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leigh
Moderator
Canada
1755 Posts |
 Posted - 12/05/2006 : 10:29:26
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Living in Vancouver I can tell that the Canucks have just crossed the line. If there was chatter about the teams mediocre performance this year, it has just doubled or tripled over night.
Last night the nucks lost 4-0 to division rivals, the Edmonton Oliers. In the process they lost 3 guys to injury (Pyatt, Salo, Rypien - the severity of each injury has yet to be determined) While they weren't really out played (they out shot the Oil 36-18), it does raise some serious questions:
1) Do the Canucks have the scoring prowress they need to make the post season?
2) Is the Luongo really worth the $6,000000 they are paying him?
3) Is there enough depth on the team to endure a long season?
4) Should the team split up the Sedins and try to build up the second line to at least "average"?
5) Is Nonis doing his job as team GM?
6) Is it time to make a move and pick up another sniper (ie: move Morrison etc.)
I don't have the answers but I wonder if the new owners do. The Aquilini Group completed the purchase of the team and the building yesterday and now own 100% of the franchise. I don't think it is time to push the alarm button just yet, since the Canucks sell out every night, but we all know that the gravy for an owner is in the post season. A post season that just might not materialize if this team does not pull together...and fast!
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Ryan Harper
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
322 Posts |
Posted - 12/05/2006 : 10:40:21
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quote:
1) Do the Canucks have the scoring prowress they need to make the post season?
2) Is the Luongo really worth the $6,000000 they are paying him?
3) Is there enough depth on the team to endure a long season?
4) Should the team split up the Sedins and try to build up the second line to at least "average"?
5) Is Nonis doing his job as team GM?
6) Is it time to make a move and pick up another sniper (ie: move Morrison etc.)
1) Not even close
2) Yes - he is not the problem. He is a world class goaltender.
3) No 0
4) I dont think it will help. Why break up the one good thin gthey have going?
5) Can't blame him entirely
6) Yes but easier said than done.
When Nonis acquired Luongo he was praised by GMs around the league. This is a move that should not be criticized. I have said this in other threads - it is the bad decisions made by signing Kesler, Bulis, Chouinard. Signing Burrows and Santala to one way deal was also a bad move. I dont think anyone expected Morrison to struggle this badly.
Yes they need to do something, but I am afraid by the time it does happen, they will be out of the playoff race. I can see them dumping Naslund to a contender, ridding themselves of Morrison, and getting rid of the ever useless Matt Cooke.
"Some people skate to the puck. I skate to where the puck is going to be."
~Wayne Gretzky
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leumas
Top Prospect
Canada
10 Posts |
Posted - 12/05/2006 : 12:19:08
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The sad thing is its already too late!! Any changes made now will most likely take a season or so to help.
Going out and getting a sniper to help with scoring would be tough.
Who are they going to get? Who are they going to give up to get him?
On top of that they probably need more than one player to help with scoring.
What blows my mind is that ANYONE with any knowledge of this team and it's history could easily see that this team was going to be in BIG trouble this season.
Naslund and the Sedin's are great players but face it when the going gets tough they aren't really the guys stepping up to the plate consistently. Beyond them there isn't a single player on this team that you could look to as a leader.
This team needed a BIG shake up this season. Getting Luongo was a great move. The rest of the team is pitiful. A couple of decent players and the rest are plumbers!
If you ask me the biggest mistake the Canucks ever made was letting Burke go. After that the Canucks took a nose dive and the Ducks rocketed to the top of the League. Hmmm......
If Nonis can look at this team and honestly believe that it has any chance of making it deep into the playoffs then he should be fired on grounds of insanity.
He needs to wake up!!! This team needs serious help.
I've been a Canuck fan for many years but now I'm sick of it! They are perpetual underachievers. No matter who is on the roster there always seems to be some mysterious problem that no one can figure out. They are LOSERS!!! Plain and simple.
Bring in Sakic, Jagr, Crosby, Sundin, Brind Amour, Niedemayer, Pronger, and every other super star you can think of. It won't help this team. They'll all be smoking the bong and flicking boogies at the TV while watching the playoffs.
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admin
Forum Admin
Canada
2338 Posts |
Posted - 12/05/2006 : 14:11:38
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Great article and very relevant to the topic:
quote:
...Well, it's been a while, but in our never-ending quest to make this job easier, we are proposing a new, updated version of the do-it-yourself Canucks story. Those with a good memory may recall we've offered this format for other local sports stories that have taken on a certain sameness. And you have to admit, if the Canucks were a movie these days, they'd be Groundhog Day.
Here goes:
VANCOUVER -- In a game where goals were at a premium, the Vancouver Canucks (edged/were edged) 2-1 by the ____ last night, extending their (winning/losing) streak to one game.
The Canucks, who are (one game above/one game below) the .500 mark, remain in the thick of the Northwest Division race despite ranking 30th in the NHL in goals scored.
Last night, they outshot the ____, but goalie ____ was named the game's first star, stopping ___ of ___ shots as the Canucks held a wide edge in territorial play.
"We're working hard and we're creating a lot of chances out there," said head coach Alain Vigneault. "We feel if we stick with this it will be a matter of time before they start going in."
"That was a solid team effort," said team captain Markus Naslund. "If we play that way every night we'll win our share of games."
(Naslund/a Sedin) opened the scoring for the Canucks before the contest settled into a tight-checking affair. Vancouver's best chances came when (Ryan Kesler/Jan Bulis) misfired on a two-on-one and (Brendan Morrison/Matt Cooke) hit the post. On the season the Canucks have now scored ___ goals in their ___ games (multiply number of games by two for the correct goal total). But it's been ___ months since someone other than Naslund or a Sedin scored.
For the visitors, ___ tied the game when his harmless wrist shot deflected off (Kevin Bieksa/Mattias Ohlund) before ____ notched the game-winner in the third period.
From Ed Willis' article in the Vancouver Province
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Canucks are in big time trouble! 
