How Do We Fix The Defense?

[Lackhalak]

Keep it simple for next year,

Edler - Tanev
Hutton - Stetcher
Hughes - Stralman
Juolevi - Biega
Brisebois - Chatfeild
Sautner - xxxxx
Teves - Eliot

Just acquire Stralman for 2 years to avoid the expansion draft and maybe an AHL RD.

 

[Orr4Norris]

I would like to see the team stay the course and continue to develop from within when it comes to the D. Of course this means that we’re going to have a weak defence next year as well, but I think that is still a better option than overpaying for an average defenceman like Edmonton and Toronto did. It’s not like this team is going to be a contender next year anyway.

We have Hughes joining us now and he should really help the transition game. Hutton and Stecher have both taken steps forward this season. Brisebois and Sautner can fight for a depth position in camp. Juolevi can be the first call up option.

It would be great to get someone like Trouba. If you can sign Gardiner then consider it. If EK is willing to come here, then sure. But all three of those might be pipe dreams. And I would be careful about overpaying one of them to get them here.

 

[VanJack]

Keep it simple for next year,

Edler - Tanev
Hutton - Stetcher
Hughes - Stralman
Juolevi - Biega
Brisebois - Chatfeild
Sautner - xxxxx
Teves - Eliot

Just acquire Stralman for 2 years to avoid the expansion draft and maybe an AHL RD.

Simply adding a guy like Stralman is going to fix this blueline? Seriously?

The only guys I'd bring back for sure are Stecher, Hutton and Biega as an affordable depth option. If Edler wants more than two years, they should just let him walk. And Tanev should have been traded two years ago. As the injuries pile up, he's less and less reliable as a top pairing guy. And he's a UFA at the end of next season anyway.

Hughes is an automatic. And Juolevi gets a long look. But after that, it's wide open. Canucks will have little choice but to beat the bushes and overpay in free agency. Unless of course they roll the dice with the current group and then would almost guarantied of missing the playoffs yet again.

How is arguably the worst blueline in the entire NHL going to miraculously improve over a few summer months?

 

[Cogburn]

Stralman I like.

A player like Coburn could be an experiment as well. Fast, big and not a total liability in his own end (and if he too bombs I'm blaming the coaching staff this time).

Karlsson would be an obvious choice if he makes it to free agency...and gets a hard sell on the city by the twins, or Naslund, or Pettersson, or someone.

I'd take a shot at Nashville too. Of the cap hits 85 then they have 10 million to sign 3 forwards, to deal with Watson's return, and have 3 players on the IR presently and 2 rental players to replace. Could Subban be moved?

Deal with the big fish first if you can, if not we're two top 4 D away from not being terrible. If we can get a top pairing D as one of them we might even look decent.

I'd like to see us carry 2011 levels of D too. 8 guys, rotating to help carry the load, but even bottom pairing guys able to play regular top six minutes. The cup run had Ehrhoff, Edler, Hamhuis, Bieksa, Salo, Tanev, Alberts, Rome and probably a few guys I'm forgetting. That's 8 regulars, 5 of which were easily top four guys, one finding his way to the NHL, and two bottom pairing guys. If any of Pouliot, Brisebois, Sautner, Biega and Schenn count as Alberts or Rome or Tanev at the time, swell, but I don't see it.

Edler-Tanev
X-Y
Hutton-Stetcher
Hughes-Biega

If Hughes is instantly top 4 material, swell, bit that's still two top four guys I think we need.

 

[VanJack]

You know if the Canucks had taken a swing on a veteran d-man in free agency and whiffed, you could understand and resign yourself to it. But they keep throwing money and term at FA forwards like Eriksson Gagner, Schaller and Beagle. They were 'bad contracts' before the ink dried on them.

I could actually live with Benning and Canucks rolling the dice on a UFA blueliner to try and address their biggest weakness. But enough, already, of these lackluster veteran forwards who land on the most expensive fourth line in all of hockey.

 

[CanuckleBerry]

This is an oversimplification, but simply having competent D that can remain healthy for 70+ games would go a long way...

 

[Get North]

This is an oversimplification, but simply having competent D that can remain healthy for 70+ games would go a long way...

Agreed. It's meaning less to pencil in Edler and Tanev as a top pairing when they might play 20 games together. Same goes for Sutter, yeah our centers are strong when we're healthy, but Sutter is barely in the line-up so Beagle/Gaudette was basically our 3rd line center all year.

 

[BROCK HUGHES]

Keep it simple for next year,

Edler - Tanev
Hutton - Stetcher
Hughes - Stralman
Juolevi - Biega
Brisebois - Chatfeild
Sautner - xxxxx
Teves - Eliot

Just acquire Stralman for 2 years to avoid the expansion draft and maybe an AHL RD.

Can not do another year of Edler and Tanev as our 1 and 2...they will always be out of the line up and when that happens it's a nightmare.Totally time to say good bye.

 

[Cogburn]

This is an oversimplification, but simply having competent D that can remain healthy for 70+ games would go a long way...

If we have 8 top six caliber players than I want to see us cycle healthy players in and out of the line up for maintenance days. I don't think goalies are the only players that have trouble with back to backs and other extended high intensity parts of the schedule.

 

[Cogburn]

Can not do another year of Edler and Tanev as our 1 and 2...they will always be out of the line up and when that happens it's a nightmare.Totally time to say good bye.

We need to improve our top pairing for sure.

Dropping Edler or Tanev strictly for injury concerns isn't the right logic though. We break iron men. Ballard and Hamhuis were healthy as horses before getting here. Other relatively healthy players (especially D) seem to come here and magically replace their bones with glass.

I say it's the travel schedule. Depth is also a contributor (see my above post about cycling D regularly). Our style of defense and how we block shots is another problem. If we we fix the two off ice issues and get a proper corps going I have no problem with Edler and Tanev on this team.

If we're going to rely on them playing 30 minutes a night if Hutton or Stetcher get injured (with no supplemental depth added) then we have a real problem that has nothing to do with them.

 

[MS]

Honestly, flushing Gudbranson and Pouliot and replacing them with Biega and Hughes in our top 6 is like 80% of the battle.

 

[Tim Calhoun]

I was looking at potential under the radar UFA options this summer:

Jan Rutta
Ben Chiarot
Patrik Nemeth

Thoughts?

 

[MS]

I was looking at potential under the radar UFA options this summer:

Jan Rutta
Ben Chiarot
Patrik Nemeth

Thoughts?

Chiarot is probably a better player than Myers ... would be a great target if he was a RHS, but he isn’t.

 

[Peter Griffin]

They need to seriously look at moving Tanev at the draft for the best pick they can get. He's far too injury prone at this point and they need to look into moving on from him now.

 

[Phenomenon13]

We fix it with the draft. I no longer trust Benning's pro scouting work. There's no quick fix through free agency anyways. We need to draft an entire top pairing defense and then build around that.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

We take out the defense we have.
And we put in a different defense.
Then the defense will be fixed.

 

[MS]

They need to seriously look at moving Tanev at the draft for the best pick they can get. He's far too injury prone at this point and they need to look into moving on from him now.

I disagree that having a beast of a defensive defender for 0 games instead of 50 games somehow improves us on the back end.

 

[Cancuks]

The problem is that is screws up the pairings and lack of cohesion on the squad. Stecher is forced to play as a #1 which he's not. Every year Edler and Tanev go down and imagine if we're actually having a good season and in a playoff race when they do. It's like playing roulette with two bullets. Need younger more healthy guys who can bounce back after injury and play through pain.

 

[Lackhalak]

Simply adding a guy like Stralman is going to fix this blueline? Seriously?

The only guys I'd bring back for sure are Stecher, Hutton and Biega as an affordable depth option. If Edler wants more than two years, they should just let him walk. And Tanev should have been traded two years ago. As the injuries pile up, he's less and less reliable as a top pairing guy. And he's a UFA at the end of next season anyway.

Hughes is an automatic. And Juolevi gets a long look. But after that, it's wide open. Canucks will have little choice but to beat the bushes and overpay in free agency. Unless of course they roll the dice with the current group and then would almost guarantied of missing the playoffs yet again.

How is arguably the worst blueline in the entire NHL going to miraculously improve over a few summer months?

I dont want the canucks to over pay in free agency, its proven to be a bad idea. trading for GOOD defence men is next to impossible. i suggest less is more, keep Edler and Hutton while also bringing in Starlman but make sure all sign for no more than 2 years (expansion draft reasons).

 

[Jeffrey Pedler]

Your team just has to be patient. The Canucks may have found their Suter and Weber in Hughes and Woo.

 

[me2]

Aside from EK, Gardiner is really the only useful defenseman out there. His age is a concern though. By the time we can actually contend, he'll be past his prime. For that reason, I'd shy away.

Myers is a huge no-no, but he's definitely the kind of guy Jim-John would target, so I won't be surprised (but still horrified) when they offer him 5.5x5 in the summer.

I like the Trouba idea above. After the draft, I think the best route might just be an offer sheet though.

We'll just turn out like the Sens after the Duchene trade, a bad team giving up an unprotected 1st.

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

They need to seriously look at moving Tanev at the draft for the best pick they can get. He's far too injury prone at this point and they need to look into moving on from him now.

Tanev plays the tough d-zone starts (70%), plus the PK...I don't think they should move him, but they certainly need to find another smart, responsible defensive d-man to take the load off.

His injury history has now devalued him considerably..may as well keep him.

 

[TruGr1t]

I really think the only way to do it is through the draft. You aren't getting legit, top-pairing guys otherwise. We look to have some players with decent depth potential in Hutton and Stecher.

Hughes may be one, but you still need at least another marquee guy on the back end. I don't think you get that anywhere except the draft.

It's looking like a foregone conclusion Tanev and Edler will be back, but I expect them to become even more injury prone moving ahead. So you can probably count on them for less and less games.

 

[passive voice]

Love Tanev and Edler, and hope they're back next year, but we just can't expect them to be two top-four defencemen. Count on them being 1.3 top-four defencemen and be delighted with any surplus.

 

[BeardyCanuck03]

Without making a major trade (which is the right thing to do) or signing Karlsson there isn't a quick fix.

Canucks need to take some swings on the players who have been under utilized in other organizations and hope they can turn into good dmen for them while players like Juolevi, Woo and others develop.

Tim Heed is a player who they should sign in the summer and give a legit shot. They need a right shot offensive damn and he's that.

Next season
Hutton-Stecher
Hughes-Tanev
Edler-Heed

With the plan to replace Edler and Tanev with Juolevi and Woo in 1-2 years