This post is a god send.
I couldn’t agree more. Please feel free to post that on the Canucks section of this site.
So many times, people say stuff to me like, “Oh, well I don’t see teams like Chicago and Pittsburgh having knuckle draggers on their team and they seem to be doing just fine.”
If the Canucks had a team full of Bo Horvat’s (I.e. guys that hardly ever fight but aren’t going to be pushed around, know how to stand up for themselves, and are built like a tree stump), then I wouldn’t care at all if we had guys that could throw down.
The truth of the matter however is that we’ve got guys like the twins, Baertschi, Stecher, Hutton, Granlund, etc., that are about as aggressive as a lamb.
I just shutter to think about what teams will do to guys like Boeser, Petterrsson, Juolevi, etc, in the playoffs one day if we don’t have a few guys that can set opponents straight.
Chris Pronger. Dustin Byfiglien. Brad Marchand. Shawn Thornton. Dustin Brown. Michael Ferland.
The names will change but the problem will not.
Luongo will continue to smell Byfuglien’s bum in the crease. Marchand will continue to punch the twins in the face. Ferland will continue to lay the hammer on guys like Tanev, Edler, and Bieksa. Pronger will continue to lacerate Kesler’s calf.
The names will change but the problem will not.
Getting rid of guys like Gudbranson is not a luxury the Canucks can afford in my opinion.....unless you find an adequate replacement.
It's true, it's the reason we've been pushed around for years
And even going back to the 2011 days, we had some of the most useless tough guys the NHL has ever seen,
Say what you want about Bieksa and Kessler, but I would swear on a stack of Bibles that I have NEVER seen either one stand up for a teammate, not even Bieksa, who is known as one of the leagues better fighters (He just proved it again last night)
Those guys would only fight if they felt like it, which was only when someone pissed THEM off personally, I remember Henrik taking a headshot from Mark Methot when he was in Columbus, Bieksa skated right by and didn't bat an eyelash.
I remember the Columbus commentators being really confused and wondering out loud if he didn't see it, I remember sitting at home and thinking:
"No, he saw it, he just doesn't care because it didn't happen to HIM"
With Dorset and yes....even Gudds, but Dorsett especially, it reminded me of how long it has been since we had a tough guy take a regular shift and establish clear boundaries with other teams,
Brashear? He mainly played to fight, Rypien? Maybe but still not quite in the top 6 top 4 class,
Bertuzzi? YES Although it still sickens me to think of how the fans turned on him when he did what he was trained to do since he was a kid, something the Canucks fans cheered him on for......it was bad don't get me wrong but, to think for one second that he EVER intended to do any permanent harm is a joke,
I digress...off the soapbox, Bertuzzi and then back to Gino, who poped in 20 on Pavel's wing will single-handedly fighting the entire St. Louis Blues,
Gino was genuinely feared, he was so ferocious that even the top fighters knew they needed to bring their A-game because he was going to fight like his life depended on it.
I think I only remember one clear loss, and he went with Probert, Grimson, Kocer, Mcsorley.
Anyway, the way the game is now, you can't have your toughness in your bottom 6 or a D that plays 8 minutes a night
I'll be honest, Gudds is awful, I mean he's the 2nd coming of Dana Myrzin (But I love Myrzn for who he is, not for what his Corsi for might have been) but having him on the ice, at a few points this season, things have happened, where the Canucks INITIATED, it had been so many years I forgot what that was like..
I don't know, I do know the whole thing was a set up by Tallon to Troll Benning, and the plan was always to bring him back (Remember the trade LEAK, last summer? That was Tallon telling Gudds not to sign, without risking tampering)
I wish Gudds was at least A LITTLE good at being a defenseman,
Can't we convert him to wing? Play him with the Sedins?
And your right about Horvat, he's no frequent flyer but he's shown the league he's ready to drop em' at a moments notice, Stecher really helped himself to this year, if the other team knows you're willing it does wonders,
Even back when we had Gino, EVERYONE on the Canucks would fight, Except Kirk McClean and Pavel Bure, EVERYONE else fought
Even our mild-mannered President averaged about 2-3 fights a year, Trev was no great fighter, but he knew he had to let guys know, cross this line? it's ON,
