Canucks quietly have the deepest forward group in the league

[iFan]

as a Canuck fan, I disagree with the OP, the Canucks are a mess.

 

[Sexy Necksy Garland]

OP isn't wrong, and I bet this post will be vindicated by the trade deadline.

We need to be buyers so we get in and then anything can happen

 

[Canuck Luck]

I don't agree with the Oilers at #1 but Nurse being overpaid doesn't make him a bad defenseman.

I never said he was a bad d-man. All i said was if OEL isnt a top 4 dman, its arguable Nurse isnt one either IMO Nurse is a #2-3 while OEL is a #3

 

[notsocommonsense]

I have such a hard time understanding the Canucks hype. They’re an okay team. Why are we acting any different ?

What hype? A couple of posters on HF? Other than a few optimistic fans, where are you seeing “Canucks hype”?

 

[KaseMeOutside]

Sure buddy, bank on Mikheyev shooting 14 percent again....

 

[Beezeral]

We really doing this again with the Canucks? They were league average at best offensively last year and didn’t add much. Their analytics are mediocre at best. They are a mid team that relies on its goalie.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

The lineup could have many changes but ngl it looks deep

View attachment 575325

Bottom 2 lines have a ton of questions there mate. That's not deep.

 

[Silky Johnson]

The Sens were 26th in GF last year, sure adding DeBrincat helps but even if you add his 41 goals (and that's not how these things work as he is just replacing another top line spot that was there last year) that would have only made them 12 in GF last year.

Also I don't agree with the OP but I do expect the Canucks forwards to be around the top 10ish area this year.

Add Debrincat
Add Griroux
Add full year of Joseph
Add full year of Pinto
Batherson stays healthy
Norris Stays Healthy
Chabot Stays Healthy
Add Sanderson
Stuetzle, Norris, Tkachuk, Formenton, Batherson, and are a year further in their development.

That's a pretty remarkable amount of change to a roster.

 

[dubey]

Yeesh ... Vancouver is deep, deep down in the mud

 

[Sexy Necksy Garland]

We really doing this again with the Canucks? They were league average at best offensively last year and didn’t add much. Their analytics are mediocre at best. They are a mid team that relies on its goalie.

You just need to make it in. Then anything can happen.

 

[Canuck Luck]

Hughes is better with the puck on his stick, but if you played hockey before you would know the smaller the Dman is the easier it is to play against him

Clearly you've never played hockey in any competitive manner as you would know this generalization is as false as they come. Ask any player in the NHL today and I gaurantee not 1 would rather see 5'9 166lbs Jared Spurgeon on the ice over his teammate 6'7 217lbs teammate Andrej Sustr

 

[Akrapovince]

The lineup could have many changes but ngl it looks deep

View attachment 575325

Sneaky good third line there.

Pearson and Hoglander on fourth line, can’t complain. Would rather almost anyone over Lazar though.

 

[Mighty Makar]

This guy won't.

Lol.

 

[Soundwave]

No. But they have better depth than Edmonton imo.

And I haven't even gotten into the lopsided goalie situation.

Pretty sure you and a lot of other people were saying this same crap before the Calgary-Edmonton series, how'd that work out again?

Depth is overrated when put up against a higher tier of upper end talent, especially when that higher end talent refuses to take their foot off the gas pedal.

Beyond that, hate to break it to you, but the Oilers do have depth upfront too, RNH is a no.1 overall pick that can be played on the 3rd line, so can Puljujarvi who can match the 20-20-40 that the OP outlined as a good year for Podkolzine to aim for.

 

[Chairman Maouth]

Yeah, 69 points if he plays a full season. Top 10 in points? Don't make me laugh.

He was suffering from a wrist injury for more than half of the season. Once it had healed he went on a tear scoring at a considerably higher pace than a point per game — 44 points in 34 games. Over a full season and assuming his wrist problems are a thing of the past, which they appear to be, that projects to well over 100 points — giving merit to my initial statement.

Now I really don't blame you for not laughing, but I certainly am. Before getting all pissy with elementary school-level retorts, you should perhaps consider that someone may have a good reason for saying what they did, and they may be aware of information that you are not.

 

[MatthewMurdock]

Canucks fan here.

Pettersson was one of the best producers in the league to end the season, he was injured to start the year and absolutely torched the league once healthy again. I'm predicting a 85+ point season from him.

Garland is pretty underrated and is one of the better even strength producers in the league. I think Mikheyev adds an element of speed that the Canucks have lacked and is really good add.

Now that we've done the positives lets do the negatives. Miller will be traded and even if not I don't think he replicates last season. I think Boeser is very overrated and is similar to a Micheal Ryder like player. Kuzmenko has yet to play a minute in the league. Horvat's defensive game is insanely overrated.

Even then I think they have a deep forward group but they have one of the worst set of RHD's in the past 15 years.

 

[BouchBaby]

Clearly you've never played hockey in any competitive manner as you would know this generalization is as false as they come. Ask any player in the NHL today and I gaurantee not 1 would rather see 5'9 166lbs Jared Spurgeon on the ice over his teammate 6'7 217lbs teammate Andrej Sustr

The comparison is Hughes vs Nurse.. not Spurgeon vs a fringe level Dman. Size doesn't mean everything to somebody like Surgeon because of his great skating ability but i guarantee you he would have loved to be taller and stronger in situations such as net front battles or board battles. Physical battles occur and being weak matters in a mens game. For the record I played Jr.A, played against Matthew Dumba and Josh Morissey when I played AAA.. you could ask any high level player you know what type of Dman they want to come up against and the answer is small, because nobody wants to compete in battles with somebody a foot taller than them.

 

[KrisLetAngry]

I definitely can see them make waves next year. I truly believe that they needed a new coach and Benning made a quality team.

OEL at 6.8 isn't over paid imo. Guy is worth it.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

I think they're an underrated team for sure... But "Deepest Offense in the league"?


I actually do like them more then the Oilers though. Better overall forward group, about the same level of Defense(For both teams its why they aren't real contenders) and I trust Demko significantly more then I would Campbell.


Again, dont see either team as serious cup contenders but I think Vancouver, especially with Bourdreau is the better team. If Vegas has a healthier season I expect them to win the Pacific but at the same time I could see Vancouver or LA having really strong years as well.

 

[Canuck Luck]

The comparison is Hughes vs Nurse.. not Spurgeon vs a fringe level Dman. Size doesn't mean everything to somebody like Surgeon because of his great skating ability but i guarantee you he would have loved to be taller and stronger in situations such as net front battles or board battles. Physical battles occur and being weak matters in a mens game. For the record I played Jr.A, played against Matthew Dumba and Josh Morissey when I played AAA.. you could ask any high level player you know what type of Dman they want to come up against and the answer is small, because nobody wants to compete in battles with somebody a foot taller than them.

Now you're just changing goal posts since you've been proven wrong. You said a generalized statement easily proven to be false. No where in your previous statement did you say anything in regards to Nurse or Hughes. You did say if you've ever played hockey. That means anyone.

As to your argument, only players that are weak and dont know how to play against bigger players would want to play smaller competition. If you know how to shield the puck and use your speed and lower center of gravity to win battles and evade hits, you easily come out ahead vs bigger, slower players compared to smaller skilled defenders.

Why else do you think the NHL today no longer values the old big, slow shutdown stay at home d type to the better skating high iq dmen? Answer is simple. Skating + IQ beats any size + physical advantage.

 

[BouchBaby]

Now you're just changing goal posts since you've been proven wrong. You said a generalized statement easily proven to be false. No where in your previous statement did you say anything in regards to Nurse or Hughes. You did say if you've ever played hockey. That means anyone.

As to your argument, only players that are weak and dont know how to play against bigger players would want to play smaller competition. If you know how to shield the puck and use your speed and lower center of gravity to win battles and evade hits, you easily come out ahead vs bigger, slower players compared to smaller skilled defenders.

Why else do you think the NHL today no longer values the old big, slow shutdown stay at home d type to the better skating high iq dmen? Answer is simple. Skating + IQ beats any size + physical advantage.

Skating and IQ is important.. but so is battling the forwards in front of your net, while having the size and mean streak to wear down opponents in the corners throughout the course of a game. Hughes is a tremendous talent with the puck, but his physical play is non-existent and he will be outmuscled in close quarters by most players in the NHL. Enjoy watching Hughes get manhandled by stronger players in front of his net, and then ponder on how that could potentially be a problem for a Dman.

 

[Canuck Luck]

Skating and IQ is important.. but so is battling the forwards in front of your net, while having the size and mean streak to wear down opponents in the corners throughout the course of a game. Hughes is a tremendous talent with the puck, but his physical play is non-existent and he will be outmuscled in close quarters by most players in the NHL. Enjoy watching Hughes get manhandled by stronger players in front of his net, and then ponder on how that could potentially be a problem for a Dman.

Sure I'll enjoy Hughes getting manhandled every now and then meanwhile 10 other plays he gets the puck up the ice and gets his team a goal instead. You can ponder how Nurse being a blackhole offensively with low iq leads to turnovers and goals against and how being big and physical wasnt as effective to defending goals against vs just clearing the crease and throwing hits along the boards.

 

[AHockeyFanatic]

I can’t really find any other team aside from St Louis and Colorado that has a more well rounded, balanced and potential threat line up than the Canucks.

Miller, Pettersson, Horvat, that’s 90-100 goals alone down the middle. I don’t think there’s any team with that type of scoring punch down the middle. Not to mention Boeser having a down year last season due to family reasons. He’s easily good for 25 goals on the wing.

Then you have another 25, potential 30 goal scorer in Mikheyev, 50+ playmaker in Garland, Podkolzin who will definitely build from last season potting perhaps another 20-20-40pts. That’s not even mentioning Kuzmenko who could very well be another Panarin type player. Even Pearson is good for 35-40 points including 15-20+ goals.

Demko is a top 5 goaltender in the league, and there’s Hughes and OEL (albeit overpaid) are 2 elite defenseman who make their partners much better than they are (Schenn and Myers).

With the amount of team defense this team has with the additions of Lazar, Mikheyev, Joshua, and even Dickinson, having that hole on the right side is manageable. Canucks were top 5 in the league in fewest even strength goals allowed with that atrocious right side, in large part thanks to OEL and his brains. PK was the main issue on defense but that should be improved.

I just can’t really think of a more well balanced group, especially the forward group, with an average age of 25 years old.

Lmaooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

the Canucks? hahahahahaha

 

[BouchBaby]

Sure I'll enjoy Hughes getting manhandled every now and then meanwhile 10 other plays he gets the puck up the ice and gets his team a goal instead. You can ponder how Nurse being a blackhole offensively with low iq leads to turnovers and goals against and how being big and physical wasnt as effective to defending goals against vs just clearing the crease and throwing hits along the boards.

I would choose big fast Defensemen and you can take your small guys and we shall have differing takes on what type of D our team needs to win. Best of luck to Hughes and your Canucks, we can discuss this after next season if you want too.

 

[Canuck Luck]

I would choose big fast Defensemen and you can take your small guys and we shall have differing takes on what type of D our team needs to win. Best of luck to Hughes and your Canucks, we can discuss this after next season if you want too.

good luck to the Rangers too. If thats the case the Canucks have a very big and very fast Myers for sale