The 2024-25 Canucks

[EastCoastExpress]

19 hours ago, Pure961089 said:

Been watching some DeBrusk highlights and I noticed him and Heinen had a lot of great chemistry so I checked into it and it turns out they made 2 3rds of a very successful Bruins 2nd line.  why mess with chemistry?  For the same reason you'd never want to separate Joshua and Garland.  I like the look of these lines too

 

Sprong Miller Boeser

DeBrusk Petey Heinen

 

I like that Tocchet has way more options this year.  And 200 IQ from Allvin

 

Agreed, but you could even try swapping Miller and Petey. Ok, ok I know Brock and JT are gold.

But Petey and Brock have been golden before too, just no value in 649 as JT & Brock could do that with anyone, including Pizza man, who might not even crack the lineup.

Would like to see what JT can do with an existing winger pair like DeBrusk/Heinen.

Would like to see what Petey can do with a Goal Scorer always open Boeser and a talented winger with potential like sprong or sherwood

 

[Rip The Mesh]

 

[Pure961089]

40 days to go

 

 

[Pure961089]

53 minutes ago, Rip The Mesh said:

 

The Canucks weren't the same after the trade deadline.  Screwed up the line combinations, we went back to having 3 top 2 centers that was tried before with Horvat and doesn't work. Lindholm had a great playoffs (but should have never been needed to trade for) at the sacrifice of a second line with Petey that couldn't score. Kuzmenko who came to camp in beer league condition was traded, Petey was left with Mikheyev, Lafferty, Linus Karlsson?  FAFO as they say, you play games and handcuff management so they can't help you and that's what you get.  Hopefully Petey has apologized to his teammates for handcuffing Allvin to trading for insurance rather than finding him a star winger he could play with.  

[Harvey Specter]

 

[Pure961089]

Being a Canucks fan for as long as I've been you experience the ups and downs through the decades.  When its turning down its goes HARD. Dark days for the franchise lasting years. But there are those times when it turns up and those are exciting times. 

 

I recognized the build up in '94, building the team around Bure and making a Huge trade, getting Courtnall, Momesso and Ronning. And from then on they built towards a Cup run.  We made it to the finals and the ride was so fun. 

 

Then we had some very Dark times with hiring Keenen, the Messier years were a disaster.   

 

Back to 2011 when again there was a build up you could feel the Canucks were building something special when they traded for Ehrhoff.  They had the Sedins and Luongo already but you could see them getting better every year. It's like a team being held under water for years finally breaking free and coming up for breath.  We finally said the dragon, and again we made the Cup finals. Happy times.

 

The Benning years of incompetence. 2 of 5 top 10 picks made the team during his tenure.  Love Garland but the OEL trade was a bad one.  Chants of "Fire Benning" echo throughout Rogers. we had a poorly built team and a GM that didn't have the ability to fix it. 

 

The Aquilini's fire almost everyone and Hire Jim Rutherford. and I see the same thing happening now.  The Canucks are trending upwards to another Cup finals. 

 

 

Edited August 30 by Pure961089

[Pure961089]

There are some people that only see what's in front of them and then there are visionaries.  Take interior designers for example. Many if not most would look at a dump of a shack and dismiss it outright nomatter how cheap the house was.  And then there are true visionaries, people that see the potential and know exactly what to do and go to work right away with immediate success. It's all in their creative minds, whether it's which wall to knock out or what paints to use, from the colour palette to the furniture they know how to turn the crack house into a penthouse. 

 

For the first time in a long while the Canucks have visionaries and bright minds coming up with creative ideas to make the Canucks better. It's been such a short time and finally the Canucks are being run like a business and not a small mom and pop shop.  The Good ol' Boy's club is no more.  People get hired on merit now and not because they happen to be friends with the right people.  And it's been so refreshing to see bright, creative minds running this team. 

 

[Rip The Mesh]

 

[Pure961089]

Predictions, what do you all think? https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks/latest-news/vancouver-canucks-2024-25-season-predictions

 

 

 

 

 

[Ghostsof1915]

A lot will depend how the new look defence and what happens with the goaltending. 

 

[Silent Man]

3.5 weeks until the training camp.

Just saying…

GCG!

[Rip The Mesh]

 

[Diamonds]

12 minutes ago, Rip The Mesh said:

 

We certainly could be considered a contender but I can also see why some would be hesitant to say so.

 

Demko's might be the Vezina runner-up, but his health is also a major concern. Silovs was adequate in the playoffs (and had a few very solid games) but is still relatively untested at the NHL level, especially with inconsistent starts as a backup.

 

Boeser scored 40 last year but is likely to drop to around 30 this year. That also means fewer points for Miller who is more likely to be in the 80-90 point range.

 

Petey will hopefully bounce back and have another 95+ point season but he's showed enough inconsistency that I can understand why some might be hesitant to bet on it.

 

Hughes had an incredible year, but teams might play him a lot harder this year because of it. Also, if he suffers any kind of injury it's a pretty big task to ask our collection of #5 defensemen to step up for any extended period.

 

We have all the right pieces to be a contender and hopefully come out of the gate flying again. But it's not like we don't also have question marks.

[Rip The Mesh]

54 minutes ago, Diamonds said:

We certainly could be considered a contender but I can also see why some would be hesitant to say so.

 

Demko's might be the Vezina runner-up, but his health is also a major concern. Silovs was adequate in the playoffs (and had a few very solid games) but is still relatively untested at the NHL level, especially with inconsistent starts as a backup.

 

Boeser scored 40 last year but is likely to drop to around 30 this year. That also means fewer points for Miller who is more likely to be in the 80-90 point range.

 

Petey will hopefully bounce back and have another 95+ point season but he's showed enough inconsistency that I can understand why some might be hesitant to bet on it.

 

Hughes had an incredible year, but teams might play him a lot harder this year because of it. Also, if he suffers any kind of injury it's a pretty big task to ask our collection of #5 defensemen to step up for any extended period.

 

We have all the right pieces to be a contender and hopefully come out of the gate flying again. But it's not like we don't also have question marks.

Remind me not to buy a car from you..                          ygANMV2I3XE

 

Edited September 3 by Rip The Mesh

[Diamonds]

1 minute ago, Rip The Mesh said:

Remind me not to buy a car from you.. 

 

Just playing devil's advocate and pointing out why some might be hesitant. I'm very excited for this upcoming season, but also tempering my expectations a little bit. We legitimately made the playoffs for the first time since 2014-15 last season, so it remains to be seen if a bunch of players had career years or if it's repeatable. Certainly a lot to be excited about however!

[Rip The Mesh]

3 minutes ago, Diamonds said:

Just playing devil's advocate and pointing out why some might be hesitant. I'm very excited for this upcoming season, but also tempering my expectations a little bit. We legitimately made the playoffs for the first time since 2014-15 last season, so it remains to be seen if a bunch of players had career years or if it's repeatable. Certainly a lot to be excited about however!

There is; And it's not just the players; Don't know about anyone else, but our supporting staff; Coach, GM, President, seem to be on-it. Had a different feel to it.

 

Mind you, there were the days when Pat Quinn did the whole dang thing himself 

[Rip The Mesh]

Now we know games are coming soon!

[-dlc-]

[EastCoastExpress]

8 hours ago, Rip The Mesh said:

Remind me not to buy a car from you..                          ygANMV2I3XE

 

I think you could get a $40,400 car from that guy as he convinces you its only worth $12K. Thats the guy you WANT to buy a car from. He is on Marketplace.

Boeser got 40G but likely to drop to 30G? Boeser looked to be playing like his rookie year. I think he is ROLLING for 50G and gonna say "oops" i didnt think that would happen

Edited September 4 by EastCoastExpress

[EastCoastExpress]

On 9/1/2024 at 5:42 PM, Ghostsof1915 said:

A lot will depend how the new look defence and what happens with the goaltending. 

 

I think its smart to not play Demko till it actually matters. And if we are in the playoff hunt, you sit him till its the lions, tigers and Bears.

You don't take a thoroughbred horse out on a monkey shoot

To be honest, you dont even use Demmers against Edmonton ha ha.

Edited September 4 by EastCoastExpress

[Rip The Mesh]

Part of me agrees with him....

[Rip The Mesh]

[Rip The Mesh]

13 hours ago, EastCoastExpress said:

I think you could get a $40,400 car from that guy as he convinces you its only worth $12K. Thats the guy you WANT to buy a car from. He is on Marketplace.

Boeser got 40G but likely to drop to 30G? Boeser looked to be playing like his rookie year. I think he is ROLLING for 50G and gonna say "oops" i didnt think that would happen

I see why the new ones get "The Hand". It will only last so long though....

[Harvey Specter]

 

[Rip The Mesh]

Iain MacIntyre
September 4, 2024, 1:26 PM
VANCOUVER — Despite uncertainty over the status of Thatcher Demko and Arturs Silovs, Vancouver Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford said he feels “good” about the team’s goaltending two weeks before the start of training camp.

Rutherford said the Canucks are stronger now than they were before last season’s 109-point breakthrough.

Of course, he’d probably feel even better if Demko and Silovs weren’t recovering from injuries, however minor or significant, that the National Hockey League team has yet to explain. 

Rutherford confirmed in a Tuesday interview with Sportsnet that the Canucks’ star goalie and promising projected backup are still working their way towards full fitness as players return to Vancouver this week for informal practices ahead of the opening of training camp in Penticton on Sept. 19.

The Canucks’ first regular-season game is Oct. 9.

“As you know, I don’t talk directly about potential injuries or the perception of where players are at (health-wise),” Rutherford said. “I feel good about our goaltending. Where that is for the start of training camp and the start of the season, I don’t even know myself right now. We haven’t even done physicals yet. But I know our goalies are working hard and working towards being ready for the start of the season. As an organization, that’s what we’re hoping for.”

But just in case, Rutherford said the Canucks continue to consider options to bring in another goalie with NHL experience, even if the transaction is as modest as a professional tryout for training camp and the pre-season.

“We look every day at every position,” Rutherford said. “We don’t just sit around and think we’re all set. So we are aware that, potentially, we may have to take a goalie off of waivers in order to fill a gap for a little bit. The good news for us we are in a position that we can do that cap-wise. (But) we’d prefer to stay out of LTIR to start the season. That’s important for us, and. . . we’re pretty sure we can do that. A PTO could be an option.”

 

The Canucks have been linked in reports to free-agent goalie Kevin Lankinen, and have also gauged the possibility of a PTO for veteran Antti Raanta, who played for Vancouver head coach Rick Tocchet during four seasons in Arizona.

To this stage, the Canucks’ pursuit of another goalie has been a slow simmer, although urgency could ramp up over the next month depending on Demko and Silovs.

A Vezina Trophy runner-up last season after winning 35 games and posting a .918 save percentage, Demko injured his knee in the Canucks’ playoff-opener against the Nashville Predators on April 21. It was just the 28-year-old’s third game back after missing one month with an injury near the end of the regular season.

Demko was close to playing when the Canucks were eliminated from the Stanley Cup tournament — with Silovs in net — on May 20 against the Edmonton Oilers. He was expected to make a full recovery in the offseason and not require surgery. 

But CHEK-TV’s Rick Dhaliwal reported in August that Demko was still not fit and his recovery, although progressing, was slower than expected. It is believed (but not confirmed) that the San Diegan underwent at least some kind of surgical procedure during the summer.

After surpassing veteran backup Casey DeSmith and playing the Canucks’ final 10 playoff games last spring, Silovs trained all summer to be part of Latvia’s Olympic-qualifying squad but was left off his national team’s roster last week. The Latvian Hockey Federation said the 23-year-old suffered “knee ligament inflammation” — a result of over-training.

Demko returned to the ice this week, and Latvian general manager Rudolfs Kalvitis downplayed Silovs’ injury, telling Dhaliwal the goalie will be fine for Vancouver’s training camp.

As DeSmith left the Canucks in free agency on July 1, Vancouver GM Patrik Allvin signed experienced minor-league goalie Jiri Patera. The 25-year-old played only six NHL games for the Vegas Golden Knights the last two seasons.

Rutherford said he is “not really” surprised by anything that has happened with Canuck goalies.

“Regardless of how much work is done in the offseason, there’s always something to deal with,” he said. “And, of course, the people in hockey operations have to stay on top of it and try to stay ahead of the curve.

“I mean, if a player gets injured working out or, in Silovs’ case, getting ready to play for his country, I can’t say that’s a surprise. That’s just the way life works for an athlete. But I can say that both our goalies are working hard and doing what they can right now to get ready.”

 

Any uncertainty in net hasn’t blunted Rutherford’s bullishness about his team, which lost costly free-agent rentals Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov on July 1 but added free-agent forwards Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen, Kiefer Sherwood and Daniel Sprong, as well as defencemen Derek Forbort and Vincent Desharnais.

“We have more depth and more balance in our forward lines,” Rutherford said. “I believe that that position could be pretty competitive in camp when you look at some of the younger guys we have coming (from the American Hockey League) that are either ready or are very close to playing in the National Hockey League. And I can say the same thing about our defence from where we were a year ago.

“And of course, our goaltending is very good with Demko and Silovs. So I would say more depth and more balance throughout the lineup, but especially in the forward group.”

Rutherford said the biggest key for the Canucks is their mindset — players and others in the organization realizing that they need to match last season’s drive and focus and not forget how hard everyone worked to build a 50-win campaign and make it to Game 7 of the second round.

“Don’t veer off from what we did as a team,” the 75-year-old Hall-of-Famer cautioned. “The expectations are higher now. And how do players deal with that? 

“I would suggest that everybody learned from last season. . . and know what it takes to take that next step. This team is certainly in a much stronger position because the players have learned to play Rick Tocchet’s system, and have bought into it and played it well. And we learned from experience with what we went through last year. You put all that together and stay focused, and you prepare to take another step.

“I am excited. And I base my excitement on little bits I hear back from the players in the offseason, from the coaching staff, from hockey operations and ownership. That’s how I judge my excitement at this point in my career; I’ve been doing this a long time. So, yes, based on those things, I’m very excited. We’re all excited.”

Edited September 4 by Rip The Mesh