Speculation: Where do YOU think your Vancouver Canucks will finish in the standings this season?

[David Bruce Banner]

If the team stays relatively healthy, and everyone plays at or around their good case scenario potential... the 'Nucks should make the playoffs. If our injury luck is poor and our vet continue to regress and and our youngsters don't pan out, well... we'll suck. Just not bad enough to get any into the top 5 picks.

Sadly, I think the second scenario is more likely. OTOH, I'm optimistic about our long term future.

 

[y2kcanucks]

If the team stays relatively healthy, and everyone plays at or around their good case scenario potential... the 'Nucks should make the playoffs. If our injury luck is poor and our vet continue to regress and and our youngsters don't pan out, well... we'll suck. Just not bad enough to get any into the top 5 picks.

Sadly, I think the second scenario is more likely. OTOH, I'm optimistic about our long term future.

The Canucks don't have the talent to make the playoffs. They would need to stay healthy, have the Sedins return to 80 point players, and would need career years from most of the rest of their lineup. Not going to happen.

In reality there will be a few injuries (no team stays fully healthy). The Sedins will be 50 point players. We'll see some regression out of Bonino and Vrbata from what they did last year. And no one will really step up.

 

[fancouver]

The Canucks don't have the talent to make the playoffs. They would need to stay healthy, have the Sedins return to 80 point players, and would need career years from most of the rest of their lineup. Not going to happen.

In reality there will be a few injuries (no team stays fully healthy). The Sedins will be 50 point players. We'll see some regression out of Bonino and Vrbata from what they did last year. And no one will really step up.

You're really selling the Sedins as low as possible, don't you think?

Henrik managed 50 points playing in a no-offence/blocking shots type of Tortorella system. The Canucks are doing a 180 degree turnaround employing a coach who is known for run and gun offence, and has coached that way since Junior.

90 points might be out of the question, but 70-80 isn't for Henrik. The guy has been going toe-to-toe with Thornton for 4 years straight (last year being an exception).

Plus the team dynamic looks better on paper than last year. I like Bonino at center over Kesler, because "Bonino is a guy that makes players around him better" - Benning.

The team looks good enough for a 7th or 8th place seed. I don't expect them to win it all, but on paper, it's a playoff team.

 

[y2kcanucks]

You're really selling the Sedins as low as possible, don't you think?

Henrik managed 50 points playing in a no-offence/blocking shots type of Tortorella system. The Canucks are doing a 180 degree turnaround employing a coach who is known for run and gun offence, and has coached that way since Junior.

90 points might be out of the question, but 70-80 isn't for Henrik. The guy has been going toe-to-toe with Thornton for 4 years straight (last year being an exception).

Plus the team dynamic looks better on paper than last year. I like Bonino at center over Kesler, because "Bonino is a guy that makes players around him better" - Benning.

The team looks good enough for a 7th or 8th place seed. I don't expect them to win it all, but on paper, it's a playoff team.

Nope. I think people are coming up with as many of excuses as they can for the Sedins. They've been on a decline for years now, I don't see that trend reversing. Their lack of offense was not Tortorella related...they just didn't look very good out there at all. Great players will produce no matter who the coach is, and for them to have such a sharp decline suggests there's more at play than who the coach is.

I don't like Bonino as our 2C at all. His offense was inflated by his gaudy PP numbers riding shotgun to Perry and Getzlaf. We don't have players like that, so I don't see Bonino repeating his numbers from last year no matter what Benning thinks.

It's great that we have a coach who will employ an offensive style, but he doesn't have the calibre of players to be successful that way. We don't have offensive players on this team. We have a ton of 3rd line quality guys, miscast in roles in the top 6.

 

[Canucks LB]

I am pessimistic, I voted bottom 5. Sedins get hurt, Bonino is a 4th line scrub, kassian gets suspended for 20 games, Edler is -80, and Horvat gets demoted to the ECHL.

 

[Shareefruck]

To be fair, Henrik's pace was closer to 60 points than it was to 50 points. I think under a normal, non-catastrophic year (ignoring how much he might decline from last year), he's still a 65 point player.

Can't say I'm as optimistic about Daniel.

 

[Yossarian54]

Looking at Dallas up front is...scary. But take a gander at their blueline group and you might be a bit more hopeful. I think our defensive corps blows theirs out of the water and honestly, it's not even close. That is...if our crew can live up to their ability under Willie D.

Yeah, I agree. If their D implodes I can see us beating them, maybe putting us into the playoffs. I think we are better than Nashville, Phoenix, Calgary and Edmonton. Winnipeg I think we are definitively better than right now, although if they get an actual goalie I would back them to be equal or better than us.

But, let us see what happens.

 

[opendoor]

People hoping for players to automatically score more without Tortorella might want to look at how New York's top players fared after Vigneault took over (hint: most of them actually scored less). Blaming the coach for players not being able to score is a cop out.

If the Sedins bounce back it'll be because they're healthy again. On the other hand if Henrik plays half the year while injured like he did in 13-14, I don't see them having a big improvement regardless of how "uptempo" the Canucks' system is.

 

[Virtanen2Horvat]

Daniel(55) - Henrik(75) - Vrbata(57)
Burrows(48) - Bonino(46) - Kassian(42)
Higgins(39) - Horvat?(29) - Vey(32)
Matthias(29) - Richardson(27) - Hansen(32)/Dorsett(12)

Hamhuis(26) - Bieksa(24)
Edler(28) - Tanev(22)
Sbisa(18) - Stanton(20)

Those are my point totals.

 

[Fat Tony]

I am pessimistic, I voted bottom 5.

That might be considered optimistic. It's a good year to suck.

 

[Shareefruck]

People hoping for players to automatically score more without Tortorella might want to look at how New York's top players fared after Vigneault took over (hint: most of them actually scored less). Blaming the coach for players not being able to score is a cop out.

If the Sedins bounce back it'll be because they're healthy again. On the other hand if Henrik plays half the year while injured like he did in 13-14, I don't see them having a big improvement regardless of how "uptempo" the Canucks' system is.

The team wasn't a disaster just by virtue of Tortorella being a guaranteed disaster year in year out, otherwise we never would have hired him. He was uncharacteristically poor as a coach last season, even by his recent low standards with the Rangers.

I don't think it's unreasonable to think that certain players will play better in a less toxic environment (which I think it was after Tortorella's whole rushing into the dressing room thing and not before it).

 

[Wilch]

Daniel(55) - Henrik(75) - Vrbata(57)
Burrows(48) - Bonino(46) - Kassian(42)
Higgins(39) - Horvat?(29) - Vey(32)
Matthias(29) - Richardson(27) - Hansen(32)/Dorsett(12)

Hamhuis(26) - Bieksa(24)
Edler(28) - Tanev(22)
Sbisa(18) - Stanton(20)

Those are my point totals.

Nobody is getting those kind of numbers playing on the fourth line.

 

[Aydnuck]

It's hard. I look at the fact that we're running with a new coach and a new GM this year and that alone is reason enough to lower your expectations. Now add in the fact that we're running with a very different team than last year's (one with a whole lot of question marks), and I wouldn't blame anyone for putting this team in the bottom 6-10. On the other hand though? We really aren't THAT far away.

The Sedins have a much better linemate in Vrbata and have had the whole summer to recover and renenergize. We have two really good goalies who are at least better than what we were running with by the end of last season. We now have a coach who not only employs a much more offense-based style but we have a coach who is basically everything that Tortorella wasn't, and I don't think I'm wrong in saying that that is exactly what we need. Heck, a lot of our problems last year came in the form of injuries and while it's hard to say that the injury bug won't bite us again? How do you know it won't?

I'm not saying the Canucks are going to be juggernauts this season because I think we all know the chances of that. But what I am saying is that there's no reason to count them out just yet.

 

[Fat Tony]

But what I am saying is that there's no reason to count them out just yet.

You gave a few reasons right at the start of your post.

 

[biturbo19]

Yeah, I agree. If their D implodes I can see us beating them, maybe putting us into the playoffs. I think we are better than Nashville, Phoenix, Calgary and Edmonton. Winnipeg I think we are definitively better than right now, although if they get an actual goalie I would back them to be equal or better than us.

But, let us see what happens.

Seriously, the Stars look absolutely stacked up front. They essentially have two 1st lines between the Benn-Seguin, and Spezza-Hemsky duos. You can throw out whoever alongside them and you're got two 1st lines basically.

But their blueline looks Oilers level.

Their top-4 looks something like:

Dillon
Goligoski
Daley
Gonchar?

And beyond that it's some mishmash of questionmarks like:

Benn (the brother, not the good one who plays forward).
Nemeth
Connauton (remember this guy?)
Klingberg
Gaunce (Brendan's less heralded Bro)

or the young guys who probably aren't ready:

Oleksiak
Bystrom
Honka


I mean i give Nill a huge amount of credit for what he's done with that team in a short amount of time, and what he's built up front is extremely formidable. But that blueline is just ugly.

And the Stars are among the teams that most people seem to think we're going to be in competition with/lose out to for that wildcard playoff spot?

 

[Yossarian54]

Seriously, the Stars look absolutely stacked up front. They essentially have two 1st lines between the Benn-Seguin, and Spezza-Hemsky duos. You can throw out whoever alongside them and you're got two 1st lines basically.

But their blueline looks Oilers level.

Yeah, I realise that.

But this is also a team that did take the 8th spot this year, with that same defence. The only loss is a 37 year old Robidas who only played 24 games in any case.

Then you add the forwards that they have brought in.

 

[Serac]

I think we're a bubble team personally

From my viewpoint I see:
Chicago, St. Louis, Minnesota, Dallas
Having good seasons, provided Minnesota actually stabilizes their goalie situation
I see Colorado falling off a bit without Stastny, and I see Varly not having as great a season, as well as I think Mackinnon might have a bit of a sophomore slump as much as I love the guy (also an unhappy O'Reilly)

LA, Anaheim really being the top teams in the pacific

I think we'll battle it out with San Jose for the third seed in the pacific
And if they knock us out, we'll battle with the aforementioned Avs or Nashville for the wild cards

 

[y2kcanucks]

I think we're a bubble team personally

From my viewpoint I see:
Chicago, St. Louis, Minnesota, Dallas
Having good seasons, provided Minnesota actually stabilizes their goalie situation
I see Colorado falling off a bit without Stastny, and I see Varly not having as great a season, as well as I think Mackinnon might have a bit of a sophomore slump as much as I love the guy (also an unhappy O'Reilly)

LA, Anaheim really being the top teams in the pacific

I think we'll battle it out with San Jose for the third seed in the pacific
And if they knock us out, we'll battle with the aforementioned Avs or Nashville for the wild cards

Lol what makes you think MacKinnon will slump? The guy was a certified beast in the playoffs. He's going to get better and better.

San Jose is no better this year than last, but I don't think they've gotten much worse either. We'll still be their *****es this season.

 

[Serac]

Lol what makes you think MacKinnon will slump? The guy was a certified beast in the playoffs. He's going to get better and better.

San Jose is no better this year than last, but I don't think they've gotten much worse either. We'll still be their *****es this season.

Bit of a hunch
Like I said, I love the guy, but I feel he'll slump
Maybe the guys around him may cause him to falter

I see SJ falling hard if the right things pop up
Unhappy vets in Thornton and Marleau given trade talks
Possible Niemi trade (though they may get a better goalie)
And bottom 6 guys who can't even skate

Though personally, I can see Edmonton making a pudh this year (which I mean...people have said for years, but I digress)

 

[Scurr]

Nope. I think people are coming up with as many of excuses as they can for the Sedins. They've been on a decline for years now, I don't see that trend reversing. Their lack of offense was not Tortorella related...they just didn't look very good out there at all. Great players will produce no matter who the coach is, and for them to have such a sharp decline suggests there's more at play than who the coach is.

I don't like Bonino as our 2C at all. His offense was inflated by his gaudy PP numbers riding shotgun to Perry and Getzlaf. We don't have players like that, so I don't see Bonino repeating his numbers from last year no matter what Benning thinks.

It's great that we have a coach who will employ an offensive style, but he doesn't have the calibre of players to be successful that way. We don't have offensive players on this team. We have a ton of 3rd line quality guys, miscast in roles in the top 6.

http://www.behindthenet.ca/nhl_stat...3+5+4+6+7+8+13+14+29+30+32+33+34+45+46+63+67#

Henrik still dominated possession in an injury filled, gong show year where he "just didn't look good out there at all".

 

[arsmaster*]

Lol what makes you think MacKinnon will slump? The guy was a certified beast in the playoffs. He's going to get better and better.

San Jose is no better this year than last, but I don't think they've gotten much worse either. We'll still be their *****es this season.

Mackinnon picked up all his points in the playoffs in home games. two 3 point games and a 4 point game.

He had no points and a -6 in the last two games of the series.

He's an immense talent, but he didn't pick up points in the majority of the series games. I don't think he'll regress, and I agree that he was a beast in 3 playoff games, but was pretty bad when his coach couldn't dictate the matchups.

He'll score 70 points, but I think you're being purposefully dismissive of what the Sedins, especially Henrik can provide. He scored 40 points in the first 45 games last season, then the team hit the crapper. I don't believe we'll ever again see a 14 game pointless streak by Henrik either.

Don't want to get into Daniel.

These guys aren't 50 point guys...yet. I posted a similar reply on the trade thread if you care to read it.


I'm like you and I can't wait for the days the Sedins are gone as the team will never change until they are, but you sell them short a lot.

 

[y2kcanucks]

http://www.behindthenet.ca/nhl_stat...3+5+4+6+7+8+13+14+29+30+32+33+34+45+46+63+67#

Henrik still dominated possession in an injury filled, gong show year where he "just didn't look good out there at all".

Yay we win the Corsi cup!!!

 

[Scurr]

Yay we win the Corsi cup!!!

We don't... Henrik does. He's still a great player.

 

[NYVanfan]

Yay we win the Corsi cup!!!

prior to last year henrik had 8 straight seasons averaging PPG, and his last 3 were 77 (prorated), 81 and 94.

last year he was on PPG thru Nov, and 73 pt pace into Jan, when everything went into the toilet for the whole team, and then he sustained injuries.

but now he's just a 50-pt player going forward, because ... you don't like him?

 

[Jyrki21]

The poll options are really confusing. I thought "bottom 11-15" would mean the final 11-15th places in the league (and would overlap with bottom 5, etc.), when what is really meant is places 16-20.

If it's laid out in this weird symmetrical "two halves" style, it should probably say "bottom 15-11" anyway...