Good article comparing Canucks' 3rd line to past Cup Winners' 3rd lines

[Sophomore Jinx]

Canucks’ 3rd Line Could Be Next Great Stanley Cup-Winning Line

 

Canucks’ 3rd Line Could Be Next Great Stanley Cup-Winning Line

© Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports

 

The Vancouver Canucks entered the holiday break atop the NHL standings for the first time in franchise history and are well on their way to making the playoffs. Many things can be attributed to this amazing result, including, but not limited to, the monster seasons from JT Miller, Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson, and Quinn Hughes and the rock-solid goaltending tandem of Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith. But, arguably the biggest reason for their dramatic upswing is the consistent two-way performance from their checking line of Conor Garland, Teddy Blueger and Dakota Joshua.

 

Canucks’ 3rd Line Could Be Next Great Stanley Cup-Winning Line

[canuck73_3]

Like I said anyone wanting to move Garland is delusional. Dude is so valuable. 

[DownUndaCanuck]

They're good and been consistent of late but this is a fairly small stretch of good games, let's see if they can keep it up longer term. They seem like the type of players who will really elevate their play in the playoffs though. 

[Dr. Crossbar]

35 minutes ago, canuck73_3 said:

Like I said anyone wanting to move Garland is delusional.

 

Looking like ...

 

[higgyfan]

1 hour ago, DownUndaCanuck said:

They're good and been consistent of late but this is a fairly small stretch of good games, let's see if they can keep it up longer term. They seem like the type of players who will really elevate their play in the playoffs though. 

 

As I recall, they (Garland and Joshua) were playing very well alongside Suter before he got

injured.  Blueger + Suter are very similar players; great defensive game with offensive

upside (especially Suter).

 

What a great surprise for Canucks this season.  It sure will be great if they can elevate

their game.  What a difference maker.

Edited December 29, 2023 by higgyfan

[Miss Korea]

1 hour ago, canuck73_3 said:

Like I said anyone wanting to move Garland is delusional. Dude is so valuable. 

 

There were many here who had no idea what they were talking about.  They said he was a selfish player who killed the play whenever he had the puck, or that he was such a poor playmaker and didn't know how to pass.  Analytically, he is such a strong player on both sides of the ice.  He generates a ton of high scoring chances.  He also is extremely reliable in the defensive zone.  The only real knock on him is his lack of production and chemistry with our superstars.  Maybe his shot too, but he is an incredibly gifted player with a hard-nosed work ethic and a unique style of play.  He actually tries to play smaller than he is, but finds a way to actually make that work in the NHL.

 

 

Aside from that, I feel like this article is just stating the obvious.  But we should also consider this - our top two lines need to be better than they were last night if we want to win a cup.  On the whole they've exceeded expectations but they need to keep their eye on the ball if they want to stay at the top.

[Barn Burner]

2 hours ago, canuck73_3 said:

Like I said anyone wanting to move Garland is delusional. Dude is so valuable. 

Totally. I've been saying that for at least a couple months. 

 

Why in the world would you trade someone who's a buzzsaw, highly skilled, shifty, usually carrying, and pushing the play? 

 

Because you'll clear cap space, and replace it with what? 

 

He should also be the QB on the 2nd PP. 

[Reg]

Interesting article and I agree with the premise that the strength of a teams third and fourth lines. 

 

Our current third line will need to continue to work hard in order to be considered among to best in the NHL.

[canuck73_3]

4 hours ago, Barn Burner said:

Totally. I've been saying that for at least a couple months. 

 

Why in the world would you trade someone who's a buzzsaw, highly skilled, shifty, usually carrying, and pushing the play? 

 

Because you'll clear cap space, and replace it with what? 

 

He should also be the QB on the 2nd PP. 

Been saying this since we acquired him loved him even with the Yotes. 

[Sophomore Jinx]

11 minutes ago, canuck73_3 said:

Been saying this since we acquired him loved him even with the Yotes. 

Me too, I couldn't believe it actually when I heard that he was coming here

[Goose]

I want to see how they match up against other top 6 lines. They didnt last long vs Couturier’s line.  Dont even need to produce like they have been.

[GrammaInTheTub]

9 hours ago, canuck73_3 said:

Like I said anyone wanting to move Garland is delusional. Dude is so valuable. 

I was part of the move Garland movement for awhile, but like many here I have changed my thoughts. It’s pretty amazing that we have two guys in Boeser and Garland exceeding expectations, in varying ways, after being trade fodder for so long. Let’s all keep this in mind with Kuzmenko too. 

[N4ZZY]

10 hours ago, canuck73_3 said:

Like I said anyone wanting to move Garland is delusional. Dude is so valuable. 

 

He's valuable now, but everyone seemed to want to be trading him earlier in the season and in the summer. 

 

[N4ZZY]

8 hours ago, Miss Korea said:

 

There were many here who had no idea what they were talking about.  They said he was a selfish player who killed the play whenever he had the puck, or that he was such a poor playmaker and didn't know how to pass.  Analytically, he is such a strong player on both sides of the ice.  He generates a ton of high scoring chances.  He also is extremely reliable in the defensive zone.  The only real knock on him is his lack of production and chemistry with our superstars.  Maybe his shot too, but he is an incredibly gifted player with a hard-nosed work ethic and a unique style of play.  He actually tries to play smaller than he is, but finds a way to actually make that work in the NHL.

 

 

Aside from that, I feel like this article is just stating the obvious.  But we should also consider this - our top two lines need to be better than they were last night if we want to win a cup.  On the whole they've exceeded expectations but they need to keep their eye on the ball if they want to stay at the top.

 

I think we have a good top six for a playoff contender, but the top six probably needs some work if we're going to be a stanley cup contender, which I think we are not. It's great that the team is doing well, but we're definitely not in the upper echelon of contending teams. Pretender or actual Contender? 

 

[canuck73_3]

55 minutes ago, N4ZZY said:

 

He's valuable now, but everyone seemed to want to be trading him earlier in the season and in the summer. 

 

When the rumours started with OEL the players I wanted added to the deal were Garland or Crouse. 

[filthy animal]

11 hours ago, Reg said:

Interesting article and I agree with the premise that the strength of a teams third and fourth lines. 

 

Our current third line will need to continue to work hard in order to be considered among to best in the NHL.

 

As Ive said before, in the playoffs, superstars usually cancel themselves out. Whos got the best bottom 6 forwards and bottom pair dmen usually determine who wins in the playoffs

[DownUndaCanuck]

Garland and Joshua are on pace for a good 35-40ish points (Joshua on pace for 21G), but Blueger has really stepped it up after his injury and a slow-ish start. He's on pace for around 50 points already which is pretty unreal and makes him a very decent 3C across the league. Not bad for a line which was really just supposed to defend and kill penalties and not score much.

 

They're a big part of our success, especially with Pettersson's offence dipping.

 

Different things have to carry teams at different times in the year to be successful, and in the playoffs to build a Cup winner, all those pieces have to come together. We had our moments at the start of the year when our PP was on fire, when Petey was scoring at 2PPG, when Hughes and Miller really tore up other teams (they've softened a bit lately but not much), when our PK was doing kind of alright and when our goalies stole games. Recently, it's been our 3rd line which has been consistently scoring and defending well.

 

I'm sure they'll drop off eventually and get mixed up later on in the year, but hope they play this way - their very best - come playoff time.

[AatuD2]

11 hours ago, Tofu_Bud said:

I want to see how they match up against other top 6 lines. They didnt last long vs Couturier’s line.  Dont even need to produce like they have been.

 

 

I don't think they were even given a chance, they just started the game out for us in the first minute.  

 

JT really struggled against Coutourier that whole game, wish they had given our 3rd line more of a run against them. 

[IBatch]

13 hours ago, N4ZZY said:

 

I think we have a good top six for a playoff contender, but the top six probably needs some work if we're going to be a stanley cup contender, which I think we are not. It's great that the team is doing well, but we're definitely not in the upper echelon of contending teams. Pretender or actual Contender? 

 

We've had other teams, that lacked in the top 9-12.   WCE was a one line team.   Sedins couldn't do much of anything back then in the post season, or the regular one.   Cooke was a good support player that's about it.  Kesler had Samuelson.    Don't know how long you've followed this team, but aside from 92-93, we've never had a real package in the top 12.   This one might be better then all but that one.   We don't need the best line in hockey to win a cup.   We likely won't.   And when is the last time that's actually happened anyways?  

Edited December 30, 2023 by IBatch

[N4ZZY]

1 hour ago, IBatch said:

We've had other teams, that lacked in the top 9-12.   WCE was a one line team.   Sedins couldn't do much of anything back then in the post season, or the regular one.   Cooke was a good support player that's about it.  Kesler had Samuelson.    Don't know how long you've followed this team, but aside from 92-93, we've never had a real package in the top 12.   This one might be better then all but that one.   We don't need the best line in hockey to win a cup.   We likely won't.   And when is the last time that's actually happened anyways?  

 

Not sure about the best line in hockey that's won a cup. But teams that get hot at the right times generally go pretty far. Almost everything has to right (as Rutherford has stated) for any team to win a cup. No injuries (or at least no major ones) to the team, depth players stepping up in unusual ways, bounces going our way, calls going our way, best players scoring at the right times, etc. 

 

I'm also not sure if our top six is strong enough to win a cup. Do we need one more addition to the top six? Our bottom six seems to be quite strong, and our top six is pretty good. But i can't help but shake the sense that we need one more player in the top six for us to really compete with the likes of Vegas, etc. 

[Shirotashi]

On 12/29/2023 at 2:11 PM, canuck73_3 said:

Like I said anyone wanting to move Garland is delusional. Dude is so valuable. 

I feel like he has a lot of locker room clout, like guys in the locker room respect him. 

 

[Junkyard Dog]

On 12/29/2023 at 2:11 PM, canuck73_3 said:

Like I said anyone wanting to move Garland is delusional. Dude is so valuable. 

 

Not as valuable as a solid top 4 D like we need or a solid top 6 winger.

 

Eventually, a youngster will be able to be as impactful in the bottom 6 or better at a much cheaper price. We gotta a lot of forwards coming up and only so many spots and so much cap space. 

 

It probably won't happen this year but I reckon at some point he's moved. I can't see him last his entire contract here. 

[canuck73]

Chemistry

[canuck73_3]

5 hours ago, Junkyard Dog said:

 

Not as valuable as a solid top 4 D like we need or a solid top 6 winger.

 

Eventually, a youngster will be able to be as impactful in the bottom 6 or better at a much cheaper price. We gotta a lot of forwards coming up and only so many spots and so much cap space. 

 

It probably won't happen this year but I reckon at some point he's moved. I can't see him last his entire contract here. 

That would be a mistake, currently I’d move Kuzmenko before Garland. 

[Junkyard Dog]

2 minutes ago, canuck73_3 said:

That would be a mistake, currently I’d move Kuzmenko before Garland. 

 

If a youngster comes up and proves more valuable then it would save us a significant amount of cap which is needed. Hog, Pod, Lekker, Karlsson, Bains, Raty, Sasson, Aman. Some of these guys are in the lineup already and others starting to get licks. 

Like I said they probably aren't moving him this year. Kuzy is more likely to get moved first anyway. I am talking next year or before the 2025-26 year when the OEL buyout cap goes up to 4.76M for two years while guys would have just been extended or will be needing some. We could end up risking bonus overages with youngsters at the same time which would add to the dead cap. 

 

We need to re-sign Petey, Hronek, Lafferty and Joshua who are all due for raises this year. Zadorov needs a contract as well. Have to decide on Bleuger who will probably be getting a bit of a raise since he's on pace for a career year. DeSmith, Myers and Cole need to be replaced and Kuzy if he's traded away. 

 

The trade deadline is gonna be interesting. I expect JR/PA to be active.