Chaput was fine and was mostly played in the right spots in the line-up. Megna was the guy that kept getting top-6 opportunity.
Going to self-plug a throwback:
Chaput was fine and was mostly played in the right spots in the line-up. Megna was the guy that kept getting top-6 opportunity.
Sadly I think he had much dumber quotes…
They dealt primarily an offensive center in Bonino for defensive center Sutter. Same Bonino who at seemed to show some kind of chemistry with Vrbata whenever they were on the same line. Willie should've told Jethro wtf are you doing?Honestly, I think that one might be it when you consider that it’s in context of Brandon Sutter coming in to alleviate Horvat of having to generate offense.
They dealt primarily an offensive center in Bonino for defensive center Sutter. Same Bonino who at seemed to show some kind of chemistry with Vrbata whenever they were on the same line. Willie should've told Jethro wtf are you doing?
Just seemed to go against logic about not wanting to put too much pressure on a future major piece/ member to have to be more offensive when you weaken the team in that department (going from Bonino to Sutter).Has there ever been any indication that WD didn’t think this was a real good move?
Just seemed to go against logic about not wanting to put too much pressure on a future major piece/ member to have to be more offensive when you weaken the team in that department (going from Bonino to Sutter).
Bonino disappeared in the 2015 playoffs, so I understand to some extent, why they moved on from him. I think current management would have shipped him out too. Replacing him with Sutter wasn't necessarily a bad idea either. Sutter was totally ill-suited for the role they had in mind for him, though. And signing him to a big contract before he'd done anything at all was laughably stupid..
He eventually became a pretty solid defensive center for us (not sure why Willie didn't use him that role immediately & hand that task to Horvat who never was a defensive stalwart. Good thing Willie leave him with the Sedins for the entire season). Especially since Sutter was a veteran player & Horvat was I think just a sophmore). After him being knocked out of commission (pandemic), his defensive skills were never replaced for a while.Beating a dead horse (which I can't seem to resist) but ya. People forget how slow Bonino looked in series against Calgary. It probably wasn't his fault in hindsight but he didn't do anything to help. Bonino also had a terrible start to his Penguins career before Kessel was put on his line.
As for Sutter, I don't think you can say he was ill-suited for the role they had in mind for him given that management and Willie had different ideas. I think management thought they were getting a durable player who can handle the tough defensive matchups while also having some offensive upside. It didn't work out that way. I never understood the contract signing criticism. It's routine to acquire a pending UFA and sign him to an extension. It's not like the guy was unproven as a 3C. He was making $3.3M before the extension. Keep in mind that Sutter was the roster player the Gillis' Canucks targeted in the Kesler trade so the Canucks pro scouting staff has liked Sutter for a while. Outside of a rental situation, I would expect our team spending significant assets to acquire a pending UFA to try and negotiate an extension.
I live here and totally forgot until one of the Vancouver podcasts brought it up.I had a moment where I totally forgot about Travis Green being named Ottawa's head coach.
I was on his wiki page and literally said "what the f***?"
I just learned something surprising from a Youtube video… the fastest speed a hockey player has ever been clocked at in-game (41.32 km/h) is by… Ronalds Kenins.
McDavid’s top recorded speed is 40.9 km/h.
Jimmy Vesey has carved out a pretty productive career over the past three seasons with the Devils and Rangers. I always liked his game.....and thought the Canucks gave up on him far too early.
But he was acquired by the Canucks from the Leafs in the post-COVID season so they could just stagger through to the finish line in the 'one and done' Canadian Division. I don't think they ever appreciated him.
Also, looks like Sam Gagner will get a PTO with Carolina.
Always kind of shocked he got to over 1,000 games in the NHL. But he keeps on keeping on.
Jordie Benn announced his retirement; all the best to him.