GDT: [EX GM 4] Vancouver Canucks @ Seattle Kraken | 6:30PM PST | SNET

[Peen]

Really need the season to just get underway at this point.

Feel like if there was going to be a wake up in preseason, it would have been in the last two games.

That game was genuinely horrid to attend. They played a good 11 minute stretch in the second half of P2. That’s it. They got raked in the first and second.

They garnered 13 of their 17 SOG in those eleven minutes. That’s four SOG in the other 49. 4.

Coach/management were looking for some sort of a response and yeesh.

Think people have covered the players who played pretty accurately.

I didn’t like not playing Kuzmenko in this one. I get that he would have skated with Dries given his theoretical linemates are out and it wouldn’t have been a great situation for him to thrive in; however, OTOH, he’s still not played against NHL lines yet who will push him defensively.

I’m just ready to get going. I don’t like judging vets on preseason and I don’t care about the end results of it either.

… but it’s still semi disappointing that this seems like it’s a few in a row and continued after a coach/management call out.

 

[VanJack]

It's been an ugly training camp and pre-season so far. They lose Boeser and Mikheyev to injuries and then crap the bed when the games start. Fortunately you can't gain two points in the exhibition schedule.

But with the Abbotsford Canucks training camp opening on Oct. 5th, they really need to clean out some lockers at Rogers Arena get some bodies to the AHL. Having set lines for a couple of games will make all the difference.

But the reality is the Canucks blueline remains a huge concern heading into the regular season. Myers and OEL have looked lethargic and slow.....you have to begin to worry that maybe they're reaching an age where their performance begins to fall off a cliff. But then that's always the risk of lengthy contracts for older players.

Luke Schenn is a warrior, but also 34. And Jack Rathbone remains a work in progress. Hughes is virtually their only 'star' on the blueline. The rest, including Poolman, Burroughs, Dekeyser and Dermott are basically 'replacement level'. Wouldn't surprise me if the Canucks start plumbing the waiver wire.

 

[Peen]

It's been an ugly training camp and pre-season so far. They lose Boeser and Mikheyev to injuries and then crap the bed when the games start. Fortunately you can't gain two points in the exhibition schedule.

But with the Abbotsford Canucks training camp opening on Oct. 5th, they really need to clean out some lockers at Rogers Arena get some bodies to the AHL. Having set lines for a couple of games will make all the difference.

But the reality is the Canucks blueline remains a huge concern heading into the regular season. Myers and OEL have looked lethargic and slow.....you have to begin to worry that maybe they're reaching an age where their performance begins to fall off a cliff. But then that's always the risk of lengthy contracts for older players.

Luke Schenn is a warrior, but also 34. And Jack Rathbone remains a work in progress. Hughes is virtually their only 'star' on the blueline. The rest, including Poolman, Burroughs, Dekeyser and Dermott are basically 'replacement level'. Wouldn't surprise me if the Canucks start plumbing the waiver wire.

I always feel like if you go into a season where you are expecting/hoping/content (whatever) that an area will perform to a similar low bar, it is likely to do worse than expected.

3/4 top four D well into their 30s. Man.

Myers has looked far better than OEL so far this preseason.

Beagle, Eriksson, Roussel for one more year versus Poolman, Dickinson, OEL. Man. f***.

 

[canuckking1]

This Defence is basically Hughes(Lebron) and the other guys (2018 Cavs)

 

[VanJack]

Jim Rutherford basically threw down the gauntlet when he pointed out that the Canucks were one of the worst teams in the NHL in terms of their zone exits. And you saw ample evidence of that last night.

Zone exits were basically non-existent. And the Canucks spent most of the night chasing in their own zone. And when they did retrieve the puck, they just shot it up the boards and then proceeded to lose the board battles. Without Demko, it's 6 or 7-0

In the absence of Hughes in the lineup, it becomes jarring to watch. Really starting to wonder if this is the point where OEL's play starts to fall off a cliff. Looking more and more like a terrible trade and a terrible contract.

Unfortunately no easy fixes. Benning left the Canucks in 'cap-hell', particularly on the blueline.

 

[MarkusNaslund19]

I watched the first two games and missed most of this one.

I had a thought the other day that I think long-time fans have possibly somewhat skewed perspectives on pre-season games because it wasn't too long ago that training camp went for several weeks before the pre-season started, whereas now it's literally like day 4.

So vets barely give a shit about results, they're working the kinks out, getting used to feeling the puck on their stick.
That doesn't mean that these efforts haven't been ghastly at times, nor that they are irrelevant, but it's basically like watching a training camp scrimmage and panicking because passes are missing.

This buys them zero leeway when the season starts of course, they need to be sharp from the get go.

But this isn't the same as 20 years ago watching players who had been having high-octane practices for 3 weeks playing an exhibition game. This is like a week into training camp now.

It's interesting, looking at roster composition there is a lot to like. We have a lot of offensive depth, and our forward depth is pretty good throughout. We have pretty good 13-through 17 forwards in our system for the first time in what feels like forever.

Our goaltending and goaltending depth is good.

Our very top end D (Hughes) is really good, and I finally really quite like our depth when it comes to the 6-7-8-9 spot. The fact that we may not be able to find space for Burroughs, while possibly unjust to him, suggests we finally have some depth. But man are we desperately missing a number 2 or 3.

Hughes is a good 1. I like OEL as a really good 3 or a decent 2. Myers is a 4 if he's used specifically to his strengths, and then we have good options for 5 on down. But we are really, deeply missing a legitimately good 2/3. If we could get a prime Dan Hamhuis type, we would be a force to reckon with.

As it is, everybody plays a level up from where they should be, Hughes and OEL get asked to play in spots that aren't their strength, and injuries to our top couple of D are absolutely catastrophic.

Either way, it's going to be an interesting year and I think it's going to be a fun one to watch. Particularly Hughes and Petey's revenge tour after missing camp last year.

 

[tantalum]

Missed the game, but after watching the highlights I'm confident this is a team that's going to really surprise a lot of nay-sayers. Vets setting the tone with solid efforts, skating miles and supporting the players who are trying their best to earn a spot.

The depth of talent is the best we've seen for years and we can thank Benning for that and Rutherford and Co for recognizing the chemistry and doing little to change things.

I'm fully behind the posters who've been lauding how good the power play is going to be based on the paper lineups. That confidence is earned and there's no reason to doubt they have difficulty finding the chemistry necessary to be effective.

I have to say, as a lifelong Canucks fan I'm completely satisfied with this iteration of the club. Feels good.

I mean some of that may be true but seeing as you didn’t watch the game the impression the highlights gave you for this particular 60 minutes of hockey is incorrect. They were awful from start to finish.

There was no veteran support really. PP was awful. Team was lazy as f***.

Now for pre season I’m not actually concerned if the guys who have positions locked up coast. It’s expected. Though it would be nice if Horvat showed up ready to play the start of a season at some point in his career (maybe he flips the switch).

The troublesome thing for me is the depth players fighting for a spot and first call up positioning have been wholly unimpressive and in some cases downright bad. Early in the pre-season they should be showing something but they really aren’t.

And of course the concerns around some of the contracts on the team persist. Given they are not (and should not be) willing to move picks/prospects to get out of the contracts there isn’t much to do but let them expire. Or hope some of them pick up their games enough to move them at some point.

Make no mistake, despite comments that are the standard entering camp (we’re happy with the blueline/team etc) they are not happy. But there is too much dead weight on the roster to get things fixed in 8 months. No one should expect or demand that. That blueline is a multi-year fix.

 

[StickShift]

Not worried. This team’s strength will be its forward depth. We won’t see them flex that muscle until the full lineup is put together on opening night.

 

[Fatass]

Jim Rutherford basically threw down the gauntlet when he pointed out that the Canucks were one of the worst teams in the NHL in terms of their zone exits. And you saw ample evidence of that last night.

Zone exits were basically non-existent. And the Canucks spent most of the night chasing in their own zone. And when they did retrieve the puck, they just shot it up the boards and then proceeded to lose the board battles. Without Demko, it's 6 or 7-0

In the absence of Hughes in the lineup, it becomes jarring to watch. Really starting to wonder if this is the point where OEL's play starts to fall off a cliff. Looking more and more like a terrible trade and a terrible contract.

Unfortunately no easy fixes. Benning left the Canucks in 'cap-hell', particularly on the blueline.

Yup. We have one top 3 D man - Hughes. I think OEL can be a 4, but needs the right partner. Myers is an excellent 5, but is paid like a 2.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

Yeah, Poolman needs to start the season in the A and get whatever game he has back together.
As it stands, Burroughs is a better option for his role. Probably Wolanin too, for that matter.

 

[82Ninety42011]

Beagle, Eriksson, Roussel for one more year versus Poolman, Dickinson, OEL. Man. f***.

They would have been gone this season and we would have had over 12 million in cap space

 

[Shareefruck]

Once again, I do not for the life of me understand why we let go of Lammikko and Highmore. They looked way better than any of these fourth line options. People called them dime a dozen, but I don't get it,

People were so confident about Joshua, but not only does he not look half as good, his lack of skill seems to suggest that he isn't capable of much more in the future. Lazar hasn't looked that serviceable either. Strangely, it's been Di Giuseppe and Aman who look like the most competent fourth liners.

 

[Chairman Maouth]

Not worried. This team’s strength will be its forward depth. We won’t see them flex that muscle until the full lineup is put together on opening night.

Yep. Preseason is for evaluation and getting things set going forward. Indeed, winning is barely even an afterthought.

 

[Diversification]

I mean some of that may be true but seeing as you didn’t watch the game the impression the highlights gave you for this particular 60 minutes of hockey is incorrect. They were awful from start to finish.

There was no veteran support really. PP was awful. Team was lazy as f***.

Now for pre season I’m not actually concerned if the guys who have positions locked up coast. It’s expected. Though it would be nice if Horvat showed up ready to play the start of a season at some point in his career (maybe he flips the switch).

The troublesome thing for me is the depth players fighting for a spot and first call up positioning have been wholly unimpressive and in some cases downright bad. Early in the pre-season they should be showing something but they really aren’t.

And of course the concerns around some of the contracts on the team persist. Given they are not (and should not be) willing to move picks/prospects to get out of the contracts there isn’t much to do but let them expire. Or hope some of them pick up their games enough to move them at some point.

Make no mistake, despite comments that are the standard entering camp (we’re happy with the blueline/team etc) they are not happy. But there is too much dead weight on the roster to get things fixed in 8 months. No one should expect or demand that. That blueline is a multi-year fix.

... you might want to re-read @quat 's post.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

It’s so weird of spending years making fun of Burke for taking Schenn and now to read the below quote, as an example, and my first thought is he’s nearly untradeable.

He’s solidified himself as a fan favourite here for many justifies reasons, and this is one of them.

 

[RebuildinVan]

Oh man. That contract didn’t even make it one season before completely proving to be the complete WTF?! it looked like the moment it was signed.

I remember checking with Jets fans, and watched the laughing "i cant believe someone gave him 4 years!"

 

[Nucker101]

Once again, I do not for the life of me understand why we let go of Lammikko and Highmore. They looked way better than any of these fourth line options. People called them dime a dozen, but I don't get it,

People were so confident about Joshua, but not only does he not look half as good, his lack of skill seems to suggest that he isn't capable of much more in the future. Lazar hasn't looked that serviceable either. Strangely, it's been Di Giuseppe and Aman who look like the most competent fourth liners.

Lammiko was nicknamed “the invisible man” until Motte joined the lineup.

Motte is the guy we miss the most on the 4th line. He drove that line.

The number one thing you want from your 4th line in a hard cap league is to be cheap so I’m glad that Lazar and Joshua barely put a dent into our cap and can be waived and sent down without consequence

 

[theguardianII]

They would have been gone this season and we would have had over 12 million in cap space

AND the first round pick

 

[wonton15]

Scary that was our starting defense without Hughes. It looks AHL tier lol

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

God this arena is beautiful.

Concourses are beautiful, sight lines in all bowls are fantastic.

Seats are great. No bars obstructing views in upper bowls.

Presentation is also top class.

Go nucks.

Holy f*** this mascot LMFAO

Did you sample one of the $20 beers..?

 

[theguardianII]

Myers is full chicken with his head cut off

Only minus 1, had almost half the teams shots on net, played with everyone, no PP time, played over 20 minutes. Forget the contract amount he is one of THE BEST defencemen on the team

Isn't he like 26?

Edit: yeah he is 26. I don't believe he is eligible

He isn’t eligible for the Calder. He turned 26 last February. I’ve seen this pop-up in a couple other places as well.

“A player must not have attained his 26th birthday by Sept. 15 of the season in which he is eligible.”

A new rule maybe, there have been a few older Calder winners, Markov got it at 31

I think this is the distinction various places are trying to make but are doing it confusingly. Kuzmenko really isn’t a rookie either. He’s a first year NHL player but had been a professional for 8 years prior.

Trying not to judge him too much as it is preseason, but you'd think a guy on a contract year would be guns blazing out of the gates.

I have no ****ing idea what the locker-room is like or team dynamics, but judged by play on the ice (which is not always a great indicator of what makes a good leader), I don't see much leading by example. But again, he could be an incredible vocal leader. He's just a frustrating player when he could be setting an example to younger guys.

Horvat looks distracted, that room wold blister paint I would think, Miller's line was minus 4 and they are considered the #1

Chaos Giraffe strikes again

Still almost the best the team has, nobody better

Indeed. What’s concerning is the play of those bubble guys who should be going all out. And it’s just nothing on that account. Joshua had likely been the most noticeable.

Looks like paralysis by analysis, trying to play a more reserved defensive system and they are confused.

Last year the team struggled under trying to be more defensive when Bruce came in he just let the defensive reigns go and let them play.

Miller's line got a pass last night, almost no consistency.

Sure it is pre-season but ......really? Not great for fan confidence. Looks like Benning boyz and Green 2.0 worked all last year.

Play like that and in Edmonton what do you think happens?

Could all this bad play be a plan to surprise the Oiler's in the season opener?

0-2-2 Out scored by too many.

Schenn says defence too soft, I remember when Quinn said Colorado had a marshmellow defence and that changed the way the they played and they won the cup. But this is a Canuck vet calling out the entire d squad.

I wonder what Miller had to say about his performance?

 

[Vector]

@theguardianII You really could just easily Google this yourself.

“Beginning in 1990-91, a player must not have attained his 26th birthday by Sept. 15 of the season in which he is eligible.”

The rule was put in place to prevent a player like Makarov from winning again. He won the 89-90 Calder. Kuzmenko is the exact player they want to prevent from winning the award.

 

[Peen]

Did you sample one of the $20 beers..?

No. I did, however, pay $8 for sparkling water.

 

[VanJack]

Lammiko was nicknamed “the invisible man” until Motte joined the lineup.

Motte is the guy we miss the most on the 4th line. He drove that line.

The number one thing you want from your 4th line in a hard cap league is to be cheap so I’m glad that Lazar and Joshua barely put a dent into our cap and can be waived and sent down without consequence

Have to agree.....watched Motte the other night in the Leafs game....now plying his trade for the Sens....the guy knows only one way to play--and that's flat out on every shift. And a superior PK'er to boot.

According to Cap Friendly, Motte is signed for next season at a relatively paltry $1.35m. Can't really understand why the Canucks weren't interested at that price. But I guess they decided to move on at last years TDL.

 

[Peen]

Have to agree.....watched Motte the other night in the Leafs game....now plying his trade for the Sens....the guy knows only one way to play--and that's flat out on every shift. And a superior PK'er to boot.

According to Cap Friendly, Motte is signed for next season at a relatively paltry $1.35m. Can't really understand why the Canucks weren't interested at that price. But I guess they decided to move on at last years TDL.

His ask was far higher here.

The better question is why did Vancouver not circle back in the summer and make a push for him when it was clear he would be taking far less than expected?