Post-Game Talk: GAME #70: Canucks 4 vs. Rangers 1 (Boeser, Motte x2, Virtanen)

Megaterio Llamas

el rey del mambo
Oct 29, 2011
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That sucks for Roussel ..us too...Probably makes us the softest team in the league (again).
Makes us buttery soft. Everyone is talking about the knee injury, which seems serious, but he seemed to react to the lick to the head he took from Lemieux as well. I just hope there is no carry over into next season. Roussel himself seems very concerned about head injuries.
 

Horse McHindu

They call me Horse.....
Jun 21, 2014
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Louie Eriksson will have been paid $28M of his $36M salary by the end of this season.....$8M left to pay him over the next few years..Hopefully,Benning (and LE) can come to some mutual termination of his contract.

Wit until next year.

31 of 36 will have been paid out.

Eriksson’s contract isn’t really hindering us right now (ie we can comfortably reup Boeser, extend Edler, extend our either minor RFA’s, and be active in the UFA market), and so I’d implement your idea after July 1st 2020. Bury him in the minors after that, or trade him to a team like the Sens that might need to take on extra cap.

Eriksson is grossly overpriced and can’t produce offense like he used to, but he’s still one of the smartest defensive players in the league. I still think young players in our team can learn from Eriksson.
 

Megaterio Llamas

el rey del mambo
Oct 29, 2011
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Bury him in the minors after that,
What would be the downside to sending Brother Loui to Utica next season? He could mentor the kids down there in the same fashion as he has done here with the big club. You know, maybe show them how to do the little things ;)

And who knows, the bite of the bitter Mohawk Valley winter winds just may serve to rekindle Loui's long lost passion for the game.
 

Horse McHindu

They call me Horse.....
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oh god i hope we dont end up with another pettersson


I see what you did there. :D

Nice touch.

It is true that we continued to compete hard two years ago and still ended up with Pettersson (despite lowering our odds to land #1). This does go to show that a team should compete hard at all times, no matter how infuriating late season winning streaks can be.

The only thing I’ll say about that draft is that Hischier and Patrick weren’t considered to be very strong #1’s or #2’s relative to past drafts.....whereas this year, Jack and Kakko are considered to be bonafide franchise players.
 

Cupless44

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Jun 25, 2014
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Wit until next year.

31 of 36 will have been paid out.

Eriksson’s contract isn’t really hindering us right now (ie we can comfortably reup Boeser, extend Edler, extend our either minor RFA’s, and be active in the UFA market), and so I’d implement your idea after July 1st 2020. Bury him in the minors after that, or trade him to a team like the Sens that might need to take on extra cap.

Eriksson is grossly overpriced and can’t produce offense like he used to, but he’s still one of the smartest defensive players in the league. I still think young players in our team can learn from Eriksson.

Learn what exactly? Certainly not work habits. First player off the ice at every practise. No passion for the game. No battle. Someone said tonight he has 3 hits on the season. Can this actually be true in 68 games??
 

Horse McHindu

They call me Horse.....
Jun 21, 2014
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What would be the downside to sending Brother Loui to Utica next season? He could mentor the kids down there in the same fashion as he has done here with the big club. You know, maybe show them how to do the little things ;)

And who knows, the bite of the bitter Mohawk Valley winter winds just may serve to rekindle Loui's long lost passion for the game.

Very true.

We’ll see. Right from Day One, I always maintained that Loui Eriksson’s contract was a 4 year deal in disguise. I said this when people on here were freaking out about the 6 year length. To me, this deal seemed like it was modern day cap circumvention. Time will tell if I was correct.

But yeah - my hope is that guys like Sutter and Eriksson (and other ‘placeholders’ that helped us transition from our old core to the new one) will be out of here by the time it’s time to reup Pettersson. Granlund, Pouliot, Baertschi, Spooner, etc., can all go.

I still like Beagle though. I know some people on here don’t like his contract given his age, but I think Beagle will continue to play at his current level all throughout his contract. He’s a fitness beast and often destroys people at camp in tests. I also love that he played an integral role in Washington’s recent cup win. I still maintain that we need that kind of presence in the room. Huge fan of Roussel as well.
 

Horse McHindu

They call me Horse.....
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Learn what exactly? Certainly not work habits. First player off the ice at every practise. No passion for the game. No battle. Someone said tonight he has 3 hits on the season. Can this actually be true in 68 games??

I agree with all that, but you can’t deny his defensive play and smarts. THAT is what kids can learn from Louie. Even you have to admit that Eriksson is very good in this regard.

I agree with you on all other points though.

An FYI - on July 1st 2016, my hope at the time was that we’d simultaneously sign Keith Yandle and David Backes. :embarrassed:
 

Cupless44

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Jun 25, 2014
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I agree with all that, but you can’t deny his defensive play and smarts. THAT is what kids can learn from Louie. Even you have to admit that Eriksson is very good in this regard.

I agree with you on all other points though.

An FYI - on July 1st 2016, my hope at the time was that we’d simultaneously sign Keith Yandle and David Backes. :embarrassed:

A rebuilding team should be signing vets to one year deals that they can flip at the deadline like the Leafs did masterfully. If you go long term it better be on a real stud...otherwise just stay out of it and build with youth and cap flexibility. Some progressive thinking to weaponize cap space would be nice but a pipe dream with this management. Absolutely no more long term deals for average veteran players
 

me2

Go ahead foot
Jun 28, 2002
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Wit until next year.

31 of 36 will have been paid out.

Eriksson’s contract isn’t really hindering us right now (ie we can comfortably reup Boeser, extend Edler, extend our either minor RFA’s, and be active in the UFA market), and so I’d implement your idea after July 1st 2020. Bury him in the minors after that, or trade him to a team like the Sens that might need to take on extra cap.

Eriksson is grossly overpriced and can’t produce offense like he used to, but he’s still one of the smartest defensive players in the league. I still think young players in our team can learn from Eriksson.

Why not play on for another year and collect another $3m bonus 1 July 2020, mailing it in for a year in the minors would be tolerable with a big fat $3m bonus waiting.

But keep in mind Shipachyov was forced to pay back his signing bonus when he retired after just a few games. Loui may be expected to do the same, why would be walk away from a $4m signing bonus and a salary.
 
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Horse McHindu

They call me Horse.....
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A rebuilding team should be signing vets to one year deals that they can flip at the deadline like the Leafs did masterfully. If you go long term it better be on a real stud...otherwise just stay out of it and build with youth and cap flexibility. Some progressive thinking to weaponize cap space would be nice but a pipe dream with this management. Absolutely no more long term deals for average veteran players

I think you hit the nail on the head right there (ie if you go long term, it better be on a real stud).

I think the motivation behind most of Benning’s moves made sense (sans Gagner which I never understood).

1) Sutter: After our 2015 1st round loss, it was evident that this team needed a good 2nd line Center. Horvat wasn’t quite ready while Bonino wasn’t that guy (Bones is a great 3rd Line C but couldn’t cut it as a 2nd line guy). Hence - the trade for Sutter.

2) Eriksson: When Vrbata left, the Canucks were in dire need of a RW’er. Hansen was our only decent Top 6 RW’er. Burrows was washed up, Virtanen was developing, Boeser was in college, and Dorset wasn’t top 6 caliber. Hence - the decision to trade for Eriksson.

3) Gudbranson: Outside of Tanev, we had absolutely nothing on our Right Side D. This move was pretty self explanatory. The only thing I found really odd at this time, is this fanbase’s insistence on trading Tanev......without realizing that he was literally our only decent RD! Everyone else was literally a 6th-7th dman.

4) Prust: The team needed toughness, and Gaunce wasn’t quite NHL ready.

I believe that in ALL of the above scenarios, the thought process behind the decisions to acquire/sign these players were very well justified.

However - this management group simply targeted the WRONG players, and that’s a very serious black mark on this management’s Pro Scouting.

Even other guys like Vey, Pedan, Pouliot, etc.,....very serious errors by Pro Scouting.

I believe that the thought process behind these decisions was the correct thought process (this is where HF and I will disagree), but that Pro Scouting targeted the WRONG players (where HF and I will agree).

Getting back to your main point - I completely agree. IF a team is going to long term with a player and/or trade picks for a player, you need to be absolutely sure that said guy is going to deliver......and unfortunately, most of our Pro Scouting acquisitions during those years were duds.
 
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orcatown

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Feb 13, 2003
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I think you hit the nail on the head right there (ie if you go long term, it better be on a real stud).

I think the motivation behind most of Benning’s moves made sense (sans Gagner which I never understood).

1) Sutter: After our 2015 1st round loss, it was evident that this team needed a good 2nd line Center. Horvat wasn’t quite ready while Bonino wasn’t that guy (Bones is a great 3rd Line C but couldn’t cut it as a 2nd line guy). Hence - the trade for Sutter.

2) Eriksson: When Vrbata left, the Canucks were in dire need of a RW’er. Hansen was our only decent Top 6 RW’er. Burrows was washed up, Virtanen was developing, Boeser was in college, and Dorset wasn’t top 6 caliber. Hence - the decision to trade for Eriksson.

3) Gudbranson: Outside of Tanev, we had absolutely nothing on our Right Side D. This move was pretty self explanatory. The only thing I found really odd at this time, is this fanbase’s insistence on trading Tanev......without realizing that he was literally our only decent RD! Everyone else was literally a 6th-7th dman.

4) Prust: The team needed toughness, and Gaunce wasn’t quite NHL ready.

I believe that in ALL of the above scenarios, the thought process behind the decisions to acquire/sign these players were very well justified.

However - this management group simply targeted the WRONG players, and that’s a very serious black mark on this management’s Pro Scouting.

Even other guys like Vey, Pedan, Pouliot, etc.,....very serious errors by Pro Scouting.

I believe that the thought process behind these decisions was the correct thought process (this is where HF and I will disagree), but that Pro Scouting targeted the WRONG players (where HF and I will agree).

Getting back to your main point - I completely agree. IF a team is going to long term with a player and/or trade picks for a player, you need to be absolutely sure that said guy is going to deliver......and unfortunately, most of our Pro Scouting acquisitions during those years were duds.

So much wrong here

1. Sutter never was a good 2nd line center. Crosby and Malkin played 1 and 2 on Pittsburg and Sutter was a defensive 3rd line center and penalty killer. He was bad in the playoffs (and already had groin issues) and Pittsburg (and especially their fans) were desperate to get rid of him. Indeed Sutter was never a 2nd line center on the Canucks. Sedin and Horvat were the 1st and 2nd line centers and Sutter was the third line center. Bonino has obviously outplayed Sutter in the 3rd line position and helped the Penquins to the Stanley Cup. Saying Sutter had to brought in as 2nd line center is ridiculously absurd as is the suggestion that Bonino couldn't fulfill the role that Sutter did. In fact, he has been a ton better in that role.

2. Eriksson was never traded for. He was signed as free agent. And Vrbata didn't just leave. The Canucks decided not to re-sign him. In hindsight he would have been better and cheaper
than Eriksson. Moreover, could make the case that the "washed up" Burrows was probably equally as effective as Eriksson.

3. Fact they needed help on the right side defense does nothing to justify the one-sided trade or the 4 mill given to Gudbranson. Canucks boxed themselves into a corner and were forced to over pay when they should have moved Gudbranson earlier. (or never got him in the first place) Also, the Canucks could have gotten much better than Gudbranson for the right side (or even just used Biega) with what they gave up in the Gudbranson trade. Also Canucks had Tryamkin who easily had more potential than Gudbranson on the right side.. I don't see the thought processes being anywhere near good in anything to do with getting Gudbranson

4. Are you trying to say if Gaunce was ready (which apparently he still isn't today) he could have provided the kind of toughness Prust could have??? Gaunce has never and still never fights or even gets that physical. He is not that type of player. The acquisition of Prust had nothing to do with getting Gaunce ready to fulfill that role since Gaunce obviously was never going to take on that role. If anything Prust came to replace the toughness of the troubled Kassian.

Your justifications for these moves doesn't make any sense IMO. And in some areas you are just flat out wrong.

Will agree the Canuck pro scouting has been abysmal and that comes down to mainly Benning. Really I don't think you can put Benning and "thought processes" in the same sentence. All of these moves have been awful as have many, many others.
 

BlueGreen

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Jan 3, 2018
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I missed the last two periods of last nights game and watched the highlights a few minutes ago. I noticed that Kreider recieved a game misconduct for an elbow and when I didn’t see EP on the PP I had a feeling something must’ve happened to him. Is he injured?
 

moog35

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Jul 25, 2007
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I agree with all that, but you can’t deny his defensive play and smarts. THAT is what kids can learn from Louie. Even you have to admit that Eriksson is very good in this regard.

I agree with you on all other points though.

An FYI - on July 1st 2016, my hope at the time was that we’d simultaneously sign Keith Yandle and David Backes. :embarrassed:

Could care less if Eriksson is good defensively. The young players can learn good defensive play from someone else. I don’t want Erkisson and his $6m price tag anywhere near this team next season. Not only is his production terrible but it’s been reported that he’s not putting in the effort at practice.

You would think a guy who is having such a terrible season (again) would be putting some extra time in after practices to try and improve but it’s been reported numerous times that he’s the first player off the ice

I literally noticed Eriksson last night about as much as I have in 75% of his games as a Canuck. I would have no idea he wasn’t playing unless I read it on here.
 

Canucks5551

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I missed the last two periods of last nights game and watched the highlights a few minutes ago. I noticed that Kreider recieved a game misconduct for an elbow and when I didn’t see EP on the PP I had a feeling something must’ve happened to him. Is he injured?
He left for a good chunk of the 2nd period, but came back.
 
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TruGr1t

Proper Villain
Jun 26, 2003
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Just what we need with 12 games remaining when we're sitting in 26th place: 2 goals from Tyler f***ing Motte. Can't lose them all, I guess.
 

m9

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Eriksson has been trash his entire time here and it's about time he was scratched. Being a defensively responsible 4th line winger is literally the bare minimum for someone and is not something to be applauded for.
Hopefully we've seen the last of Eriksson in a Canucks uniform.
 
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ChilliBilly

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Eriksson has been trash his entire time here and it's about time he was scratched. Being a defensively responsible 4th line winger is literally the bare minimum for someone and is not something to be applauded for.
Hopefully we've seen the last of Eriksson in a Canucks uniform.

Is there anyone looking to get to the cap floor next few years? Ott?

Edit - went to Cap Friendly, but it doesn't have the cap projections for next year. Does anyone know how the Hurricanes have a current Cap space of $131 M. Is that what it was at the trade deadline projected over the remainder of the year?
 
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vanarchy

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Boeser is our best player right now other than Marky and it's not close. He needs to keep shooting like a mad man.

And they need to rest Pettersson if he isn't 100% because his game is seriously off. :(
 
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VanJack

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Makes us buttery soft. Everyone is talking about the knee injury, which seems serious, but he seemed to react to the lick to the head he took from Lemieux as well. I just hope there is no carry over into next season. Roussel himself seems very concerned about head injuries.
I actually noticed that as well.....and Green was quick to point out that Roussel was 'done for the season' at the post-game presser. Without even a Doctor's confirmation or an MRI, how can you come out and say this about any knee injury?

Nope, Roussel has a long history of concussions and missed time in training camp recovering from his latest. Lucky for him he has a four-year contract in his hip pocket. But like Baertschi before him, I'd be surprised if he actually finishes it on the active roster.

So as positive a contribution as he's made this year, he could be joining a long list of abject failures on the UFA market by Jimbo and the Canucks.
 

timbermen

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It's time to start calling these weasels out at the boxing gym, You're millionaires Kreider and Matheson and so tough. Why don't you prove it.
 

VanJack

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I know some posters are down on Motte....but he's an affordable, high-energy player who's motor never stops. He's got a place on my team any time, and now up to 11 goals on the season.

But watching Granlund out there is enough to make you want to throw something at the TV screen. Never seen a guy screw up so many passes; and shoot pucks directly at the goalie's crest. Surely he's one of the players the Canucks will be moving on from in the off-season. It really is time to go in a new direction with the third-fourth lines.
 

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