Grub's Canucks & NHL News, Rumours, and & Fantasy GM | Hockey Starts Now

[Peen]

I'm waiting for Sat, Drance, and/or Dhaliwal to start name dropping some guys because then he's being fed those names

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

If it makes you feel any better, I just assume that Benning would have ruined his development anyways so it would have been no big loss.

Well ultimately it's the same thing as with Dylan Guenther - not as if he was our prospect and we traded him. There's no guarantee Benning would have taken either of these players.

 

[MS]

Three quality NHLers in the four picks following too (Dunn, Trenin and Siegenthaler). Better picks 53-57 than you usually see at 23-27 in most drafts.

It's better than what you see in picks 6-10 most drafts, honestly.

 

[Vector]

Not worth talking about but the Canucks continue to send Bains and Brannstrom down to boost their accrual.

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

This team has had a bad stretch from 2019-2024 where they either haven't held onto their high picks or haven't managed to find impact players to insert into the lineup. The notable exceptions being Hoglander, Lekkerimaki and Willander (who haven't yet made the jump). This is always a risk when you trade picks for rentals, because unless you win it all it's not going to be worth it in the long run. Missing on Podkolzin was a huge blow to our top six, especially considering Boldy and Caufield went immediately after.

The same thing happened to the 2009-2013 era Canucks. We really felt the lack of promising ELC talent that could come in on cheap contracts and play above expectations. The only reason that team was so competitive is the Luongo cap manipulation + group discounts in bulk.

The current core of this group had their cheap years wasted by Benning's inability to run a bath, let alone a f***ing hockey team. The rest of the players were acquired or signed and haven't exactly played above their value, which is collectively what you need to win a Cup. If everyone plays at or below their cap hit, you simply can't compete in a salary cap world. If you end up with situations like Loui or OEL, you are dead to rights. No team can overcome $10+ million in dead weight.

Additionally - I don't love that since Tocchet's arrival, they have tried to brute force a completely different playing style than the core was used to. Seems like exactly what Benning tried to do in 2013 and beyond because of the loss to Boston. It worked last season because everything went our way until the All Star Break - as soon as everyone came back down to reality, productivity fell off a cliff and we haven't seen things go particularly well since.

It felt like they were on the cusp of being a truly exciting, offensive juggernaut of a team and they tried to switch gears to become a grinding, defence-first team that capitalizes on mistakes. But the problem is that we didn't actually have those types of players on our team - they have tried to force players like Pettersson, Kuzmenko, Suter etc. into being way more physical and put a leash on their offensive creativity, lest ye receive the Daniel Sprong treatment.

And when they realized they were lacking those types of players, they overpaid on the open market to bring them in. Only now, you have a bunch of players with no history of playing together mixed with a core group of players who have been forced to change what has made them successful. The result is a disjointed, dysfunctional mess. That's where we are.

I hate to say it, but I think last year was the best shot this core will ever have. The door was wide open and they blew it.

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

Not worth talking about but the Canucks continue to send Bains and Brannstrom down to boost their accrual.

Do they actually have to report to Abbotsford or is it just a formality and they don't leave the team?

 

[theguardianII]

The previous post hit so many homeruns.

The same thing happened to the 2009-2013 era Canucks. We really felt the lack of promising ELC talent that could come in on cheap contracts and play above expectations. The only reason that team was so competitive is the Luongo cap manipulation + group discounts in bulk.

But then they really didn't have a great draft position either being one of the top teams in the easy season. Picks in the 27 to 31 spots are not the same as the top 6, 10 or 15. Two President Trophies and a cup final.

Additionally - I don't love that since Tocchet's arrival, they have tried to brute force a completely different playing style than the core was used to. Seems like exactly what Benning tried to do in 2013 and beyond because of the loss to Boston. It worked last season because everything went our way until the All Star Break - as soon as everyone came back down to reality, productivity fell off a cliff and we haven't seen things go particularly well since.

Tocchet does not seem to be flexible.
There was a change to a more defensive system but they had a pretty damn good group.
Someon really underestimated Zadorov impact on the team. He wasn't a Chara or Orr but he played both sides, was the fastest skater on the team and when he went outside ot Tocchet's guidelines he potted a couple of important goals, all by himself in the playoffs.
IMO it is possible that Tocchet tries to micro manage how a player plays and yes most on the team are his guys.

It felt like they were on the cusp of being a truly exciting, offensive juggernaut of a team and they tried to switch gears to become a grinding, defence-first team that capitalizes on mistakes. But the problem is that we didn't actually have those types of players on our team - they have tried to force players like Pettersson, Kuzmenko, Suter etc. into being way more physical and put a leash on their offensive creativity, lest ye receive the Daniel Sprong treatment.

There were a couple of comments about Lindholm's game in the playoffs, like when he was hitting. Paraphrasing, "that's different for him, he usually isn't playing like that" and one of "was that Lindholm making that hit?" like a surprise.

Miller is a Tocchet type guy but those named and EP aren't, they should never be shoehorned into trying to be one of those players. When that happens they might as well really over paid 4th liners.

Tocchets contract is up soon and a question might be Tocchet or the players. To me this change of direction is ALL about giving Tocchet what he wants, giving him the players he wants.

As I posted before, he has only one winning season and in Arizona, lots of trade requests from high skilled guys. Just look at how some player have flourished since he left or on other teams.

 

[VanJack]

This team has had a bad stretch from 2019-2024 where they either haven't held onto their high picks or haven't managed to find impact players to insert into the lineup. The notable exceptions being Hoglander, Lekkerimaki and Willander (who haven't yet made the jump). This is always a risk when you trade picks for rentals, because unless you win it all it's not going to be worth it in the long run. Missing on Podkolzin was a huge blow to our top six, especially considering Boldy and Caufield went immediately after.

The same thing happened to the 2009-2013 era Canucks. We really felt the lack of promising ELC talent that could come in on cheap contracts and play above expectations. The only reason that team was so competitive is the Luongo cap manipulation + group discounts in bulk.

The current core of this group had their cheap years wasted by Benning's inability to run a bath, let alone a f***ing hockey team. The rest of the players were acquired or signed and haven't exactly played above their value, which is collectively what you need to win a Cup. If everyone plays at or below their cap hit, you simply can't compete in a salary cap world. If you end up with situations like Loui or OEL, you are dead to rights. No team can overcome $10+ million in dead weight.

Additionally - I don't love that since Tocchet's arrival, they have tried to brute force a completely different playing style than the core was used to. Seems like exactly what Benning tried to do in 2013 and beyond because of the loss to Boston. It worked last season because everything went our way until the All Star Break - as soon as everyone came back down to reality, productivity fell off a cliff and we haven't seen things go particularly well since.

It felt like they were on the cusp of being a truly exciting, offensive juggernaut of a team and they tried to switch gears to become a grinding, defence-first team that capitalizes on mistakes. But the problem is that we didn't actually have those types of players on our team - they have tried to force players like Pettersson, Kuzmenko, Suter etc. into being way more physical and put a leash on their offensive creativity, lest ye receive the Daniel Sprong treatment.

And when they realized they were lacking those types of players, they overpaid on the open market to bring them in. Only now, you have a bunch of players with no history of playing together mixed with a core group of players who have been forced to change what has made them successful. The result is a disjointed, dysfunctional mess. That's where we are.

I hate to say it, but I think last year was the best shot this core will ever have. The door was wide open and they blew it.

Agreed that this simply isn't the same team as a year ago. But that's not to say that they could be, before the end of the season.

A lot of these new guys are still trying to figure out 'Tocchet hockey'. I guess there's a chance some of them can never adjust to it, and the team struggles around the playoff bubble all year.

But by the 20 game mark or U.S. Thanksgiving, we should have a much clearer picture.