Do the Canucks need a shakeup?

BROCK HUGHES

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Jun 3, 2006
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Victoria bc/red deer alberta
This is a great article.

And I agree with most of it. No need to blow up the core. But we do need some minor tweaks to get players that properly complement that core.

But the article stops short of endorsing AV (stays quite neutral for him, other than to say that the Caps blew it by firing Boudreau and changing their game completely).

Charron also talks about the Red Wings, but IMO they are a bit of a special case because:

1. They did have many players who had won a cup previously.
2. They had Lidstrom.

Also, I stand by my assertion that it's AV that needs replacing, by also using Detroit - they lost in the first couple of years since they hired Babcock, but they still dominated in the regular season. IIRC they won the Cup in his 3rd year. AV OTOH has been here for 7 years, long in the tooth by most standards.

Of course injuries have been huge this year.

But to me (and others) the team has struggled to score for well over a year now, relying on elite goaltending, and were completely outclassed by the Kings in the playoffs. Add in head-scratching personnel decisions, and going back to the same breakouts even when we don't seem to have the personnel to successfully implement it......

Perhaps if we can add a guy like Visnovsky who has a great hockey IQ, when this team gets healthy it can do better under AV's system and we can take a decent run at it before throwing in the towel on him.
Yeah we stayed the course last year,look where that got us.Out in the first round.This year ,i have not seen that much more improvment.So unless MG can pull a bunny out of his hat,i dont hold no hope.
 

Scurr

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Jun 25, 2009
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Whalley
Yeah we stayed the course last year,look where that got us.Out in the first round.This year ,i have not seen that much more improvment.So unless MG can pull a bunny out of his hat,i dont hold no hope.

We made significant changes at the deadline last season, you can't call that staying the course.
 

Shareefruck

Registered User
Apr 2, 2005
28,875
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Vancouver, BC
We would be more than fine if our current lineup was

Sedin - Sedin - Burrows
Booth - Kesler - Kassian
Raymond - Schroeder - Hansen
Higgins - Lapierre - Weise

Edler - Tanev
Hamhuis - Bieksa
Garrison - Ballard

Schneider
Luongo

IMO. The injuries have been unfortunate, but they're doing surprisingly well all things considered anyways. Their entire second line is awol, your 4th line is your 3rd line, and your AHL callups are your 4th line most nights.

It's bad, it's unfortunate, but calling for heads is stupid.
 

Aphid Attraction

Registered User
Jan 17, 2013
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We would be more than fine if our current lineup was

Sedin - Sedin - Burrows
Booth - Kesler - Kassian
Raymond - Schroeder - Hansen
Higgins - Lapierre - Weise

Edler - Tanev
Hamhuis - Bieksa
Garrison - Ballard

Schneider
Luongo

IMO. The injuries have been unfortunate, but they're doing surprisingly well all things considered anyways. Their entire second line is awol, your 4th line is your 3rd line, and your AHL callups are your 4th line most nights.

It's bad, it's unfortunate, but calling for heads is stupid.

This season we need to look at that lineup like this though

Sedin - Sedin - Burrows
Higgins - Kesler - Kassian
Raymond - Schroeder - Hansen
Pini - Lapierre - Weise

Edler - Tanev
Hamhuis - Bieksa
Garrison - Ballard

Schneider
Luongo

The Booth injury is very unfortunate, because I would like to see if Gillis had the stones to trade Higgins for a pick and bring up Jensen for the playoffs
 

Shareefruck

Registered User
Apr 2, 2005
28,875
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Vancouver, BC
This season we need to look at that lineup like this though

Sedin - Sedin - Burrows
Higgins - Kesler - Kassian
Raymond - Schroeder - Hansen
Pini - Lapierre - Weise

Edler - Tanev
Hamhuis - Bieksa
Garrison - Ballard

Schneider
Luongo

The Booth injury is very unfortunate, because I would like to see if Gillis had the stones to trade Higgins for a pick and bring up Jensen for the playoffs
That's what I mean, though. You can't demand a shakeup just because you're riddled with injuries!

Also, making a bad move = having stones I see. :p: Jensen has 2 points in 7 AHL games. Higgins is on a 30 point pace in the NHL playing on a depleted 3rd line with Lapierre and Weise.
 
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Aphid Attraction

Registered User
Jan 17, 2013
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1,699
That's what I mean, though. You can't demand a shakeup just because you're riddled with injuries!

Also, making a bad move = having stones I see. :p:

Well bad moves are subjective...

I just figured that since Gillis is going to let him walk as a free agent, (or Lappy, this is based on some of his comments about youth coming in next year) then if the roster was healthy to the point of having Higgins on the forth line, then we might as well trade him for a pick at the deadline, bring in Jensen for the playoffs, and use the pick since they can be handy.

But yes your comment is right, the stones would be needed to do something, that people would say is a bad move.
 

Shareefruck

Registered User
Apr 2, 2005
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Vancouver, BC
Well bad moves are subjective...

I just figured that since Gillis is going to let him walk as a free agent, (or Lappy, this is based on some of his comments about youth coming in next year) then if the roster was healthy to the point of having Higgins on the forth line, then we might as well trade him for a pick at the deadline, bring in Jensen for the playoffs, and use the pick since they can be handy.

But yes your comment is right, the stones would be needed to do something, that people would say is a bad move.
I would not jeopardize our playoffs for the sake of the pick that Higgins would return, personally. Unless you're implying that this season is a lost cause?

I don't see much of a chance Jensen comes in at the deadline and just does great in the playoffs, though.
 

Aphid Attraction

Registered User
Jan 17, 2013
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I would not jeopardize our playoffs for the sake of the pick that Higgins would return, personally. Unless you're implying that this season is a lost cause?

I don't see much of a chance Jensen comes in at the deadline and just does great in the playoffs, though.

It is all moot since it will never happen, it was also just an idea, I was not advocating it, just wondering if Gillis would do it...

I do not think the season is lost as it is myself, but this Idea was if we had a healthy roster,so the season would be in good shape

If Higgins was on the forth line, then we have pini and Sistito for that role, so Jensen would ride the pine for the playoffs and play his 5 games before where he can (is that the limit?)
 

vanuck

Now with 100% less Benning!
Dec 28, 2009
16,797
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Should replace Weise with someone who can actually play a two-way game.

And he can. He did that all of last year with Malhotra and Lapierre.

I agree. He seems to form an opinion and then work the stats to justify it, rather than stepping back and looking at the stats to help form his opinion.

I definitely get that feeling too. Feels forced and sometimes the numbers he uses don't really fit the context anyhow. Still, a lot better than what we get in the Province/Sun but it could be better.
 

PG Canuck

Registered User
Mar 29, 2010
62,741
23,893
Should replace Weise with someone who can actually play a two-way game.

Weise is fine. There's not much else you can expect from a fourth line player. He does his job well - hits, fights, fairly fast fora fourth liner, can play on the PK.
 

Shareefruck

Registered User
Apr 2, 2005
28,875
3,570
Vancouver, BC
It is all moot since it will never happen, it was also just an idea, I was not advocating it, just wondering if Gillis would do it...

I do not think the season is lost as it is myself, but this Idea was if we had a healthy roster,so the season would be in good shape

If Higgins was on the forth line, then we have pini and Sistito for that role, so Jensen would ride the pine for the playoffs and play his 5 games before where he can (is that the limit?)
I think you're forgetting the fact that Booth is out for the season. There is no scenario where Higgins would be on the 4th line regardless of how healthy we get. In fact, he's almost certainly going to be a key member playing with Kesler. In your scenario, were you advocating trading Higgins and playing Jensen on the 4th line, then? I guess I misunderstood that and assumed that you were advocating Jensen - Kesler - Kassian in the playoffs.

Personally, I think if Higgins were on the 4th line, where Sestito or Pinnizotto could be, if you were to trade him, why call up Jensen at all?
 

Wisp

Registered User
Nov 14, 2010
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We shouldn't do a shake up but we have to do a shake up.

Basically, I think any shake up you make right now is over-reacting because of injuries. However, the salary situation demands changes be made in order to get this team into cap compliance.

MG needs to be as patient as possible.
 

Catamarca Livin

Registered User
Jul 29, 2010
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983
Yeah we stayed the course last year,look where that got us.Out in the first round.This year ,i have not seen that much more improvment.So unless MG can pull a bunny out of his hat,i dont hold no hope.

I guess they should just award the cup to L.A. nothing changes. No team has even went from losing in the first round to winning the cup the next year. Boston did a great job retaining their championship last year losing to Washinton last year. Vancouver with the worst pp in the league has beaten all the top teams this year an their is no hope. Vancouver was suppose to win last year with Kesler wrecked and Daniel gone. I think someone should take away yor shoelaces if you see no hope.
 

JanBulisPiggyBack

Registered User
Dec 31, 2011
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2,719
Ballard needs to go, not because of his play, but because of his value and return
Booth needs to go because he is here for the 2nd line and doesn't produce anywhere near what we need from our second line winger.

Thats 8 million dollars in players playing below their position and below their contract

Thats poor investment

I like both players, they don't make us worse by being in our lineup but they make us poor

I think the rest of the team plays up to their abilities, I think the Sedins need to be more of a force even right now, they are the most creative players in the league WHEN they get set up, but they are not getting there as often and its because their playbook has been read by the entire league now.

If it takes a new coach to fix the way we play then we get a new coach

This exact team in 3 years without any changes but with the additions of seasoned Zassian, Jensen and Schroedor will have the holes plugged.

For Right NOW we need Hossa
 

King of the ES*

Guest
The last thing we need to do is lose good players unnecessarily to "shake things up".

No, the last thing we need to do is nothing. If we do nothing, the chances of this team going anywhere noteworthy is almost zero.

A shake-up would be good. Gillis has spent too much time coddling these guys, giving them sleep doctors, the most plush dressing room in the NHL, and it's become too cushy an environment. Gillis still has not added a significant core piece to this team besides Dan Hamhuis, and he's now been here for 5 years.

Let's not forget that the Sedin's turn 33 in September. They've shown signs of slowing down for the last couple of years, and we are pushing our luck by not going all-out in the pursuit of a Cup with them at the tail end of their primes.
 

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