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

[Virtanen2Horvat]

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

Richardson got 22 points.

Matthias combined for 23 points.

Hansen got 20 but he had a rough year under Torts and is only 28.

So don't say they can't reach those numbers, especially if Willie is an offensive coach and this team is going in as a 4 line team. Maybe Hansen's numbers are a little high and could be lowered with him and Dorsett switching but full time those are the points that they will get.

 

[canucksfan]

St Louis
Anaheim
La
Chicago
Colorado
Dallas
San Jose
Minnesota

Nashville
Phoenix
Vancouver
Edmonton
Calgary
Winnipeg

It is realistic if all four Canadian teams are the worst teams in the west. Winnipeg is in a tough division. Edmonton and Calgary aren't very good. Vancouver isn't much better.

 

[y2kcanucks]

It is realistic if all four Canadian teams are the worst teams in the west. Winnipeg is in a tough division. Edmonton and Calgary aren't very good. Vancouver isn't much better.

I actually have Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver really close (throw Phoenix in there too). Winnipeg IMO is the worst team in the West. They're a mess.

 

[arsmaster*]

Richardson got 22 points.

Matthias combined for 23 points.

Hansen got 20 but he had a rough year under Torts and is only 28.

So don't say they can't reach those numbers, especially if Willie is an offensive coach and this team is going in as a 4 line team. Maybe Hansen's numbers are a little high and could be lowered with him and Dorsett switching but full time those are the points that they will get.

Matthias, Hansen, and Richardson all played a lot more than 4th line minutes on this team last year.

You could say all of them received 2/3 line tweener minutes might 2/3 line tweener players. Hansen played a ton with the Twins and Kesler also.

If they're playing 10-12 minutes a game, I don't see any way they score close to 30 points.

 

[Serac]

At the very least, Phoen...Arizona, travels more than us this season, with them icing a not-so-great team this season, there's less worry there

 

[fancouver]

The big 3:

1) LA
2) Chicago
3) Anaheim

The darkhorse:

4) St. Louis

The mid 4

5) Colorado
6) San Jose
7) Dallas
8) Vancouver

The 'oh so close'

9) Minnesota
10) Phoenix

The no chance

11) Nashville
12) Calgary
13) Winnipeg
14) Edmonton

-----

So on paper, I think the Canucks need to play better than Minnesota, Phoenix and possibly Nashville. There's also a strong chance Dallas and San Jose drop, so I see playoffs for the Canucks.

Get past the first round against LA and it may be another Cinderella cup run.

 

[LickTheEnvelope]

Matthias, Hansen, and Richardson all played a lot more than 4th line minutes on this team last year.

You could say all of them received 2/3 line tweener minutes might 2/3 line tweener players. Hansen played a ton with the Twins and Kesler also.

If they're playing 10-12 minutes a game, I don't see any way they score close to 30 points.

Hansen played a ludicrous amount of PP minutes last season.

 

[Aydnuck]

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

Alright. I know I didn't exactly articulate enough with regards to my last post and saying that there was 'no' reason didn't exactly help my cause. At the end of the day, all I'm saying is that while there are reasons why we could possibly be worse next season, there are also a bunch of reasons why we could be better as well. More importantly? None of them are definite. And until there is a definite reason why we can't make the playoffs this upcoming season, I don't see why anyone should count the Canucks out. But hey, to each his own.

 

[Serac]

The big 3:

1) LA
2) Chicago
3) Anaheim

The darkhorse:

4) St. Louis

The mid 4

5) Colorado
6) San Jose
7) Dallas
8) Vancouver

The 'oh so close'

9) Minnesota
10) Phoenix

The no chance

11) Nashville
12) Calgary
13) Winnipeg
14) Edmonton

Everytime I say Nashville has no chance, Rinne always has to prove me wrong, so I think they may push
I think Edmonton makes a small step but don't see them as too much better
Winnipeg is a team I just have to take pity on
Calgary essentially signed an advance on McDavid with their Engelland signing

 

[Yossarian54]

Winnipeg is a team I just have to take pity on

It is just baffling to me that they persist with Pavalec. He has given them league average goaltending only 1 year out of the 5 he has been a starter.

Give them league average goaltending and they let in 23 less goals last year, which is probably what, 8-10 points in the standings - enough to put them in the playoffs.

Their top-4 D is solid with the emergence of Trouba and their top two lines are nothing to sneer at. They will not make anything until they get better goaltending.

Sorry about the tangent.

 

[biturbo19]

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.

That's fair enough i guess.

I just think the odds of such a garbage defence repeating that sort of success from last year are long. It just doesn't seem sustainable...likely to trend in a negative direction.

Just as i think the odds of our team's offense being so horrifically depressed are long (at least, the Sedins and the blueline specifically). It just doesn't seem sustainable...likely to trend in a positive direction.

Combine those two things, and i think we've got a shot at the playoffs. Or i'm wrong and the Sedins continue to suck, and the Stars patchwork defence somehow holds together...and we're a lottery team.

Could be either.

 

[NYVanfan]

It is just baffling to me that they persist with Pavalec. He has given them league average goaltending only 1 year out of the 5 he has been a starter.

Give them league average goaltending and they let in 23 less goals last year, which is probably what, 8-10 points in the standings - enough to put them in the playoffs.

Their top-4 D is solid with the emergence of Trouba and their top two lines are nothing to sneer at. They will not make anything until they get better goaltending.

Sorry about the tangent.

Ya youd think they would want a Lack or Markstrom deal.... But they seem satisfied w the young guy coming behind pav (fans on their board, that is.)

I wonder if theres any truth in that rumour that we offered mark, shink, 1st (&Burr?) for Kane, but they countered w Horvat?

 

[torlev*]

I should point out that cratering hard last season had them finishing in the bottom 6-10, which is where you picked them for next season.

6th worst to be precise. The worst of that range. And with a couple of trades for futures, could easily go lower.

Which is a great thing I think. Especially this year.

 

[Samzilla]

Hansen played a ludicrous amount of PP minutes last season.

well our pp was so bad last year, we can rule out him having gotten his points there

 

[Shareefruck]

Matthias, Hansen, and Richardson all played a lot more than 4th line minutes on this team last year.

You could say all of them received 2/3 line tweener minutes might 2/3 line tweener players. Hansen played a ton with the Twins and Kesler also.

If they're playing 10-12 minutes a game, I don't see any way they score close to 30 points.

I agree, but a counter-example I CAN think of is eye-injury Malhotra. He had around 20 points playing 4th line minutes and rarely moving up the lineup.

 

[Shareefruck]

Alright. I know I didn't exactly articulate enough with regards to my last post and saying that there was 'no' reason didn't exactly help my cause. At the end of the day, all I'm saying is that while there are reasons why we could possibly be worse next season, there are also a bunch of reasons why we could be better as well. More importantly? None of them are definite. And until there is a definite reason why we can't make the playoffs this upcoming season, I don't see why anyone should count the Canucks out. But hey, to each his own.

More forced neutrality/optimism, IMO. That's sort of a weird dynamic on these boards that's getting really annoying to me, personally.

There are reasons to "doubt" their ability to compete next season. That's all anyone is really doing. Nothing is ever definite, that shouldn't stop people from being optimistic OR pessimistic about how they're currently feeling about the season.

In my opinion, the reasons that could lead to us being better probably puts us barely competing for a playoff spot with an early exit if things play out favourably for us. I'm actually sort of optimistic that this might happen (or pessimistic, depending on how you look at it), but yeah.... I definitely disagree with your sentiment here.

 

[Scurr]

I agree, but a counter-example I CAN think of is eye-injury Malhotra. He had around 20 points playing 4th line minutes and rarely moving up the lineup.

If the 4th line plays 10 minutes at even strength a game and they can manage to play 80 games… that's 800 minutes.

800 minutes / 60 minutes = 13.333

20 points / 13.33 = 1.5 P/60

Matthias 10/11 1.42 P/60 11/12 1.41 P/60 12/13 1.64 P/60 13/14 1.67 P/60

Richardson 10/11 1.5 P/60 11/12 0.61 P/60 12/13 2.2 P/60 (16gp) 13/14 1.12 P/60

Dorsett 10/11 0.96 P/60 11/12 1.04 P/60 12/13 1.67 P/60 13/14 0.93 P/60

 

[y2kcanucks]

The big 3:

1) LA
2) Chicago
3) Anaheim

The darkhorse:

4) St. Louis

The mid 4

5) Colorado
6) San Jose
7) Dallas
8) Vancouver

The 'oh so close'

9) Minnesota
10) Phoenix

The no chance

11) Nashville
12) Calgary
13) Winnipeg
14) Edmonton

-----

So on paper, I think the Canucks need to play better than Minnesota, Phoenix and possibly Nashville. There's also a strong chance Dallas and San Jose drop, so I see playoffs for the Canucks.

Get past the first round against LA and it may be another Cinderella cup run.

LOL. How the hell are the Canucks in the same grouping as San Jose, Dallas and Colorado? How are the Canucks in a grouping better than Minnesota?

I say bump Minnesota up one. Bump Nashville into Minnesota's old group, and drop Vancouver two groupings to Nashville's spot and you'd be correct.

I really don't get what people see in this Canucks team. Maybe it's being optimistic because you hate the idea of going into a season with no chance of winning, but let's face reality. This is a mediocre team at best. Probably not bad enough to get one of the studs in the draft, but it's not a playoff calibre team. We don't have the talent, so unless Willie D can make chicken soup out of chicken **** (and some coaches can so who knows?) this team isn't going to be very good.

 

[Virtanen2Horvat]

Matthias, Hansen, and Richardson all played a lot more than 4th line minutes on this team last year.

You could say all of them received 2/3 line tweener minutes might 2/3 line tweener players. Hansen played a ton with the Twins and Kesler also.

If they're playing 10-12 minutes a game, I don't see any way they score close to 30 points.

Matthias and Richardson can get in the 20's. If you look at Hansen's point totals over the seasons they have all been fairly close to 30 points. Heck the teams had such a rough year under Torts and he manages to get 20 points. I think if Willie D gets this team back in it he will score around 30 points and this is a 4 line team.

 

[opendoor]

If the 4th line plays 10 minutes at even strength a game and they can manage to play 80 games… that's 800 minutes.

800 minutes / 60 minutes = 13.333

20 points / 13.33 = 1.5 P/60

Matthias 10/11 1.42 P/60 11/12 1.41 P/60 12/13 1.64 P/60 13/14 1.67 P/60

Richardson 10/11 1.5 P/60 11/12 0.61 P/60 12/13 2.2 P/60 (16gp) 13/14 1.12 P/60

Dorsett 10/11 0.96 P/60 11/12 1.04 P/60 12/13 1.67 P/60 13/14 0.93 P/60

Just to put those numbers into points terms, if you take those guys' scoring rate over the last 4 seasons combined, here's how many points that translates to in an 800 minute season:

Matthias: 19

Richardson: 16

Dorsett: 14

Those numbers seem reasonable. Ones that have them getting totals in the high 20s do not IMO.

And of course playing the 4th line 10 minutes a night at ES has its effects up the lineup as well since it reduces everyone else's minutes. A guy like Higgins is likely going to score less playing 12 ES minutes a night compared to the 14.5 he got last year. He could easily see a drop of 5-10 points even if he maintains his scoring rate, simply due to reduced minutes.

 

[biturbo19]

Just to put those numbers into points terms, if you take those guys' scoring rate over the last 4 seasons combined, here's how many points that translates to in an 800 minute season:

Matthias: 19

Richardson: 16

Dorsett: 14

Those numbers seem reasonable. Ones that have them getting totals in the high 20s do not IMO.

And of course playing the 4th line 10 minutes a night at ES has its effects up the lineup as well since it reduces everyone else's minutes. A guy like Higgins is likely going to score less playing 12 ES minutes a night compared to the 14.5 he got last year. He could easily see a drop of 5-10 points even if he maintains his scoring rate, simply due to reduced minutes.

I think when you're talking in reference to last year's minute distribution and projecting from there...you have to consider the diminishing returns of overplaying some of the top guys. Playing them more, but getting less out of those minutes. There seemed to be a lot of that with Tortorella.

In any event, i think getting some better contributions from the blueline again is a somewhat overlooked factor that would be a big boost to the offensive production overall. That's one area where there's a lot of room for improvement. That, and hopefully our "top players" up front getting back to more normal scoring levels are really what will make or break the season for this team i think. 4th liners scoring + or - 5 pts a piece or whatever is something that obviously has an impact overall, but it's fairly limited in scope compared to the other aspects, when we're talking potential ~20pt+ swings for some other guys.

 

[GPNuck]

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...

ya i thought of that after I did it. Sorry.

 

[Hardyvan123]

it a joke someone would vote bottom 6-10.........

Not as big of a joke as the 4 guys who voted top 5 teams or heck even all the top 10 guys voting.

Ask yourself this are the Canucks a better looking team going into this season than last season?

And where did we end up last season...?

too many conference games against teams much better than us makes it a bottom 6-10 year IMO, if things go badly ie injuries ect a bottom isn't out of the question either.

 

[MikeK]

Not as big of a joke as the 4 guys who voted top 5 teams or heck even all the top 10 guys voting.

Ask yourself this are the Canucks a better looking team going into this season than last season?

And where did we end up last season...?

too many conference games against teams much better than us makes it a bottom 6-10 year IMO, if things go badly ie injuries ect a bottom isn't out of the question either.

Exactly. At the end of the day, the games are played on the ice, but the team is no where close to being improved on last years team.

Being optimistic is one thing, but being a blind lemming is another. I can see this years boards being a nightmare for some of us because they are so blind and refuse to realize the team is way past their prime years with very little infusion of youthful talent to support the crossover. The only up side I see from all of this is that we should have high draft picks for the next few years.

 

[Stanley as in Cup]

It is funny to always see the same teams as last year put close to where they finished last year. The Canucks were ranked highly heading into last season, how did that pan out? I don't see Anaheim being as good as last year or san jose. Anh is relying on very young goalies and lost a lot of players. Say what you will about their age but that will hurt them and they still have lots of growing to do on D. San Jose is just a mess and I think this will be their year that the Canucks just had. I think Colorado likely won't repeat their performance from last year either but LA and Chicago are likely even harder to beat this year.