Do you believe our "window" to win the Cup is still open?

[Bourne Endeavor]

Getting to the cup as a 7/8 seed (post lockout) happens often enough that I don't consider it an anomaly. Once in the finals, winning is a coin toss. From that I conclude that what the Kings did last year is not, in fact, an anomaly.

You do realize that was a first in NHL history, yes? The Kings run last year is the very definition of an anomaly.

 

[AlphaMale]

The Canucks are at a big disadvantage and have been for awhile. The team continues to amass wins in the regular season which limits them in the draft. Right now the Canucks prospects are not all that promising and with the Cap changing next season they arent going to be able to sign quality free agents. This is the way things are designed. Im not saying that the Oilers all of a sudden will be great. If a team has low draft picks they have to make the most of it. Detroit has been successful because they have done great at this aspect. To a lesser degree I have to give Vancouver some props as well. However other than the likes of Erhoff, Edler, Burrows the Canucks havent had enough diamonds in recent memory.

Detroit's drafting hasn't produced anything great since the late 90's when they drafted Datsyuk and Zetterberg late in the draft. I think it's time to stop talking about how great the Red Wings are at drafting.

 

[Lonny Bohonos]

Laughable how some people think this isn't even a playoff team anymore. The top 6 is the same as it was in 2011 but what has been exposed is this teams lack of offense after losing Ehrhoff. Sedins would of put up 90-100 points in an 82 game season if Daniel was healthy last year if he was still around. Gilles should of just made him the highest paid D-man on the team at the time and forgot about bringing in Ballard and Booth.

Did you watch ehrhoff in the playoffs?

 

[dave babych returns]

You do realize that was a first in NHL history, yes? The Kings run last year is the very definition of an anomaly.

The Kings even finishing in 8th was an anomaly, they were dominant from a puck possession standpoint all season long.

Frankly the Canucks have been astoundingly unlucky to face such a high calibre of 8th seeds two years in a row.

 

[AlphaMale]

The Kings even finishing in 8th was an anomaly, they were dominant from a puck possession standpoint all season long.

Frankly the Canucks have been astoundingly unlucky to face such a high calibre of 8th seeds two years in a row.

True. The Canucks have lost the the cup winner the last 3 years. Maybe we eventually get some luck on our side and have a team take out the Kings on our way to the cup this year. The Kings are the only team in the West I don't think a fully healthy Canucks team can beat. It would be nice if the Blues or Hawks could do us a favor this Spring. People also have to understand that teams like Detroit and Nashville have gotten significantly weaker this season and are a non factor in the playoffs anymore.

 

[dave babych returns]

The Kings are the only team in the West I don't think a fully healthy Canucks team can beat.

There's no real indication that this is the case.

I mean I get that they are a good team and when they impose their will on the pace of play a team like the Canucks will have more trouble, but since we were essentially missing 2 of our 3 best forwards last year I don't think it's a given we would have lost that series.

 

[AlphaMale]

There's no real indication that this is the case.

I mean I get that they are a good team and when they impose their will on the pace of play a team like the Canucks will have more trouble, but since we were essentially missing 2 of our 3 best forwards last year I don't think it's a given we would have lost that series.

The Kings have pretty big forwards that manhandle our D-men behind the net and out in front of the goal which no other team in the West does. Boston had size and skill and beat us. Once the Hawks lost their size in Byfuglien, Eager, and Ladd we finally beat them. We lose to solid teams that have major size advantage on us.

 

[L4cer8]

Did you watch ehrhoff in the playoffs?

You do know he was injured, right? Dude couldn't hit or be hit without a ton of pain.

 

[Lundface*]

The Kings have pretty big forwards that manhandle our D-men behind the net and out in front of the goal which no other team in the West does. Boston had size and skill and beat us. Once the Hawks lost their size in Byfuglien, Eager, and Ladd we finally beat them. We lose to solid teams that have major size advantage on us.

San Jose is the biggest team in the league...

We lose when the reffing suddenly changes, and the game favors a clutch and grab style. Or like in the Boston series, the pp dries up.

This teams biggest problem the last 2 seasons were injuries to key players. We simply don't have the depth to cover up for an injured Sedin/Kesler/Hamhuis etc

 

[Dado]

You do realize that was a first in NHL history, yes?

Disagree. Given the number of low seeds getting to the finals now, it was inevitable to happen, and it will happen again relatively soon.

 

[Archangel]

You do realize that was a first in NHL history, yes? The Kings run last year is the very definition of an anomaly.

Those ****ers from Deadmonton were the 8th seat when they went on their run. It is not as unusual as it once was

 

[dave babych returns]

The Kings have pretty big forwards that manhandle our D-men behind the net and out in front of the goal which no other team in the West does. Boston had size and skill and beat us. Once the Hawks lost their size in Byfuglien, Eager, and Ladd we finally beat them. We lose to solid teams that have major size advantage on us.

Yeah I mean we had sustained several major losses due to injury by the end of all of those series (and in two of them, before the beginning) so you can't say a healthy Canucks team wouldn't have fared differently.

But yes obviously big teams that grind it out are capable of giving the Canucks trouble. Honestly I think the problem is more that we can't fight through the obstruction and the big defenses than it is that big forwards dominate us down low.

In our own zone we are more likely to get taken apart by skill guys like Patrick Sharp, Kane, Toews, Keith, Marchand, Bergeron, Ryder, Peverly than we are to be dominated by big guys like Byfuglien, Lucic, etc.. although when you've got guys like Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar who can do both that's troublesome.

 

[Fat Tony]

Those ****ers from Deadmonton were the 8th seat when they went on their run. It is not as unusual as it once was

They didn't win. The 8th seed winning the Cup is an anomaly. Further, the team with home ice advantage in the Finals wins the Cup 70% of the time.

 

[AlexanderTheGood]

Urgh... you can't disagree with fact.

Sure. But we're not talking about facts, we're talking about predicting the future. My prediction for the future is that 7/8 seeds will continue reaching the SCF, and another team will, relatively soon, accomplish the same "impossible" "anomalistic" feat so recently performed by the Kings.

 

[Stephen]

As an outsider, I think your window is still nominally open as in anything can happen, but the way the league has been the past few years, the Canucks will need to be energized by some kind of trade. If they got a big ticket contributor for one of their goalies, things would look more convincing, but Vancouver seems to have that San Jose/Detroit stagnation before the inevitable Calgary decline if a shakeup or an unexpected young player jumps up and develops rapidly.

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

As an outsider, I think your window is still nominally open as in anything can happen, but the way the league has been the past few years, the Canucks will need to be energized by some kind of trade. If they got a big ticket contributor for one of their goalies, things would look more convincing, but Vancouver seems to have that San Jose/Detroit stagnation before the inevitable Calgary decline if a shakeup or an unexpected young player jumps up and develops rapidly.

Agree completely.

 

[vanuck]

What a pile of steaming dogsh!t. Compared to virtually any other team in the league... ugly..

Shows much you know about our prospects then...

 

[Lonny Bohonos]

You do know he was injured, right? Dude couldn't hit or be hit without a ton of pain.

He was bad before the injury. For a guy so many saw as the second coming of Christ he didnt do much offense wise and wasnt good on D in a much tougher set of games.

5 of his points came in 2 games against NSH leaving 7 for the rest of the games. If im not mistaken he had very few if any game winning points. Hardly stellar for our "best" dman. Compare that to what Bieksa (whipping boy) did. Bieksa raised his game to playoff level.

Had nothing to do with him being hurt.