Speculation: How fast are the Canucks?

[TruGr1t]

Actual foot speed is not really a strength of this roster. We have some guys with good agility but I think Rutherford is talking about guys like he had in Pittsburgh.

Boeser and Pearson are the only ones with actual foot speed issues I think. Everyone else I’d say is around average with the exception of maybe Motte and Garland.

 

[demonic]

Straight line speed probably average. but laterally speed we have to be in the upper half of the league

I gave Pettersson, Garland, Hoglander and Hughes elite level grades in Agility, and Motte a strong 8, but I think there is a drop off after that. Most of the team is average or below average to my eyes

 

[God]

I'm excited to see what the player tracking (if we ever see the data) shows in terms of player speed. It's been said here already, but looking at speed purely in terms of km/h is wrong - at the NHL level, the differences are largely going to be marginal with few exceptions, and you can sort of artificially insert speed into your lineup through strategic decisions as Rutherford mentioned.

On this team's foward group, I'd really only consider Motte to be fast in a straight line, while Garland and Hoglander are both fast and agile. Pearson and Chiasson stick out to me as being slow in terms of speed and agility, and Boeser is probably in between those two and the rest of the team. I don't find Lammikko to be fast, but he usually covers the ice well enough that he's not left behind in the play.

 

[KingofSurrey]

Canucks this year will be one of the quickest teams......


To get out on the golf course this spring......

Canucks need more heart... more Darcy Rota.....

 

[demonic]

I'm excited to see what the player tracking (if we ever see the data) shows in terms of player speed. It's been said here already, but looking at speed purely in terms of km/h is wrong - at the NHL level, the differences are largely going to be marginal with few exceptions, and you can sort of artificially insert speed into your lineup through strategic decisions as Rutherford mentioned.

Agreed, I'm hopeful that the NHL enters the 21st century in the next couple of years. They are just now starting to measure skating speed, but there is no reason they can't also measure acceleration and even agility, in terms of direction changes and "shiftiness"

 

[Bertuzzzi44]

He said he likes the Canucks skating and wants them to play fast and move the puck quick. Don’t think he wants faster straight-line skating speed, more in terms of faster decision making and playing with quicker pace.

 

[Love]

We are a slow team and I’ve been saying it for years under Benning. Part of the reason why I wasn’t too torn up about letting Toffoli walk.

A top 6 of:

Miller-Pettersson-Boeser
Pearson-Horvat-Toffoli

Would’ve probably been the slowest in the entire NHL. Yes it’s talented but really slow. I understand that now we have guys like Garland, Hoglander, and Podkolzin who kinda bring speed but I was really glad to hear Rutherford say that. It’s something I think we’ve lacked for a long time now.

At the same time I think it could be foreshadowing that Boeser’s career as a Canuck may not be much longer. I love Boeser and just hope the return is great if and when that happens.

Pearson is as good as gone imo. JR traded him once for a reason I don’t see why he wouldn’t do it again.

 

[David71]

would'nt be surprised if rutherford revamps the entire fowards and possibly defense. make it more mobile and fast. in 2010, had erhoff as the only mobile dman. hamhuis was okay. bieska meh. ballard.

 

[lawrence]

would'nt be surprised if rutherford revamps the entire fowards and possibly defense. make it more mobile and fast. in 2010, had erhoff as the only mobile dman. hamhuis was okay. bieska meh. ballard.

he literally said he’s not interested in making any trades yet.

 

[David71]

he literally said he’s not interested in making any trades yet.

yes i know that. give him until january to evaluate everyone. maybe searching for the new gm comes through and then go from there

 

[VanJack]

I find it interesting that Rutherford pointed out that he won't be trading high draft picks like he often did in Pittsburgh. Of course having Malkin and Crosby in your lineup in their prime, means that you're competing for the Cup almost every year, so you're trying to 'add' at the deadline to take another run.

The Canucks are nowhere near that status......and having players playing on entry level contracts is critical for a cap-strapped team like Vancouver.

However I think he'll be looking to shake up this roster with a lot more foot speed. Guys like Chiasson, Pearson, Boeser, Schenn and even Myers might eventually be replaced with younger, faster and cheaper players.

A lot will depend on where the Canucks are at the trade deadline. If they're out of it by then, then 'Trader Jim' will bring the hammer down.

 

[lawrence]

I find it interesting that Rutherford pointed out that he won't be trading high draft picks like he often did in Pittsburgh. Of course having Malkin and Crosby in your lineup in their prime, means that you're competing for the Cup almost every year, so you're trying to 'add' at the deadline to take another run.

The Canucks are nowhere near that status......and having players playing on entry level contracts is critical for a cap-strapped team like Vancouver.

However I think he'll be looking to shake up this roster with a lot more foot speed. Guys like Chiasson, Pearson, Boeser, Schenn and even Myers might eventually be replaced with younger, faster and cheaper players.

A lot will depend on where the Canucks are at the trade deadline. If they're out of it by then, then 'Trader Jim' will bring the hammer down.

Yes vanjack because the penguins were in win now situation unlike the Canuck’s, so for the time being the conditions for us to move high picks is not on the table yet.

 

[KingofSurrey]

Canucks need more of this.... guys that know how to get s.... done...

 

[Pip]

I view speed as I view size. It's great to have, but it's not more important than effectiveness. Jake Virtanen is a prime example. It doesn't matter how fast you are if you don't have a high motor, can't think the game, make quick decisions, or pass.

I'd like too see some time under Boudreau. There are certainly players on this team that are capable of playing fast, and some that aren't. You've done a good job for the most part of identifying these players.

That being said, if you are so slow that you can't keep up with the play at either end then you are probably a detriment.

Luke Schenn must be Neo because he is the one.

Agreed. All else equal obviously you take the faster player but I’m a big proponent of assembling the most talented team possible, regardless of style/identity. Chasing a certain player archetype leads to you giving up value. Exception could be that last piece to put you over the top but we are obviously nowhere near that

 

[M2Beezy]

Yes

 

[Vman]

Fast team like how everyone was talking about how fast Carolina was?

I guess it's their playing style. Carolina did look pretty fast out there, it's like they were always rushing.

 

[MarkMM]

he literally said he’s not interested in making any trades yet.

yes i know that. give him until january to evaluate everyone. maybe searching for the new gm comes through and then go from there

I think he was deliberate in saying he wanted to evaluate things first because it's "different in the dressing room than 3,000 miles away" but I don't think that means he's not planning being aggressive on trades, more he's going to develop his understanding of the team and then we'll see some aggressive moves. I think his specific mention of watching how things unfold through January telegraphed a timeline of when he'd be ready to remake the team in his identity.

I find it interesting that Rutherford pointed out that he won't be trading high draft picks like he often did in Pittsburgh. Of course having Malkin and Crosby in your lineup in their prime, means that you're competing for the Cup almost every year, so you're trying to 'add' at the deadline to take another run.

The Canucks are nowhere near that status......and having players playing on entry level contracts is critical for a cap-strapped team like Vancouver.

However I think he'll be looking to shake up this roster with a lot more foot speed. Guys like Chiasson, Pearson, Boeser, Schenn and even Myers might eventually be replaced with younger, faster and cheaper players.

A lot will depend on where the Canucks are at the trade deadline. If they're out of it by then, then 'Trader Jim' will bring the hammer down.

I appreciated that he was candid that we're not in that "cycle" of where you'd trade high draft picks, politely acknowledging that the Canucks aren't contenders or close to it, and he was openly talking about certain players on this team not being in that age range we'd need for when we'll be competitive. If he had that four hour discussion with FAQ then I would hope that means that FAQ is now on board that there'll need to be changes for the long-term.

Agreed. All else equal obviously you take the faster player but I’m a big proponent of assembling the most talented team possible, regardless of style/identity. Chasing a certain player archetype leads to you giving up value. Exception could be that last piece to put you over the top but we are obviously nowhere near that

I mostly agree, though I do see the benefit of building a team on an identity that you can develop a strategy around that is more than about the best player. For example, an individual player may be more talented but if you have a competitive strength as a fast team then you could build a coaching paradigm and set plays built around the team strength as speed as a group that is more valuable than one individual player's talent, but I do take your point in the risk of this going too far.

 

[Nucker101]

Fast team like how everyone was talking about how fast Carolina was?

I guess it's their playing style. Carolina did look pretty fast out there, it's like they were always rushing.

For sure.

They play fast, I mean they have some great skaters but even their meh skaters look fast in that system.

I like how JR mentioned that ideally he’d like to add more speed but that you can still play fast without having great team speed.

 

[F A N]

I think the ability to play fast is more important than the ability to skate fast. It's not mutually exclusive, but one doesn't necessarily equal the other either.

By and large, it's not worth "upgrading" a core player based on skating abilities.

Of course the team can add more speed throughout the lineup, especially on right-side D.

 

[F A N]

I think he was deliberate in saying he wanted to evaluate things first because it's "different in the dressing room than 3,000 miles away" but I don't think that means he's not planning being aggressive on trades, more he's going to develop his understanding of the team and then we'll see some aggressive moves. I think his specific mention of watching how things unfold through January telegraphed a timeline of when he'd be ready to remake the team in his identity.

Rutherford is known to like hanging out in the locker room. So I can see him wanting to evaluate the chemistry in the room before making moves. He did acquire Gudbranson to help in the room.

It'll be interesting how he does remake the D. In his latter days in Pittsburgh he basically did what Jim wanted to do here: one puckmover paired with a guy who can offer some pushback + guys who are "good in the room."

 

[MS]

Teams can be fast in 3 ways :

1) Raw footspeed - having players who skate fast.

2) Motor/3-zone game/puck pressure - having guys who even if they aren't burners skate miles, hound the puck, and push the play.

3) Puck movement - having guys who can transition the puck and push it up the ice quickly.

We're a slow team in all 3 ways, and have been for pretty much the entire Benning era.

 

[MarkMM]

Rutherford is known to like hanging out in the locker room. So I can see him wanting to evaluate the chemistry in the room before making moves. He did acquire Gudbranson to help in the room.

It'll be interesting how he does remake the D. In his latter days in Pittsburgh he basically did what Jim wanted to do here: one puckmover paired with a guy who can offer some pushback + guys who are "good in the room."

Agreed, he pushed back firmly when asked about regrets on Johnson and Gudbranson, specifically calling out the value they bring in the locker room and physicality that you don't always pick up with analytics while at the same time saying he does value analytics, he came off as thoughtful and balanced to me so I'm feeling good about him so far.

 

[F A N]

Teams can be fast in 3 ways :

1) Raw footspeed - having players who skate fast.

2) Motor/3-zone game/puck pressure - having guys who even if they aren't burners skate miles, hound the puck, and push the play.

3) Puck movement - having guys who can transition the puck and push it up the ice quickly.

We're a slow team in all 3 ways, and have been for pretty much the entire Benning era.

I agree we are slow at #1 and #3 but are we slow at #2? I mean Petey, Miller, Garland, Hoglander, Pods, and Motte are puck hounds. Boeser has gotten better. Horvat, not so much but he plays C. Lammikko is much more noticeable when he's forechecking.

 

[Angry Little Elf]

I don’t think JR meant fast as in skating speed. I think he was referring to decision making. He traded for Phil Kessel who isn’t a very good skater

 

[shottasasa]

Teams can be fast in 3 ways :

1) Raw footspeed - having players who skate fast.

2) Motor/3-zone game/puck pressure - having guys who even if they aren't burners skate miles, hound the puck, and push the play.

3) Puck movement - having guys who can transition the puck and push it up the ice quickly.

We're a slow team in all 3 ways, and have been for pretty much the entire Benning era.

I would add positioning as the 4th and maybe most important. A smart player who is in the right place can seem fast as they're in a position to apply pressure on the puck carrier or break up a passing lane. In my mind, a team cannot play "fast" unless the players know where to be, what to do and, when. Some of that is natural hockey talent or "hockey IQ", but a lot of that is coaching and buy-in to the system they are running.

Teams like Carolina that are well-coached can seem fast because the players are confident in what their doing and play with purpose The Canucks have been too slow because they are not confident in what they're doing. You can see it when they try to transition and take that extra half-second to look around before passing, at which point the opposition has closed the puck carrier or clogged up the obvious passing lanes.