Pros, cons and question marks heading into next season?

[carolinacanuck]

pro - leadership with a clear vision to the future

cons - not enough youth ready to play in the lineup. chris higgins and alex burrows still on the team.

? - markstrom, virtanen, horvat and the sophomore slump.

 

[CCF]

Pros - Lucky enough to watch another season of the Sedins.

Cons/Question Marks - Basically everything else about this team.

 

[banme*]

Pros :

- quality top line
- elite shutdown defensive pairing
- still decent depth through bottom-6

Cons :

- utterly atrocious blueline past top 3 guys. Possibly worst group in NHL 4-7.
- below-average goaltending
- reduced forward depth
- 'fresh start' from new coach last year is gone, dissatisfaction was brewing in last year's playoffs

Question marks :

- can Baertschi provide 2nd line NHL scoring?
- are Clendening and Corrado serviceable full-time NHL players?
- how long until Markstrom outplays Miller?
- can Horvat establish himself as a #2 center? Will Willie give him the chance?

This is a pretty spot on summary. Would maybe just lump all goaltending in question marks as Miller hasn't typically put up the numbers he did last season, but he may be losing it so it's kind of up in the air. Would also question whether poor goaltending is really a con at this point

 

[Nucker101]

Pros:

- Team with lots of character, hard working, and hard to play against. Good coaching too.
- Some great youth, with top prospect Virtanen looking to make the team and other youngsters like Baertschi and Vey.
- Mobile defense with Corrado, Weber, Sbisa, Bartkowski. Should help the transition game.
- Still many veterans on the roster like the Sedins and Hamhuis. Also a veteran calming presence in net with Miller.
- Lots of cap space left to improve the team.

Cons:

- Too many overpaid players like Bonino, Higgins, and Hansen who don't produce for their role.
- The Sedins might not be good enough anymore.
- Little high-end talent on the blueline. A by committee approach will be needed on D, to take advantage of our depth on the position.

Huh?

Did you mean Miller, Sbisa, Dorsett and Prust?

 

[banme*]

Huh?

Did you mean Miller, Sbisa, Dorsett and Prust?

Troll post.

 

[Nuckles]

Huh?

Did you mean Miller, Sbisa, Dorsett and Prust?

...his entire post was sarcasm...

 

[Nucker101]

My bad, carry on.

 

[Basso]

Ryan Effing Miller.

If he's good...
damn it, another middling season.

If he repeats...
hurrah, stealth tank is on!

If he's worse...
#LoseOftenForAuston

#LoseOftenForAuston - Love it !

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Oh yeah, forgot one.

Con: Prust takes the target off Montreal's back and puts it on ours after our first game with national coverage and the broadcast team spends all its time reminding everyone how Prust called out the refs in the press during the playoffs and Alex Burrows still exists.

 

[y2kcanucks]

Pros:

-Bo Horvat


Cons:

-everything else

Question marks:

-Will they make room for younger players? Or will we be stuck with the same veteran team that's proven time and time again they aren't good enough?

 

[Samzilla]

Question mark:
Is this finally the year we beat Dallas?

 

[Wisp]

Question mark:
Is this finally the year we beat Dallas?

after they improved their goaltending, scoring, and defence while our goaltending, scoring, and defense got worse?

 

[Huggy]

Pro's

-Horvat
-Tanking for top 5 pick
-Kenins, Baertschi, Gaunce, Virtanen

Con's

-another year of knowing we suck and can't win games(that frusttration that u want to cheer, but know a lottery pick is needed but still ohping you can go toe to toe with any team in a competitive game but ultimately Sbisa is insurance of Chychryn)
-claiming moves like Lack and Kassian showing to be absolutely horrendous

 

[Tim Calhoun]

Question mark:
Is this finally the year we beat Dallas?

Is this finally the year we lose to the Blues?

 

[VC]

after they improved their goaltending, scoring, and defence while our goaltending, scoring, and defense got worse?

The Canucks are weakening their defense and goaltending to use their tactics against them.

 

[Samzilla]

after they improved their goaltending, scoring, and defence while our goaltending, scoring, and defense got worse?

awwww

Is this finally the year we lose to the Blues?

or the caps?

 

[Brock Boeser]

Pros:
Another year of watching my favorite professional athletes probably finish top 15 in scoring.
Bo Horvat
Edler and Tanev building off last season

Cons
Lots

 

[Pip]

Pros:
Twins
Good top pairing
Penalty Kill
Horvat

Cons:
Goaltending
Defense aside from top pairing and Hamhuis
Forward depth

Question Marks:
Baertschi
Vrbata (can he repeat?)
Bonino - is he more of the first half or last half player we saw last season
Virtanen

 

[fancouver]

PROS:

1) Bo Horvat
2) Jake Virtanen
3) Sven Baertschi
4) Jacob Markstrom
5) Edler-Tanev Pairing

CONS:

1) Not a contender, but management still thinks it is. Will delay rebuild and prevent us from getting a top 5 pick
2) Defence after Edler, Tanev and Hamhuis is weak - expect many goals against!
3) Offence after Sedins is non-existent- expect fewer goals for!
4) 6 million dollar goalie who is below average in stats
5) NTCs in Higgins, Hamhuis, etc. will limit trade value for 2016 draft

QUESTIONS:

1) Has WD learned from 1-2-3-4?
2) How much did the Canucks overachieve last year?
3) Will Linden Vey be a regular or was the 2nd rounder a waste?
4) Will the loss of Richardson affect our defensive play upfront?
5) Will Sedins waive if Canucks fall out of playoff spot?

 

[Eddy Punch Clock]

Cons: We'll be up against the cap and nowhere near the playoffs.

Pros:

 

[Lindgren]

On the ice, the big question marks for me are Markstrom and Baertschi. More important than that, however, is the question of whether management will be willing to trade vets at the deadline.

 

[Trelane]

Biggest question mark heading into 15-16 is what happens with Hamhuis and Vrbata.

Drafting well and often transcends all other considerations. No better way of helping that cause than by getting at least one other 1st. I can understand Hamhuis getting re-signed if none of the young D men take the necessary step forward, but Vrbata will simply not have a better season than he just had and value can only go down.

No matter how the season goes if they both walk or we got some pittance late pick so that the acquiring team can get first dibs on signing rights I'll be supremely vexed.

Pros:
-good forward depth, double digit minutes for all lines, expecting Dorsett and Prust to be split as deemed necessary to spread scrum truculence, 1-2-3-4 forever
Cons:
-poor D depth, season could be sunk if one or more key personal suffer prolong injuries (of course, this should trouble no one)
Up in the air:
-need more goals/improvement from Bonino, Horvat, Vey and Beartschi to compensate for Matthias and vets declining production
-goaltending

 

[Mofletz]

Pros:
Twins
Good top pairing
Penalty Kill
Horvat

Cons:
Goaltending
Defense aside from top pairing and Hamhuis
Forward depth

Question Marks:
Baertschi
Vrbata (can he repeat?)
Bonino - is he more of the first half or last half player we saw last season
Virtanen

IIRC, on his exit interviews he said that his expectations are to play like his 2nd half.

 

[Scurr]

Pros

I see a lot of opportunity for young players the way the team is currently constructed

Sedin-Sedin-Burrows
Higgins-Bonino-Vrbata
Baertschi-Horvat-Hansen
Kenins-Prust-Dorsett
Vey-Virtanen?

Edler-Tanev
Hamhuis-Weber
Sbisa-Clendening
Bartkowski-Corrado

Miller/Markstrom

Not only are there spots on the opening roster but guys like Higgins, Bonino, Weber and Miller are ripe for the picking. If a few of the kids exceed expectations, the team will too.

Potential high pick

Cons

If the kids aren't ready… we might suck. The forwards are probably insulated pretty well for that… but the defence and goaltending are not. The defence could still get some help. Ideally, we'd be getting a lot more insulation for the price we're paying Sbisa and Miller.

Questions

How well can the kids do? If Baertschi and Horvat had really strong seasons and finished above Higgins and Bonino in the lineup…

Sedin-Sedin-Burrows
Baertschi-Horvat-Vrbata
Higgins-Bonino-Hansen
Kenins-Prust-Dorsett
Vey

That'd probably be a pretty exciting lineup to go into the playoffs with up front.

If they struggle… there really isn't anyone else to step up and play those minutes.

Sedin-Sedin-Burrows
Higgins-Bonino-Vrbata
Prust-Horvat-Hansen
Kenins-Vey-Dorsett
Baertschi

That lineup could easily miss the playoffs and have everyone in a panic.

It's much the same on D

Edler-Tanev
Hamhuis-Corrado
Bartkowski-Clendening
Sbisa-Weber

The more pressure from Bartkowski, Corrado and Clendening to get into (and move up) the lineup -the better.

Same kinda thing in goal… though probably more dire. The only real chance that Miller improves on last season is to play less (on average) and that's made really, really tough if Markstrom struggles. On the flip side, Markstrom is coming off of a pretty great AHL season and looks ready for an opportunity at this point. 25-35 strong games are certainly a possibility. That should be enough in a tandem with Miller imo.

Sink or swim with the young guys isn't the worst position for a team in our situation to be in. If they do "tank" it won't be by design, though, and should cost Benning his job. A strong showing by the young guys and the team probably gets him extended. Plus everything in between. Should be interesting.

 

[VanJack]

Pros: Canucks d-core was old, soft, undersized and slow and got burned by the Flames....Benning and Linden vowed to make changes

Cons: With off-season virtually over, Canucks d-corps is still soft, undersized and slow.