike.

I think Silov will spend most of the season in Abby, as he is still waiver exempt next season.  That

way they have the flexibility of moving him to the big club as per needed.  Nuck luck requires 3

decent goalies.  He will be the starter in due time.

 

 

 Silovs just played 10 straight playoff games. 
The coach loves him, the team loves him. 
He has made the NHL. DeSmith is a UFA backup. Why on earth would Silovs not be in the NHL next year? 

 

[Blue]

This was basically like going into the 2007 playoffs with Alex Auld instead of Loungo. You can counter cope all you want , Demko was our guy. Not Desmith or Silovs. 

 

The last I heard about Silovs before his call-up was a shitty stretch of play in Abbotsford. Where he actually lost the net if I'm not mistaken.

 

We did great but got f'd by Demko's injuries 

Edited May 21 by Blue

[RU SERIOUS]

5 minutes ago, viking mama said:

Blowing a big or fat raspberry at your very anti-viking post. 
 

Canucks Nation certainly needs to dig deep & exercise hope, faith & far more positive loyalty to our cast of rostered-players, whom I considered as dear to me as family members during these play-offs,…as long as they have the privilege of donning that  uniform upon the ice. The #1 job we, as the 7th man, have…..is to BELIEVE! 
 

You clearly didn’t get the memo. 
 

Beyond that, in the talent &  tenured experience of both JR & PA - I trust! 

The whining of naysayers has been  there & heard ‘round the world since the beginning of time. Some people can tune out the mountainous volumne of negativity …more than others. I, for one, sincerely desire more happiness for our players & their families while they are associated with this team/organization & living in our fair city.  
 

Let all of this noise carry-on, over the summer, until next season - when I’ll  dutifully ally myself with the efforts of the 7th man, again. 
 

The bandwagon is for….believers.  Welcome aboard, or perhaps just ride parallel on a bicycle. 
 

 

 

I admire your allegiance but condoning mediocracy, which is what fans did for over 10 years supporting dismal failure and poor decision making by Aqua-Lini year after year without saying a peep,  is not the way to send a message to ownership and why I gave up my season tickets a few years back after over 2 decades as thousands of others did - when enough was enough and I couldn't even give away my spare game tickets for free as no one was interested in them due to the poor product on the ice.  This is what finally woke Aqua-lini up when the ST base and merchandise sales dried up which ultimately hit him where it counts  - in the pocketbook and reputation wise and fans were flying banners behind airplanes in the sky over Vancouver saying Fire Aqualini's "boy" Benning.   If fans had not done this we would have likely been wallowing in the mud for another 10 years.

 

But hey, all the power to you!

 

[higgyfan]

32 minutes ago, RU SERIOUS said:

 

Poor assessment in general, the last paragraph is agreeable though except the part about Lind- as he will be expecting above the $9M the Flames were supposedly offering him and he turned down ( https://canucksarmy.com/news/take-canucks-re-sign-lindholm-should )  and there isn't  a snowballs chance in hell he's worth even close to that - let alone we can get two younger good players for $10M - let alone our cap problems - so he's gone!

 

 

 

 

 

Exactly...no team will pay that much for Lindy.  I think his value is somewhere in the 8-8.5m range,

but he'll want term and trade limitations.  Most of the good UFAs are in that range or higher.  My

guess is that they will make a trade, or bring in an older UFA as a placeholder for Lekker.  Maybe

someone like (not necessarily) Tarasenko.

[spook007]

9 hours ago, Mike Vanderhoek said:

 

Poor assessment in general, the last paragraph is agreeable though.

 

1) Canucks would not have made it to the second round nor pushed the second round to seven games if not for Lindholm's contributions. Solid Playoff run with him on the club. Hoglander looked better as the Playoffs went on, he struggled to adjust. Aman played a solid bottom six role as required and Karlsson acquitted himself nicely providing speed, ability to get to the dirty areas and battled hard infront of the net. Looks like a player moving forward. Pettersson was a disappointment in his production and while he is on the verge of earning a huge payday he was responsible in his zone and did play wth some physicality. I expect much more from him moving forward.

 

2) Ian Cole, well you're not wrong. He would have been relied upon greatly by the younger and inexperienced players on the roster, an on ice coach at times which should not go unnoticed. His play though as you mentioned did show his age and loss in his step at times.

 

3) Hronek, have to think there was an injury going back to the regular season. He has shown to be a battler and play hard. If he is simply going to be a 40 point top pair defenseman who plays with an edge then I would like to see him return longer term in Vancouver. Projections of the cap rising annually means he is likely getting paid above the ideal  $6.5m per. The exact type of right handed defenseman this team has been screaming for. We got him, one year in and time to move him, don't think so.

 

4) Miller as a heart and soul guy here played quite well most games. The second round he was not dialed in on at least two games with poor passing and puck management but then again did manage to stifle one of the best players in the world at the same time so. I don't imagine you see a decline in play for a couple more years and that is assuming because of full seasons and long playoff runs.

 

5) Not sure who you have been watching but Boeser has really changed his game. He is a 200 foot player who throws hits, stick checks hard and defenseively blocks shots and gets his stick in lanes. He is a known shooter and that is his bread and butter, but he showed this year and more so into the Playoffs that perceived one-dimensional players can buy in and play a full game. Was quite impressed by what he brought to the table.

 

6) Zadorov would be a nice player to bring back and all indications are he wants to return and make Vancouver his long term home. Like anything it will cost dollars and he still remains a 4/5 defenseman as he has through his career. He has played well and produced in his role yes but he won't be signed here as a surefire top four defenseman. Myers may come in cheaper, Hronek will be brought back as top pairing righty. If money will need to be allocated to get more bodies on defense you may see a push for a Matt Roy or Brett Pesce for example, players who can play more reliable and higher minute totals.

 

Joshua seemed to run out of gas unless injured as the second round went on. I can see him returning to Vancouver, but he has a low career earnings and this may be his one chance to cash in on Free Agency. The Canucks would be wise to not get into a deal for him if it is going to be $ 3m or higher per. We all cried about Garland's caphit as a third liner so.

 

Mikheyev, there was every reason to believe he would prove reliable and add secondary scoring. He did manage to come in 1 point shy of a career high while playing a career high games played and assists so as much as he was frowned upon here for his lack of production he ended the year on his normal/average pace. Not saying it is good enough at all and the team should look at other options.

 

7) Garland is a veteran that the youngers guys can learn from, his work ethic is insane with his never quit attitude. Hughes remained a top player on the Canucks despite the beating he took in round one. He was diminished but was able to skate the puck out and around. I would like to see from him as well as many other Canucks less hesitation and overpassing.

 

8 - Silovs has shown much promise. While he could fix two perceived issues for the Canucks next year by lightening Demko's workload and being the teams back up in an almost 1a/b scenario I still would not be surprised to see him play the majority in Abby next year.

 

9) 3rd and 4th line, depth guys: Blueger I see the team extending here. Lafferty I see moving on, likely Joshua as well. The Canucks are going to need defensemen and as much as you could see Cole losing a step by Playoffs I would not be surprised to see him return at a lower pay rate with a season including maintenance days. DeSmith likely goes to free agency but I wouldn't say Silovs has nailed down the backup role as he is not being developed to be a back up.

 

10) Coach has been huge for this club. I do think Lindholm was brought in to centre the second line with Pettersson on wing and the coach let the temptation of 3 top six centres get the better of him. I think Lindholm may have wanted to extend in Vancouver if he was seen as and played as a top six, that coaching decision may have cost the chance to sign him. Otherwise an inability to better prepare or coach the Power Play was a negative, otherwise his level headed style and highroad respect for bad officiating was class.

Nice write up... 

I think the last couple of lines is something not mentioned enough. 
His ability to not lose the focus by being drawn into slagging off matches with the referees was amazing... and I'm sure it will stand him and the franchise in good stead going forward...

Edited May 22 by spook007