Ballard and Tanev make a good pairing, much better than Rome (or anyone else really) and Tanev, so I think Rome is the one that will sit out — even though I know the TOI would point to Ballard.
Tough news. I hope Manny can make a full return to hockey at some point. He's a good player and seemingly an excellent person. I hope they pull together to win for him. It's hard to see those kind of injuries on flukey plays cost a guy the rest of his year and put his future in hockey in jeopardy.
In terms of who fills the role; Hodgson, Higgins, Lapierre are the three that stick out to me. I know Higgins hasn't played as much C, but he's the best player of the group, Laps is probably the best f/o man to put there though. Obviously this will put an increased emphasis on Kesler's defensive game and PK minutes etc. I am very curious how the lineup shakes out.
Ballard and Tanev make a good pairing, much better than Rome (or anyone else really) and Tanev, so I think Rome is the one that will sit out — even though I know the TOI would point to Ballard.
Vigneault is a madman so it would not surprise me if a guy went from playing 20 minutes a night to the press box in favor of a rookie. Simply an AV move (not that I disagree).
Well, like others, I'm just hoping this isn't a career ending injury.
But I believe we have a superior team. And along with Crows, I believe we are a much better team than last year. The only things I would add is we have a better captain than last year and what seems to be a much better attitude this year.
Huge blow. Hopefully he recovers and can continue his NHL career...let alone just seeing properly for everyday life.
Hodgson's spot going forward? Higgins-Hodgson-Hansen or Raymond-Hodgson-Hansen looks pretty good.
i really like the look of that as a potential 3rd line. would leave Torres-Lappiere-Glass as a 4th line that can basically split the bottom-6 minutes.
however...while i do think that Hodgson should be given a shot at taking the reins here, Lappiere very well might end up being the better option. Hodgson being capable is far from a surefire thing. the upside is definitely there if he is ready, but the downside is also pretty abysmal if he isn't.
i just really hope the team give Hodgson a fair shot at least.
Well, like others, I'm just hoping this isn't a career ending injury.
But I believe we have a superior team. And along with Crows, I believe we are a much better team than last year. The only things I would add is we have a better captain than last year and what seems to be a much better attitude this year.
Sorry to be so corny, but the Cup is our destiny.
I hope this ends up being a feel good year like the Detroit win after Konstantinov had his accident. Would really make everything so very awesome. Our first stanley cup on our 40th anniversary after we lose one of our key players to an eye injury.
Not terribly surprising, but it is upsetting. Malhotra was definitely my favorite of the new Canucks this year and I really would have liked to have seen what he could have done in the playoffs. Ultimately though, that's secondary. Hopefully he can heal and be able to live a normal life; if he can play hockey again that'll be a bonus.
In terms of on ice stuff, I think there's been a lot of overreaction around Malhotra this year, first with those who undervalued what he brought to the team and then (to a lesser extent) those who may be overstating the effect of what his absence may be. He's a valuable and integral part of the team, but the team's elite PK and improved defensive game is a whole team effort and that's not going to disappear just because he's gone. If this team is really as good as their record would indicate, then they should be able to mostly fill his shoes. If they can't, then I'm not sure I see them as a championship caliber team.
To me, the saddest thing isn't that his loss may hurt the Canucks' playoff hopes; it's that a competitor and quality individual like Malhotra is being robbed of the chance to compete for the cup. You can tell he's the type of guy who will give everything to win (through his play, demeanor, and even who he chooses to play for) and it's sad to see a guy like that go down to a career threatening injury on the eve of the playoffs.
Ballard and Tanev make a good pairing, much better than Rome (or anyone else really) and Tanev, so I think Rome is the one that will sit out — even though I know the TOI would point to Ballard.
It might not be about what the best pairings are. It could be about who needs to take time off. I might even consider rotating Ehrhoff, Hamhuis, and Ballard out of the lineup from now on especially if we win the Detroit game.
This injury will probably cost the Canucks the cup. Oh well, I've been a fan for so long I was just waiting for something like this to happen. Cursed franchise. Seems secondary anyway, hopefully Manny recovers and can resume his career.
There's always next season.
Should be a great chance for Lappy to step in and show what he can do though.
Obviously the first concern is for Manny's vision, and hopefully he is able to return next season. As far as the team on the ice goes, I think it's an injury they can overcome, but it's a particularly damaging one.
Clearly losing Manny hurts us on the PK, in the faceoff circle, and it costs us a shutdown center who was shouldering a lot of responsibility for taking defensive zone draws, freeing up Henrik and Kesler for more offensive roles. I think it may be subtle to see but it will trickle up and down the line-up. One of the big questions will be how well Lapierre can step into that role and how much faith AV puts in him.
It also makes the Hodgson injury particularly painful in retrospect. Even an additional half a season on his developmental trajectory would help tremendously. Right now I feel he might be able to tread water at the NHL level and balance his deficiencies and his contributions, but he's still so inexperienced that its hard to know what to expect. It's good to know that he has experience in high pressure situations at least.
I also think it leaves us extremely vulnerable at center -- if we were to lose either Hank or Kesler to any significant injury I think our playoff run would be crippled. You'd probably end up trying Higgins up the middle, but we'd fall right back into the middle of the pack if either of those guys were to go down. Fingers crossed I guess.
It might not be about what the best pairings are. It could be about who needs to take time off. I might even consider rotating Ehrhoff, Hamhuis, and Ballard out of the lineup from now on especially if we win the Detroit game.
That's not a bad idea. It's not like any of them have an iron man streak going :-/
Ugh. I just hope he manages to get most of his vision back.
For me the playoffs have now been downgraded from "Eeep! So excited!" to "Well...let's just see what happens." I know a third line center shouldn't make that big a difference, but Manny isn't a normal third line center.
Maintain my earlier comments the day after his injury that he's either the fourth or fifth hardest player to replace on the team (Sedin/Sedin/Kesler, then Malhotra/Luongo). Damn. I should have known when I made my bold pre-season prediction that the Canucks would win the cup that Canucks luck would come into play at some point.
Well I suppose we should all know by now that the hockey gods will never make it easy for the Canucks to win anything. Hopefully this is the last major injury this year (especially at center, no ****ing depth there). As long as the rest of the forwards stay healthy for the most part I think the Canucks can weather this injury. But Malhotra is a huge loss for many reasons, including his position.
For Manny's sake I just hope he is able to make a full recovery. For the Canuck's sake I hope he's back next season.
Interesting to see what happens with the fourth line center position now. Hodgson may play in the playoffs afterall.
This injury will probably cost the Canucks the cup. Oh well, I've been a fan for so long I was just waiting for something like this to happen. Cursed franchise. Seems secondary anyway, hopefully Manny recovers and can resume his career.
There's always next season.
Should be a great chance for Lappy to step in and show what he can do though.
Sure, they can rally behind it but behind the Twins and Kesler, Manny is the player we can least afford to lose in my opinion. Realistically looking at it, this puts a serious damper on the teams cup chances. I'll of course be hoping for the best but if I were asked to bet on it, I would say the Canucks will be bounced in the 3rd round. If Manny was healthy, that bet would change. Of course anything is possible but if we're really being impartial observers and not just fans, this is a big blow. Yes, it sounds negative but it's more a matter of readjusting expectations.
