Post-Game Talk: The Canucks: Where wins are made up, and defense doesn’t matter

[Hit the post]

That's a little over the top. You get a GM in here that can inspire and get the players to believe again and it can happen.

Is it over the top? Yes Fredo is willing to spend money (that he inherited); but what decent GM will be willing to work with him knowing how he likes to poke his head into hockey operations? You get guys with no backbone like Jethro Bodine. Thus, firing Jethro Bodine might even make the problem worse if he’s replaced by the likes of Weisbrod.

 

[vanuck]

Is it over the top? Yes Fredo is willing to spend money (that he inherited); but what decent GM will be willing to work with him knowing how he likes to poke his head into hockey operations? You get guys with no backbone like Jethro Bodine.

To me the ideal is that you have a president - someone like Gillis or similar for instance - who can manage up and handle Aquilini's ego/personality. After all, it was possible when Gillis was still here because he was able to actually guide this team to sustained success. Then you have breathing room for whoever comes in as GM to actually rework this roster and solve the most pressing needs (defence, bottom 6).

This all depends on the right people being hired for president and GM of course.

 

[The Optimist]

I'd buy the tired excuse if I didn't see Motte, the hardest working Canuck, busting his butt, every shift, game after game.

Motte should be wearing an A over a guy like Sutter.

 

[Paradise Circus]

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

"Go through that again"

Players acknowledged it was a rebuild before anyone in management did.

Torts on his way out the door acknowledged it.

 

[Hit the post]

There needs to be a'fire Benning' chant next game at the Rog.

Already has been some small initial attempts. Said individuals were told to stop else be evicted from the building.

Benning ain't dumb (he knows how it started under Gillis).

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

Benning is literally Glenn Sturgis from Superstore.

Woefully incompetent, can barely form complete sentences and isn't fit to lead in anything that's not a fictional TV show.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Benning is literally Glenn Sturgis from Superstore.

Woefully incompetent, can barely form complete sentences and isn't fit to lead in anything that's not a fictional TV show.

This is actually a really funny comparison.

 

[I am toxic]

Reminds me of the Calgary line brawl game where after juice got tossed he yelled at his teammates “I don’t wanna see a single guy left in this game by the end of the game”


He was a defensman that took the center face off to brawl a guy bigger than him to stand up for a team mate. Who on this current cluster f*** of a team would do that?

It was a rookie that he covered for, wasnt it?

Eff Hartley, that effer

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

It was a rookie that he covered for, wasnt it?

Eff Hartley, that effer

Bieksa was covering for Kellan Lain, yes. Also part of why Torts lost his god damn mind.

 

[EpochLink]

I actually really love the Holbty signing, I think he's got great character and will help Demko out in the long run.

Indeed, the goaltending hasn’t been an issue this season. This team in front of them has been shit.

 

[EpochLink]

Dude probably wishes he signed in Edmonton

Holtby has his Stanley Cup ring, his Vezina/Jennings and plays couple more seasons with some wins can be on his way to the HOF.

 

[M2Beezy]

No press conference announcement yet??

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Indeed, the goaltending hasn’t been an issue this season. This team in front of them has been shit.

Yep. I’ll say it again for the sake of saying it; I feel really bad for Demko and Holtby. They’ve shown up every night and gotten very, very little support. Both seem like good guys on and off the ice, too, which makes it even tougher to swallow.

 

[MS]

Yep. I’ll say it again for the sake of saying it; I feel really bad for Demko and Holtby. They’ve shown up every night and gotten very, very little support. Both seem like good guys on and off the ice, too, which makes it even tougher to swallow.

Agree and disagree.

I agree that they haven't been 'terrible' and that they've been left out to dry by their teammates. And yes, you do feel a bit for them as good guys who are trying hard.

BUT

This is a bit of the old 'Dan Cloutier Justification' where bad goaltending is excused if the goalie isn't letting in absolutely terrible non-chances and all the goals were 'tough chances'. Good NHL goalies stop a majority of tough chances - and these guys haven't stopped enough. We're getting out of small sample sizes now and a .890 team save % isn't acceptable no matter how poor your defense is. Jacob Markstrom would not have a .890 save % behind this defense.

 

[I am toxic]

don't play team sports eh?

this is normal

It may be common, but it's certainly not the norm, and good organizations work to prevent it.

Players work hard and play.

Coaches coach hard and deal with criticizing players.

Well, unless you are identical twins. Then you can criticize each other all you want.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Agree and disagree.

I agree that they haven't been 'terrible' and that they've been left out to dry by their teammates. And yes, you do feel a bit for them as good guys who are trying hard.

BUT

This is a bit of the old 'Dan Cloutier Justification' where bad goaltending is excused if the goalie isn't letting in absolutely terrible non-chances and all the goals were 'tough chances'. Good NHL goalies stop a majority of tough chances - and these guys haven't stopped enough. We're getting out of small sample sizes now and a .890 team save % isn't acceptable no matter how poor your defense is. Jacob Markstrom would not have a .890 save % behind this defense.

Fair point. Every team needs their goaltender to steal a game for them here and there, and we haven’t really had that at all.

But relying on your goaltender to steal you games as a hockey team is a bad way to approach playing the game.

 

[Fatass]

Fair point. Every team needs their goaltender to steal a game for them here and there, and we haven’t really had that at all.

But relying on your goaltender to steal you games as a hockey team is a bad way to approach playing the game.

Isn’t that exactly what Marky was doing for us though?

 

[MS]

Fair point. Every team needs their goaltender to steal a game for them here and there, and we haven’t really had that at all.

But relying on your goaltender to steal you games as a hockey team is a bad way to approach playing the game.

Oh, absolutely. But it worked when we had Markstrom, and management clearly didn't understand how much of our success was built into his efforts.

Demko/Holtby had a combined sub.-900 save % last season. Perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised that they're struggling. Holtby in particular I don't think has looked very good at all. Demko has at least had a couple solid games.

 

[Canucker]

Agree and disagree.

I agree that they haven't been 'terrible' and that they've been left out to dry by their teammates. And yes, you do feel a bit for them as good guys who are trying hard.

BUT

This is a bit of the old 'Dan Cloutier Justification' where bad goaltending is excused if the goalie isn't letting in absolutely terrible non-chances and all the goals were 'tough chances'. Good NHL goalies stop a majority of tough chances - and these guys haven't stopped enough. We're getting out of small sample sizes now and a .890 team save % isn't acceptable no matter how poor your defense is. Jacob Markstrom would not have a .890 save % behind this defense.

I don't completely disagree, EVERYONE needs to be better including the goalies....BUT how many breakaways have we allowed? How many point blank chances have we given up? We aren't giving up a lot of "soft" goals compared to the grade A chances we've given up...obviously there have been a few softies, but I don't think we were THIS bad in front of Markstrom...and despite being the team MVP last season he allowed a few stinkers himself.

 

[Josepho]

Among goalies with a mimimum 300 minutes:

Both also have more goals allowed than expected. Still somewhat early, shown by the best goalie in the league last season being 5th worst.

He seems like a good guy but the Holtby signing is quietly awful.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Isn’t that exactly what Marky was doing for us though?

You could certainly argue it happened more often than it should have with Markstrom. He stole us more than his fair share of games. But there were nights where the opposite was true (and it needs to be sometimes) as well.

Right now we aren’t really getting either. But unlike most of the team, I at least think Demko and Holtby are in there battling every night.

 

[EpochLink]

Yep. I’ll say it again for the sake of saying it; I feel really bad for Demko and Holtby. They’ve shown up every night and gotten very, very little support. Both seem like good guys on and off the ice, too, which makes it even tougher to swallow.

After seeing Holtby death stare Miller, I have a feeling there gonna drop gloves after the game.

 

[MS]

I don't completely disagree, EVERYONE needs to be better including the goalies....BUT how many breakaways have we allowed? How many point blank chances have we given up? We aren't giving up a lot of "soft" goals compared to the grade A chances we've given up...obviously there have been a few softies, but I don't think we were THIS bad in front of Markstrom...and despite being the team MVP last season he allowed a few stinkers himself.

We weren't quite THIS bad under Markstrom but we weren't far off.

It was a theme over and over again last year that we were badly outchanced and outshot and Markstrom and a hot PP won us the game.

The goalies on last years hapless last-place 17-54 Red Wings team were able to put a .895 on the board, and there's no way our team defense is worse than that team's.

Again, I'm not arguing that they haven't been put in a very poor situation ... but they also haven't played very well, either, outside of a couple games from Demko.

 

[4Twenty]

The Miller effort was poor but not as poor as Holtby’s clearance.