Vancouver

[lanky522]

Vancouver\'s exit from the playoffs was one of the saddest I can remember... Their last two games were overtime losses (we all know that overtime games can easily go either way and are often decided by chance occurances). If they had won those two games they\'d have a 3-2 series lead instead of exiting in 5 games.

Vancouver did deserve to be the team that exited though... they could never develop any offense, and were riding solely on luongo\'s [tremendous] play... When half of the games you play goto overtime, you\'ll end up losing out at some point...

I just felt terrible for luey... He put his hand up for a split second to signal to the ref that he thought that the rob niedermayer hit was an elbow or interference penalty, and in that split second, scott niedermayer arbitrarily shot the puck on net, scoring the winning goal...

I felt the man\'s pain... he\'s been godly throughout the playoffs, and one split second of lack of concentration and his team\'s out... Very sad...

I hope Vancouver does some retooling in the offseason to get themselves some more offense, because I\'d hate to see luongo never win a cup... It\'d be a great injustice...

[WildHendy]

What do you think they should do Lanky?The local talkguys are already shipping Nazzy and morrison and talking about making a swing at Ryan Smyth-So I ask again -what do you think??Obviously they must make a move to get some more offence and jump up front while they still have the best goalie in their history.

[Orrfan]

You had to ask did\'nt you. Sigh...here goes...
Well at the start of 06 season I was calling for a clean house, by that I mean all the coaching staff the GM and fix the scouting staff and install a new captain. Well I got most of it but not the part that prolly was needed most...Nazzy!
Don\'t know why but with him as the capt it just does not work for that team? So many yrs now they have gone nowhere post season or missed the playoffs. I thot it was time he went so.. instead they kept him and when they needed big inspiration..blah..nada..nuttin! Out in 5 games 2nd round.
As you prolly know he had 24 goals & 60 pt for $6.5 mill season and of course he has a no trade clause and 1 more yr left at age 34.
If he has an ounce of integrity he would give up the C to someone like Bieksa and enjoy his final season as a Canuck..maybe even surprise everyone with a bounceback yr to 30 goals and 75 pts. If not then Veenyo better help him with that decision right smartly.
They have too many small stonehand 4th line/fringe players ( Burrows, Green, Smith, etc.) and not enuf 2nd & 3rd line studs.
So to sum it up...Fantastic in goal...Very good D...One decent scoring line SEDINS..One energy line (this season will tell if Kessler breaks out at last) Dick-all depth on the farm and too much money tied up in guys like Mo and Nazzy @ $10.0 mill. $38.0 commited and possibly a $47.5 mill cap.
They need to sign Pyatt but prolly won\'t cuz some dickhed GM will offer him $2.0 and the Nucks can afford $1.2-1.4.
They need to dump:-
Smolinski, Bulis, Chouinard, Santala, and Sopel this would trim close to $7.0 mill.
Then Nonis has to be lucky and smarter as he fills in the blanks. He might have to part with a D like Ohlund to get a quality fwd. I think he will have an easy time attracting the FA\'s to Van as the team is close to being very good and Cup worthy. They need to be able to score at least three goals a game next season and that should be Nonis\'s goal when the retooling starts.
So thats my take.. no prejudice against Nazzy he\'s just not the leader they need.

[lanky522]

i can see what you\'re saying... I\'ve always liked naslund, especially in his heyday with big bert, but I think you\'re right that he\'s not the best captain for the team...

I don\'t know that I\'d give it to bieska though (since he really only has one year with the team), but I think a player like Linden would be a good fit (he really stepped up when no one else did in the playoffs - he had 4 game winning goals and vancouver only won 5 games). Also, he\'s very active in the players union, so obviously he has some leadership abilities...

They definitely need to clean house though... as this team is living in the past right now... I agree that they should completely re-tool their 2nd and 3rd lines, but at the very LEAST, they need to get a big name right winger for the sedins to play with. Sticking average joes with these two guys, is not helping their scoring as it makes their scoring line only as strong as it\'s weakest link. Recchi\'s the only big name right wing hitting ufa this season, but maybe they could snag smyth or blake from the isles or tkachuk and turn play them on the right...

I think that aside from their lack of depth, this right wing position is their biggest problem... still, it\'s a shame to once again see the nucks limping through the playoffs...

[repenttokyo]

lanky522 wrote:

Also, he\'s very active in the players union, so obviously he has some leadership abilities...

well, that and the fact that he used to be their Captain...he was also captain of the islanders.

Post edited by: repenttokyo, at: 2007/05/07 10:15

[Orrfan]

I here ya on Trevor but its time to look to the future.
Trev\'s not even decided for sure that he will play next season yet.
In retrospect prolly Willy is the better imediate C candidate with Bieksa there in the future.
If Tamby goes sumwhere for a GM job I would love to see his post offered to Trev, I think it would be a natural fit for him and fantastic for the organization (asst. gm).
I too have always liked Nazzy but like I said the C just has not worked out for him... time for a change now. They did it in Dallas with Modano I think its the right time to do it here too. Who knows it might even help him play better with the C pressure gone.
In his most recent interview he says he wants to stay and that he will be better next year. If he will wait till he\'s closer than the top of the faceoff circle to shoot that wrister he might just turn out to be right. But he\'s still $6.0 for a 60-75 point player (at wildest prediction) and thats just stupid from a team $ standpoint. They already have Mo holding down $3.2 mill and its really screwing the Nucks for FA signings having $10.0 mill tied up with two very diminished assets.

[repenttokyo]

why not give one of the sedin\'s a C?

[WildHendy]

repenttokyo wrote:

why not give one of the sedin\'s a C?

:laugh::laugh: I think I just peed myself!!:laugh: :laugh:

[Zorro]

Why not put an A on D.Sedin\'s sweater and then SS on H.Sedin\'s.??

[repenttokyo]

why is this such a bad idea?

[Pete]

repenttokyo wrote:

why is this such a bad idea?

Because giving a \"C\" to an european is such a bad idea ...

I can,t believe we have one ... :sick:

Post edited by: Pete, at: 2007/05/08 13:16

[Pete]

Vancouver needs a pure goal scorer to play with the Sedins.

I know he won\'t go there, but they need a guy like Shanahan !

[repenttokyo]

Pete wrote:

repenttokyo wrote:

why is this such a bad idea?

Be giving a \"C\" to an european is such a bad idea ...

I can,t believe we have one ... :sick:

i can\'t agree with this at all.

[Chadosaur]

Die hard Nucks fan wading in here!

Captaincy: give Mitchell the C - he\'s a stud on defence, works his butt off and doesn\'t mince words.

Defence: let Sopel and Fitzpatrick go, pick up a big, mean crease clearer for cheap.

Naslund & Morrison: I truly believe in my heart of hearts that Nazzy & Mo will have better seasons next year. That said, it\'s the size of their contracts compared to their production that is preventing Vancouver from picking up offensive help. Either stick with them and get a sub-par RW via free-agency, or deal them for whatever assets can be had in return and use the $9.2 million, plus whatever extra cap space is left over, to sign an entire 1st/2nd line.

Oh, how I would love it if Jason Blake could be had for $2 million, but it\'s probably not going to happen. With the number of free agent forwards looking for a raise in Buffalo, I wouldn\'t mind taking a shot at Derek Roy, either.

[Orrfan]

Chadosaur
I think Nonis & Veenyo know they need a significant RW upgrade. So don\'t be surprised if you see him deal Ohlund for one. If they could hold their nose long enuf it would be interesting to see if they could get Lupul from the Oil plus a prospect! I think Lowe would go for it. He\'s hard up for a Dman like Ohly.
Moe basically has no value at present....but if he should suddenly take off to a hot start next season Nonis will shop him hard.
Looks like Nazzy\'s staying and like you I want to believe he can recapture some of the old Nazzy but I would be happy with 30-35 goals and 70-75 pts realistically I don\'t think he can do more.
Don\'t expect Nonis to do alot FA wise he\'s sounding really cautious there, prolly the bargain bin again.hmy: