Best-case/worst-case scenarios for this year

[DRich82]

A tale of 2 teams.

Best-case scenarios:

- Torts has the team play more "stiff" and plays his top 4 D and top 6 forwards to the breaking point with actually breaking them. Only has a couple minor media blowups and is seen walking dogs on the seawall on his off-days with a smile. Maybe even a Jack Adams nomination??

- Twins shine with more ice-time, improve the PK with their positioning and score a few shorties along the way while getting above the point-per-game bar again.

- Kesler stays healthy, plays 25 mins/game, and he and Torts go out on off-days to buy matching furniture. 35 goals, 70 points, and another Selke nomination.

- Burrows regains his scoring touch playing with Kesler and pots 25.

- Hansen keeps improving and scores 20+ goals on either the Twins' or Kesler's wing.

- Higgins has a rebound year and puts up close to 20 goals too.

- Booth stays healthy MOST OF THE YEAR and gets 20 goals as a 3rd line winger

- Kassian scores 15 goals and plays consistently most of the time, and allows Torts to spread out Hansen and Burrows on other lines.

- Santorelli, Dalpe, and Richardson play well all year, with one of them cementing their role as the 3rd line centre. 30 goals and 90 points between the 3 of them.

- Edler and Tanev form shut-down pairing under Sullivan's tutelage. Edler gets Norris consideration.

- HamJuice regain their shut-down role from last year, giving Canucks the best top-4 even strength pairs in the league.

- Garrison and Weber shoot bombs from the point on the PP, scoring 25 goals between the 2 of them. Canucks PP returns to top 5 in the league.

- Luongo avoids October slumber, plays consistently well and records 35 wins with a 2.25 GAA and a .925 save %. Possible Vezina nomination.

- Lack shows he can be a capable NHL back up and plays 24 games and wins 14.


Worst-case scenarios:

- Torts clashes with Kes or Juice early in the season, loses the leadership group by Christmas, and is fired by the trade deadline. Gillis in turn is gone in the off-season.

- One or both of the Twins gets hurt shot-blocking on the PK, and only play 60 games each.

- Kesler is worn into the ground and only plays 40 games. In a final act of mercy, Torts shoots him in January to put him out of his misery.

- Burrows doesn't score a single back-hand deke goal as every goalie knows it's coming.

- Hansen doesn't take the next step and plays like a 3rd liner.

- Higgy and Torts clash over facial hair.

- Booth is always hurt

- Kassian doesn't perform like a top-6 forward and languishes on the 4th line.

- Santorelli, Dalpe, and Richardson play too soft and make us all wish we re-signed Raymond and still had Wellwood. Fans still crave a real 3rd line centre.

- Edler isn't stiff enough for Torts and demands a trade.

- Bieksa/Casual Kev drives Torts crazy and actually gets healthy-scratched a handful of times.

- Garrison/Hamhuis suffer serious injuries and only play 50 games each.

- Weber is horrendous in his own zone and we end up with Alberts.

- Luongo starts out slow, and never recovers due to the crazy fans in this city. Rumblings of trade demands get floated in the media.

- Lack doesn't pick up the slack and is mediocre at best in his first NHL season.

Best-case record - 49-23-10 108 points
Worst-case record - 34-37-11 79 points

I believe you'll see many more "best-case" then "worst-case" scenarios, and we'll finish near or at 100 points, 2nd in the Pacific.

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[NYVanfan]

best case we win the cup
worst case we miss POs and get a lousy pick
both are possible.
health is #1 factor IMO
after that, Roberto is the least of my worries, but in order: secondary scoring/PPQB/center depth/kids taking competent regular shifts/grit

 

[Hammer79]

While the Sedins will be expected to block shots, I don't think it will be more than occasionally. They are there to produce offense, not to be defense-first forwards. Torts knows that.

Best case: Win the division, roll though Phoenix or Edmonton in the first round to prime them for a long run. Go all the way and shock the pundits that have been hitting the snooze button when it comes to following western teams closely.

Worst case: Injuries decimate the team once again. Team has a tough time adjusting to Torts system and stumbles out the gate. Luongo has a slow start and Lack is as bad as Schneider was in his first call up in the Curtis Sanford tandem. Sneak into the wildcard and get Chicago in the first round on the cross-over.

 

[Nuckles]

Best case scenario: We go 82-0 in the regular season, Luongo gets 82 shutouts, we go 16-0 in the playoffs to win the cup without having a single goal scored against us as well.

Worst case scenario: We go 0-82 without scoring a single goal in the regular season. Also everyone suffers season ending injuries. We have such a poor season that we're demoted to the AHL in the 2014-15 season.




If all the conditions are perfect, sure, we could win the cup this year, but a lot of things need to happen. I definitely think we're a playoff team this year, I would be surprised if we miss the playoffs.

 

[dave babych returns]

To me the best case scenario is we stay relatively healthy, the powerplay returns to normal and so does Ryan Kesler, some of the younger players (specially Kassian and Schroeder although Dalpe and Tanev would be great too), break out the way guys in their early 20s with 30-40 NHL games under their belts often do, the kids on the farm show flashes of brilliance in limited viewing with the big club and we cruise to the division title as a stingy defensive team that hounds the puck in the offensive zone and capitalizes with timely goals after wearing teams down - Roberto Luongo plays as well as he has in the last few years which is reflected in the stats and we hit the playoffs healthy for the first time in I don't know how long.

Getting into real fantasyland stuff the real best case scenario is that after this the kids coming out of junior break into the lineup as injuries pile up and we don't miss a beat marching all the way to the SCF where we roll the Bruins in 4 but not before Zack Kassian feeds Milan Lucic his lunch after Brad Marchand turtles when challenged by Jordan Schroeder..

Worse case scenario to me would be that Ryan Kesler plays like he did last year and does it for enough of the season while completely healthy that it becomes clear this is just his new level of play, Kassian and Schroeder take turns playing their way out of the lineup, Eddie Lack looks like a goaltender with 0 career GP and Roberto Luongo gets injured early in the season torpedoing both our playoff chances and his shot at an Olympic roster spot, contract talks with the Sedins go nowhere and they ultimately walk in free agency, Edler's back becomes a major problem, etc etc etc. Any two of those things would be a disaster for this franchise, really.

 

[Eddy Punch Clock]

best case we win the cup
worst case we miss POs and get a lousy pick

Close thread.

 

[stuffradio]

best case we win the cup
worst case we miss POs and get a lousy pick
both are possible.
health is #1 factor IMO
after that, Roberto is the least of my worries, but in order: secondary scoring/PPQB/center depth/kids taking competent regular shifts/grit

You beat me to it.

 

[alternate]

Best case: Stanley cup.
Worst case: well, something like what happened to that khl team a couple years ago.

 

[LolClarkson*]

Best case : we get into the top 4

Worst case : similar to last year. Just a doggy team that goes into the playoffs with no luck or momentum or officiating

 

[David71]

alot of what ifs... if ryan kesler can stay healthy. david booth can regain his form and not get hurt. 25/25=50pt guy. hope him and santorelli regain chemistry and find some balance in the third line. defense being solid in their own end. edler proving he can be the number 1dman that everyone has been clamouring for. garrison firing bombs and scoring 18 goals, 10 of those on the pp sedins being themselves. higgins potting 20 luongo forget about all the drama last year and play hardddd regain his 06/07 form and go beastmode , lack helping ease off pressure off luongo for 15-20 games when luongo gets rested.

 

[canuck4life16]

best case stanley cup champions
worst case: conference final loss

 

[JuniorNelson]

Best case scenario; Canucks make the playoffs.
Worse case scenario; Canucks cannot master new system in time and become a slow starter. This leads to trying too hard and they begin to overplay. Key guys become desperate and try too much new stuff. Awkward shot blocking leads to injuries. Canucks narrowly miss playoffs. Gillis keeps his job.

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

Best case scenario: We win the cup.
Worst case scenario: We win the cup.

A lot of posters won't know what to do with themselves if they can't complain.

 

[DCantheDDad]

Best Case: We win the Cup and Bettman cries tears of frustration and shame as Henrik accepts the grail.
Worst Case: Officiating, injuries and sub-expectation play lead to us missing the playoffs. The Canucks fold in the off-season and we are all forced to cheer for the Leafs at gunpoint.