Mike Vanderhoek

2 minutes ago, VanOriginal said:

Like all, I'm very disappointed in this game, it was the worst game of the playoffs no excuses. But I'm not worried at all. I know the boys will show up on Tuesday with their best game of these playoffs! 5v5 for nost of the series the Canucks have been the better team. I'm calling it now

5 - 2 for the Canucks. 

I think if they show up Tuesday it will be too late 

You just have to put this game behind you and focus in game 7.

Vancouver positioned themselves to have a cushion if they didn't bring their A game or couldn't meet Edmonton's level in game 6.

Now the Canucks are positioned to win game 7 at home. Full confidence in our Canucks and believe Monday will be a great game between two hungry teams. Its been stated before, the fans have been insanely awesome and the team has fed off that. Game 7, edge Vancouver.

No need to focus on the white noise of it all. Edmonton has elite top of the lineup talent, we can appreciate that. Vancouver has the better overall team with better depth. So while media can focus on some of the best talent the league has and yes to be frank most media are on the Oilers bandwagon. Means nothing. I thought the Canucks were and are the better team and it will show on Monday.

Silovs has been amazing, 23 year old stepping in like he has there is no doubt regardless of Demko's health that this is his net right now.

Reset, focus, and enjoy Monday!!!

23 minutes ago, MatchesMalone said:

 

My concern is that people seem to be voting based on what's best for their own teams rather than what's best for the league.

I believe a vote was in place and up for around 24 to 48 hours to determine if the majority supported expansion is all. At that time I believe there was a suggested rule for roster requirements which was later adjusted so as a GM I would have a concern if I voted one way after gathering the information at hand then seeing it be adjusted afterwards may change how a team was going to vote.

It is 2024, nobody votes for the greater good sadly wish I was joking, every GM would be looking at how it affects them or they are not doing their job.

I didn't get a vote as I missed the window to do so, I would have voted against expansion had I not been off the site for a couple days missing the voting window because I feel the league cannot yet support it and we need to fix or sort some issues with respect to communication and activity here firstly.

Thanks

4 minutes ago, Sharpshooter said:

Just no faith in Cole. Hope I’m wrong. 
 

Cole should ‘be better’. 

No time like the present then to be better right ? here's rooting for him to have a solid non-eventful ( unless annihilating an Oiler with a hit ) game. 

16 minutes ago, Northern_Nuck said:

I think Soucy will be challenged to scrap first shift. Edmonton would be a fool if they let that slide. 

I don't see it.

47 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said:

Let’s just let the players play. Pettersson has Lindholm and Hoglander. That should help him. 

did they announce the lines, is that actually happening if so then holy hell have I been waiting for that.

How many games is considered a season ?

I have some players with two seasons of 41+ games played and a 3rd season with under 30 games played. Is this considered 2 or fewer seasons or not ?

thanks

22 hours ago, ActionJax09 said:

I voted yes to expansion based on different rules than this

Yeah I am a little confused. Perhaps we can get a post of what the rules are for exposure requirements as well as protected requirements.

I am concerned there is not going to be ample time to figure this out in terms of ensuring thresholds are met through a number of trades.

Thanks

1 hour ago, PhillipBlunt said:

Was just thinking that. The Miller and Garland chants were after they did something amazing. 

Correction, the Casey chant didn't start well. He was more than fine when he has been in the net since that moment.

Yes chants came after certain players did something amazing sure, as fans, the people who cheer their team and players on it is completely the right thing to do to get behind players. We know Pettersson is not playing the way he can, nothing more fan-like than cheering him on and chanting his name hoping he does well and maybe giving him something extra to feed off of. 

I find there is far too much negativity around this club and some players regularly even after the season we have and continue to witness and its so very lame and disappointing. I mean come on, rally behind our players, not a hard concept. 

Let's also not try to trade players after losses while we are at it. 

Let's also remember the series is tied 2 - 2, the Canucks or the fans should have zero negativity as they now buckle down on a best of three with home ice advantage against a team that has only won twice against us in 8 meetings this year.

1 hour ago, -dlc- said:

That's a pretty big reach. I mean, not out of the question but I don't know that it's fair to go there based on speculation and connecting dots.

 

Petey's never loved interviews and has seemed disconnected in them...mostly because he seems to struggle to find the words in English to describe his thoughts.

 

I feel for him. His lost confidence is probably his biggest problem right now and he's fighting it.

Yet I would not be surprised at all to see him pot a goal and get an assist tonight!

Sorry, you just don't add a top pair right handed defenseman who can produce 40+ points a season and is overall a solid defenseman to flip him after one full season.

It is no secret he has been dealing with nagging upper body injuries thus not being able to get his shot off or passing off. Yet he still hits and battles hard.

You will see him extend in Vancouver. His value on a longer term deal still sits at around $7m per. They will get there.

The team will still be positioned to bring back around half of these guys while we see a few youngsters get a shot.

Lindholm 

Joshua

Blueger 

Lafferty

Zadorov 

Myers 

Cole 

Friedman 

DeSmith

3 minutes ago, AnotherCanucksFan said:

It's striking how different Miller and Petey react to game 4. Miller is emotional and expresses frustration at his play, while Petey is emotionally shut down and looks like he'd rather be somewhere else. Fans and teammates aren't going to be inspired by his unemotional and muted responses. Disappointing to see him choosing to respond this way.

Frankly we don't know what is up, we have no idea and you'd think if the guy just signed a long term deal to be a Canuck and is in the middle of the Playoffs I really don't think it is a choice that he is responding this way or his body language or interactions look less than heavily invested in what is at stake.

He is clearly not a forward that will drive the play, thats ok.

He is clearly not a forward that gaurantee will make those around him better or elevate their games, again thats ok.

This needs to be acknowledged and understood, he needs to play in a duo situation like he had with Kuzmenko last year. His best bet for most of the season has been Mikheyev and to be honest that is a damn shame and not even fair.  

I doubt it happens now but he needs to be wing on Lindholm's line and bring back in Hoglander or even Podkolzin as the third on the line. He can finish, he can make sick plays but he needs that player who can sneak him the puck ( Lindholm ) and the other linemate to get those pucks out of the dirty areas ( Hoglander, Podklozin ? was supposed to Mikheyev but.... ).

All that other stuff the reaction or facing the media he is a Swede and has always had that nature about him, its not indifference about the whole situation.

1 hour ago, Elias Pettersson said:

 

Are Boeser and Miller suffering offensively right now?  What about Hughes and Lindholm?  They are doing just fine offensively.  Kuzmenko was a major liability defensively, he would have gotten eaten alive in this year's playoffs.  As for Petey, playing with Mikheyev where every puck goes to die isn't helpful.  Neither is playing with Lafferty or Karlsson.  Petey needs a legit top 6 winger just like everybody other elite centre does in the NHL, including Miller...

It really is that simple. It is tiring seeing his linemates every game then seeing people rip on him for not producing. He had a very good game earlier in the series and Hoglander had him open in maybe 3 prime spots and looked him off. That was frustrating to see no doubt. Maybe Pettersson does not elevate everyone he plays with but there has to be some common sense in that regard as well when seeing who he lines up with.

I get the coach wants the centre depth but we need to make adjustments to the top nine:

Suter - Miller - Boeser

Hoglander - Lindholm - Pettersson

Joshua - Blueger - Garland

Lindholm and Pettersson elevates that line immensely and Blueger up to his old line with Joshua and Garland elevates him and utilizes his defensive reliability and puck distribution making three solid lines.

Aman has stepped in and played well. Karlsson has come in and provided speed, physicality and battle infront of the net, would be great to see him get some shots off. Podkolzin should be due to step back in. I would sit Mikheyev and likely Lafferty.

All this being said, the Oilers are very beatable and the Canucks are right there, may have to go seven games but the Canucks will win out against Edmonton. Exciting times.

9 minutes ago, Shift-4 said:

Win da turd

Win da game

Its that simple. That have it in them. Just a reset at intermission and take it to Edmonton. Confidence not shaken. Canucks will win tonight!

1 minute ago, Coryberg said:

Soucy did it once in 10 games, juulsen did it once in 10 minutes of ice time

And this is why I said it is not ok for Soucy to be hammered with a suspension and many people felt " meh it was worth it ". No every detail matters in the Playoffs and if it wasn't for the impending comeback and win in the third I'd have worried it was going to cost the Canucks.

Canucks got this. Win the third and come out on top.

Going back to Vancouver 3-1

40 minutes ago, Coconuts said:

 

Perhaps, but I'd rather at least attempt to build for a lengthier window of being competitive than assume it can't be done. 

 

Even a few seasons into the future could be unknown, this is why drafting and development are so important. We just went through nearly a decade of poor to mediocre teams, I'd rather try to at least be competitive long-term and in my view part of that is managing the length of contracts. I've zero interest in giving a guy who's probably a 3-4D right now 7-8 years. I've zero interest in giving him a deal that takes him into his late 30's, I'd rather eat a higher cap hit for shorter term and cap flex sooner than later in the form of expiring deals. 

 

I care, as I've made abundantly clear. I'd prefer the Canucks to generally stick to short and medium term deals, with the odd exception for higher end pieces like Pettersson, Hughes, and maybe Boeser going forward. 

 

Organizations often need things to go right, that ain't exclusive to the future. Franchises need to get lucky, to have things work out, but they've also got to put in the work. We've seemingly come a long way as an organization in just a couple years, if we continue to hire the right people and ownership is willing to pay I don't see why it couldn't continue going forward. 

 

 

Agreed, and I think we could fit a different player onto that Garland line and have it work out just fine. Joshua's had an impressive year and he brings a nice toolkit, but it's pretty clear that Garland is the driver on that line. 

 

Keeping Lindholm would be interesting, but I think we'd have to look at him as more of a top six piece than a 3C. I'd argue we need 1-2 top six players as is. Maybe come playoff time he could be swapped to 3C for the sake of matching lines, but generally if he stays he should be playing top six considering what it'll probably cost us to keep him. 

 

I'd like to keep Zadorov at 4 years, 5 max. 

 

I'm of the opinion that Hronek might not be fully healthy, I think it'd be a kneejerk move to ship him out. No, his second half wasn't as great as it could have been but we've been screaming for management to find a RD partner for Hughes for years, Hronek is the most skilled partner he's ever had. Obviously if there's a potential trade that makes sense management should explore it, but shipping him out also means we need to replace him with a top 4RD and there's no guarantee we'd get one via UFA. 

 

 

If Joshua's smart he'll cash in via UFA, his career earnings thus far haven't amounted to much and he'll likely never get a better chance to secure the bag. I think he's replaceable. I think his production is replaceable, I think his physicality is replaceable. Sure, his replacement may not hit as much but that's something that can be replaced as a collective. 

 

I'm fine with replacing Lafferty, he's also replaceable. 

 

I'm open to keeping Zadorov if the cap hit/term is right, if he wants too much someone else can pay him. This isn't to say management shouldn't try to retain him, but there should be a line they're not willing to cross in negotiations. I don't think they simply give him whatever he wants. I like how he's fit into the Canucks but I'm also not going to let this singular playoff run convince me he'll always be this player. He's at the age where he's likely peaking as a player, getting the term right would be very important. 

 

Myers would likely be willing to come back for 1-2 years, I have a hard time envisioning a better caliber RD who'd be willing to take that kind of term here. I also reckon he'd be likelier to take a discount for the Canucks than other UFA D. I've argued he'd be a good stopgap til Willander is ready, there's a lot to like. Obviously it depends on the term and cap hit, but if he's willing to take a team friendly deal that'd be great. 

 

I'd probably look to see if there's maybe a younger option we could bring in than Cole, which isn't to dump on his season. Wouldn't be opposed to bringing him back, but I'd prefer a younger D is possible. Bringing Myers back would fill the veteran role Cole also brings to the table. 

 

I think Hronek stays unless he's simply not willing to play ball when it comes to cap hit, which I think he ultimately will. If another team wants to make us an offer we can't refuse I'd be open to it. Shipping him out means we need to find another top 4RD though and there may not be many of those available come UFA; I think there's a solid chance Carolina finds a way to keep Pesce for example, and that Tanev is retained by Dallas. 

 

Friedman probably goes, as you've said. 

 

I'd be a little surprised if Silovs isn't the backup next season, but I also like the idea of him being the starter in Abbotsford, he'd likely play more games. 

I think the Canucks like Cole more than the average fan and I know he is not popular right now but he may be the cheaper option to help round out the defense. That being said if there is some misses on bringing back some of the forwards, definitely see the team re-allocating to defense.

Maybe a scenario exists where Myers comes back close to $4m per and Zadorov maxes out at around $5m per. Maybe make a strong push to land Matt Roy? he could be a solid piece for this club.

Hughes - Hronek 

Zadorov - Roy

Soucy - Myers

Juulsen

Sell the players on the two interchangeable pairings as second/third pairs kind of like this year has been.

Either way some difficult decisions have to be made and likely one or more unpopular ones in the process.

Dakota Joshua, if he is demanding more than $ 3m per he is very likely not returning and its not so much just Vancouver wanting to bring him back. There will be a suitor ready to overpay for his services. He is at a point in his career where he will be very tempted to make some real money as to this point he has not and he is getting older.

Teddy Blueger, I think this is a player you see back in Vancouver on a multi year deal around $ 2m per season. Very important player for the team moving forward.

Sam Lafferty, he has been fine but is someone who most likely moves on during Free Agency. He has good wheels and can play physical but he will be a casualty of the numbers game.

Elias Lindholm, such a luxury to have him and his game really elevated come Playoff time. Problem is he can be a top six C or even top line one on several teams, thus he will see some lucrative offers I just don't think the Canucks can come close to. I also think as much as he may have a blast here on the Canucks run and find success here, his game is not that of a third line C and being placed in that role while great for the team is not an ideal for him, if he's a third line C here he gets underpaid in Free Agency so as much as I would love to see him return I think at best its 60/40 in favor of him moving on.

At forward the Canucks will have multiple players pushing for spots out of camp, the likes of Raty, Bains, Sasson, Nielsen, Karlsson, and Podkolzin. Not sure Lekkerimaki is ready to make that jump but we shall see.

On defense the team will be extremely thin to start Free Agency,

Nikita Zadorov, regardless of the Playoff run and what some suggest he is still a 4/5 defenseman. He will not be offered a clear cut top four role and would need to be ok coming back as a defenseman who can play under 20 mins and some games be third pair or second pair. Vancouver needs to sell potential defensemen on their makeup being a top pair and 2 x second pairs essentially. I think quality of life is big and Vancouver is ideal for he and his family. I could see a return no less than $5m per however.

Tyler Myers, another dman who wants to stay here, he would need to be sold on taking a paycut and it could happen but he could also do quite well in Free Agency.

Ian Cole, is showing his age a little these Playoffs, a string of bad luck and bounces have gone off him sure but he is very dependable and a great mentor for the club to have. I could see him returning at a reduced rate more in line with a $ 2m per season cap.

Filip Hronek, he should extend and project as another 40+ point season. He is not everyone's favorite right now but still see a deal coming in at best case scenario a sliver under $7m per. He has shown to be a valuable member of the defense regardless of a dry post season and end of regular season.

Mark Friedman, was a good player to slot into the lineup short term but was losing the confidence of the coaching staff as his tenure has gone on. Likely move on in Free Agency. Another club could give him more opportunity.

I would like to see if Brisebois can make the club out of camp as an extra D. He was providing some reliable minutes on previous recalls. Not much cooking on defense with a few long shots so the expectation I have is maybe 2 of the three pending UFAs return and another couple adds out of Free Agency.

Goal I dont see Silovs as a backup so think he will continue his growth as the fulltime starter in Abby next year. DeSmith has been great but may simply command more than can be justified at his position. If you can find a backup for Thatcher around $ 1m per range you do that and slide that extra million DeSmith would require and invest into making a run at say keeping Joshua?

Holy crap have I missed a lot!

welcome back @Rush, welcome to GML @Snapshot85.

The one thing very noticeable with this management group and coaching staff is they are extremely professional and respectful or at the least know their place. Not to be taken as a sign of weakness and believe me I would have loved to see the club advocate for their players more or not stand for missed calls publicly too but end of the day the right approach is being civil and professional.

Tocchet has played this tune all year and he is essentially killing them with kindness re: Sutherland's performance and Tocchet's response " tough job ". Being he is an old school former tough NHL player that has seen it all his words do carry weight. During his media availability when asked about Canucks fines and possible suspensions he ever so subtly mentioned an Oilers missed call that could very well have been as much a suspension as Soucy's. Putting it out there, the league and officials can know the Canucks know the deal, the coach knows what is going on. It was a brilliant display and at some point karma and Vancouver putting their heads down and working harder is going to pay off more and more.

15 minutes ago, Dr. Crossbar said:

The Zad fine and Soucy suspension is the cost of doing business with the Oilers. 

 

Necessary pushback. Had to happen..

 

Keep punishing them at every opportunity. 

But it is a very big detail the Canucks just got screwed on and the cost of doing business with the Oilers was winning against them and Soucy responding to McDavid going after him at the whistle. Its not ok for the team to just lose a top four dman, its a joke. There should be no cost of doing business is the point.

15 minutes ago, Baratheon said:

I want to see literally anyone try to rationalize this.  The league, the media, Edm fans… whoever.  
Straight up hypocrisy is what it is.

nobody will entertain that discussion, it will be swept under the rug everytime when brought up. At most you will hear it was a McDavid on the receiving end versus Zadorov. And this is where I would love to see Juice just call it as it is on the panel and see them all squirm and clench lol.

Funny as Hyman had intent to hit the face and Soucy hit the face unintentionally but who cares right ?

2 minutes ago, GrammaInTheTub said:

How many more times are people going to rehash the list of missed calls. Christ I get that’s it’s frustrating, but it’s also irritating reading so many of you make the exact same points and seeing who can provide the best summary haha! What’s done is done and we’re going to win next game with a Juulsen in the lineup that Edmonton is going to regret having to square up with. 

don't read them.

I have confidence in Juulsen, there will likely be more than one moment where he is out of position and if he is against some of that Oilers top end speed it could very well be costly.

3 hours ago, Goalie Interference said:

One of the things I really admire about Allvin and Tocchet is that they don't gripe about officiating. I read somewhere that PA has said that he didn't want the Canucks to be a team that whinges about adversity--injuries, officiating, schedules, etc. As fans we can bitch and moan, but I really like the fact our coach and management don't get involved in that. Have faith in our depth and our system; we'll be okay.

I like this approach as well, the appearance of stability and respect. Problem is as a fan I am seeing multiple situations now where the Canucks are getting ripped off by the on ice officials and just took a hit by the league with the loss of Soucy. I would like to see a degree of pushback by the organization even if it is an acknowledgement that they don't agree or question why other situations fell on blind officiating or deaf ears. 

Nobody is saying the Canucks are saints at all, but there have been a good few incidents now that are disappointing to say the least as a fan of hockey and a lack of accountability.

Either way the Canucks will push forward and take the series this round.  

4 minutes ago, AK-19 said:

This means Hyman is getting a suspension too for doing the same thing to Zadorov in the same game? Right?

I believe Tocchet referenced it as something the league is looking at or did I read that wrong ? either way, how is that not even a discussion anywhere ?