Speculation: Are The Canucks For Real This Time?

[ChuckNorris4Cup]

Just another year of fake news.

 

[canuckking1]

Hard to judge considering how Rick took over as the Canucks hit the easier part of their schedule combined that with playing with zero expectations I don’t think you can judge until about a 1/4 into next season

 

[McDavid is too whiny]

Yeah hard to say without seeing what they do in the offseason.

So I voted yes, because we know they are real... like they do exist and you could touch them, so that means they are real.

…and they’re spectacular.

 

[McDavid is too whiny]

Hard to judge considering how Rick took over as the Canucks hit the easier part of their schedule combined that with playing with zero expectations I don’t think you can judge until about a 1/4 into next season

Sounds like someone prioritized juicing them season ticket sales

To hell with a franchise changing player(top five this year).

Rick there it is!
Rick there it is!
Rick there it is!
Rick there it is!

It’s March, we 20 points out, but the Rog is rockin.

 

[Grumbler]

It should be clear as day that the reason we are even winning is because teams are not taking us seriously at all.

 

[Hoglander]

Voted yes.
They are actually playing better for the most part, without relying on mvp-calibre goaltending.
The major knock on Tocchet was that he would kill the offense of our best players, but that hasn't been true.
Tocchet speaks like he is going to whip this team into shape by getting involved in their offseason training. Seems like he is taking action towards having a good start to the season, instead of just hoping for it.
Management has been active, and I think they realize they need to replace the braindead giraffe with a solid dman. If they can do that, and get a little development out of the younger depth players (and hopefully a healthy OEL can compliment Hronek well), then they should be a solid team.
Here's hoping.

 

[M2Beezy]

For sure theryre for real. Like the last 9 years, this shit is for real:

-2015 would have won the Cup but refs and Gillis drafting
-2016 would have done better but Gillis drafting, bad lottery luck, and drafting guru for the future
-2017 wouldnt have faceplanted but injuries, Gillis and league elite prospects marinating
-2018 would have made the playoffs but injuries, Linden and but Gillis still
-2019 would have done better but hindsight, foresight, negative fans, negative media and lists
-2020 the only non outlier year, that year was reflective of good ole Benning planning
-2021 was an outlier year of failure, mostly due to schedule, negative fans again, and running out of time
-2022 but Green, would have made the playoffs but that damn Green, and stars not starring
-2023 but Bruce was never the right coach, next yearll be different

 

[CanucksSayEh]

Team has a 1G, 1W, superstar 1D, and two 1C's. Lots of talent, also the largest acquisition has only played one game here so far.

Still work to be done. 2/3 of OEL, Myers and Boeser need to not be here come next seasons opening night.

The missing pieces needed are available every year, just gonna be tricky pulling it off while shedding some dead weight.

 

[DFAC]

Until they play this way in October - no they are not

 

[valkynax]

The Orcas repeating their annual tradition of playing like gangsters as soon as playoff hopes are all but extinguished does not qualify them as "good" or "cup level", if this is where you are trying to get at.

 

[Raistlin]

They are as real as the Coyotes (and they have a tougher schedule).

 

[Tables of Stats]

Cautiously, I think this may be closer to the team's potential than we saw under Bruce both last season and earlier this season. That potential is still likely a bubble team but it's there.

There are a couple of slight reasons to think that there has been a real change this season as opposed to last season.

1) Since Tocchet took over we're giving up the third-fewest shots in the league.

2) Our PK under Tocchet is running at 79.2% which is a mid-pack PK.

3) We're only giving up 3.12 goals per game under Tocchet which is middle of the pack.

We had a similar bump under Boudreau but Boudreau had significantly better goaltending.

Name	GP	GS	W - L - OTL	SA	SA/60	GA	Sv%	GAA	TOI
T. Demko	19	18	12 - 5 - 1	574	31.47	43	.925	2.36	1094:21
J. Halak	5	4	2 - 1 - 1	102	25.87	12	.882	3.04	236:33
S. Martin	3	3	1 - 0 - 2	118	37.41	5	.958	1.59	189:15
M. DiPietro	1	1	0 - 1 - 0	17	17.71	4	.824	3.14	57:21

Name	GP	GS	W - L - OTL	SA	SA/60	GA	Sv%	GAA	TOI
T. Demko	10	10	7 - 3 - 0	279	27.92	24	.914	2.40	599:37
S. Martin	3	3	0 - 3 - 0	81	27.20	15	.815	5.04	118:42
C. Delia	7	7	3 - 1 - 2	170	24.02	25	.853	3.53	424:41
A. Silovs	5	5	2 - 2 - 0	152	29.81	14	.908	2.75	305:56

I'll dig into the underlying numbers on a day off when I have the time but the eye test and results have been better under Tocchet than they were under Bruce.

EDIT: Bruce got an average of .927 sv% in his first 26 games while Tocchet has had .886 sv% in his first 25. That's a massive difference.

 

[Vancouver_2010]

Every time it's time to tank they play well, I have seen this movie many times.

 

[wetcoast]

I vote yes every year we have these polls. I’m bound to be right sooner or later. So yes! And an AINEC for good measure.

Just to clarify, by ‘for real’ I mean a playoff team but not close to a contender.
I think with a couple of off season trades to clear up some cap and improve the D the team can make the playoffs. But we will have a better idea after the summer.

Sadly for me "the Canucks being real" seems to always happen late in the season and not in the beginning which is the huge problem for this team.

 

[Love]

The team obviously could make the playoffs next season. West will likely be weak again. So if “for real” means simply making the playoffs next year then sure I think this could definitely be “for real”.

But if “for real” means actually contending, we still have 3 big holes that need to be filled this off-season: two top 4 defenceman and a third line centre. If we can fill those holes without subtracting anything of significance then the future will be bright. But that seems rather difficult especially with little cap space. We’ll see what happens.

 

[Nucker101]

Who knows, any mediocre team that completely buys in during a new ciach bump can look good.

I think the roster as constructed is very flawed, not strong enough down the middle. I’d say no if we’re running it back with this current roster.

If they add a legit 3C and another top 4 dman then I’ll buy this as a playoff team

 

[logan5]

Ask me again in November/December

The thread asks if you believe the Canucks current play will transition into next season.

 

[Nucker101]

The thread asks if you believe the Canucks current play will transition into next season.

Yeah, I edited lol

 

[NoShowWilly]

This team has been a bubble team for a few years but have shown to be mentally pathetic. They often get quite a swagger going and then something blows up in their faces and they melt.

Radio shows and people talking about them being a contender and going deep in the next 3 years. I don't get it. They have done nothing to earn those expectations.

Edit: i hope they've turned a corner cause im tired of stupid shitty speculative threads and trying to hype ourselves up during lost seasons.

 

[lawrence]

Every time it's time to tank they play well, I have seen this movie many times.

Worst movie ever. Holy shit we gonna draft 11th.

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

I'm going with a third option:

"I'll believe it when I see it... in October."

 

[Vector]

They are as real as the concept of an NHL team can be. Beyond that fundamental truth there's a metaphorical ocean between now and the beginning of next season.

 

[Huhu]

Let's first see if they can fail to make the playoffs in March rather than in October.

 

[canucksfan]

This team has been a bubble team for a few years but have shown to be mentally pathetic. They often get quite a swagger going and then something blows up in their faces and they melt.

Radio shows and people talking about them being a contender and going deep in the next 3 years. I don't get it. They have done nothing to earn those expectations.

Edit: i hope they've turned a corner cause im tired of stupid shitty speculative threads and trying to hype ourselves up during lost seasons.

Three years is a tad too long. Too many free agents coming up within that time frame. Next year they have the best chance assuming they create cap space this off-season.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

No.

Now that Demko's back to normal, we are what we always thought we'd be... a bubble team, at best.