Edler = Edler
Salo = Salo
Hamhuis = Hamhuis
Bieksa = Bieksa
Ehrhoff > Ballard
Ballard = Tanev
Luongo < Luongo
First line and depth defense take a hit, but forward depth and goaltending are better. Considering the Sedins were shut down except for against the Sharks, a weaker top line can't affect us more than it did last year.
What killed us was overall health, and increasing overall depth, hopefully will aid in preserving this.
They're just as good if not slightly better...on paper.
In terms of on ice results, they've been significantly worse. Wildly inconsistent season, salvaged in large part by outstanding goaltending.
I guess hope for the playoffs comes down to whether you think they've been lying in the weeds all year taking it easy, or whether you think something in the current makeup is critically flawed. If it's the former, they could go as far as they did last year. If it's the latter, they're looking at a first round ouster, 2nd at best.
According to Vigneault last night it is a myth that the Canucks were inconsistent, let alone "wildly inconsistent". He took Scott Oake to task when he floated that thought.
As he pointed out after the usual slow October the Canucks were very consistent in a much tougher Western Conference. You do not win the President's Trophy unless you are consistent.
the bottom 6 is the only thing that's an improvement from last year i think, maybe the second line too if the amex line can find some success in the playoffs
Last years team was better, but won 15 playoff games with the Sedins playing like garbage for most of the games. If the Sedins show up this year and actually play well we could win more playoff games than we did last year
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I told ya so. I was right all along!
Last years team was better, but won 15 playoff games with the Sedins playing like garbage for most of the games. If the Sedins show up this year and actually play well we could win more playoff games than we did last year
Last season's Canucks had a season for the ages with so many career years by a number of players but a better team?
I think this year's team is better and built for the post-season grand as Gillis noted at the trade deadline. The West was much tougher conference this year.
Last years team was more top heavy, this years team has a lot more depth. A 7 game series is a relatively small sample size, having more contributors in your lineup increases your teams chances significantly imo. This team, at its best, ices 4 really good lines, 6 really good D and a really good goalie. If they all commit to playing great defence, I think this team has a great shot at getting enough goals to win it all. We'll need a little luck along the way, you always do.
Here's how I would compare the 2 teams:
1. We're far deeper at forward. Our bottom 6 of Higgins, Hansen, Pahlsson, Malhotra, Lapierre, Wiese, Kassian, Bitz and Ebbet is as good as anyone's. The third line is elite.
2. We're bigger and stronger and built better for the playoffs with Pahlsson, Kassian, Booth and Wiese all capable of playing a regular shift.
3. On defence we're not as deep as we had 5 top 4 defencemen with Ehrhoff. Now we need to rely on Tanev or Rome to step into our top 4 if there is an injury. Tanev looks like he may be ready. Health is the big wildcard as we lost Hamhuis and Rome (suspension) in the finals and Ehrhoff was hurt.
4. Our top players are the same but have not played up to last years' levels (Sedins and Kesler). It looks like Henrik is back on track and hopefully Kesler picks it up. Daniel's injury is the wildcard.
5. Goaltending is better as Schneider looks much better than last year. Luongo is at least as good.
Overall I'd say we have better depth even with the loss of Ehrhoff and the team looks better built for the playoffs with the additions of some big bodies who can play and with the addition of Pahlsson to an elite third line that can play a key shut down role and score goals.
Samuelsson (not a bad winger, could play with sedins)
(but he was injured and not a huge factor in end of the run)
erhroff- (solid OFD, good pair with edler, good PP)
Torres- (gritty winger, tiny bit of scoring depth)
Glass- (gritty fourth liner, a bit slow, not very good hands)
better version of Kesler- (completely dominant in Nashville, carried his line)
slightly better sedins- (looked more dominant in San Jose, better PP, better season)
slightly better Pk
better PP (not in finals)
This year
Booth- (huge improvement for second line, speedy, adds more dimensions)
Tanev- (Bigger role and has proven to be a solid defenseman)
Pahlsson- (Good pick up, faceoffs, shut down, still dangerous offensively)
Much improved Higgins- (Makes any line better, good scoring depth)
Kassian- (grit and tough 4th liner)
better Lapierre- (Sparked with first line, very consistant)
Healthy (so far except Ballard at this point I believ bieksa and Daniel will be back)
People also need to remember that hodgson was playing a very limited 4th line role and was not a huge factor
In summery,
Our "big guns" are not playing as good, but our depth is much better, and we lost a very good defenseman and we gained better depth and overall everyone got better on the back end to compensate.
Injuries will make or break us... just like everyone else
i think a healthy Kassian could be a game changer. Not to mention Sami the bull, if he plays like he has lately, gives Kes some freedom to concentrate on scoring. And better goaltending. More depth than last year, but last year's team looked better going in. I didn't think they would be stopped.
that's the thing tho, they haven't been playing to their potential. last year we had 2 40 goal scorers heading into the playoffs, this year not so much.
also idk how you can claim booth is better than samuelsson yet
that's the thing tho, they haven't been playing to their potential. last year we had 2 40 goal scorers heading into the playoffs, this year not so much.
also idk how you can claim booth is better than samuelsson yet
Because Samuelsson played injured and contributed nothing last year.
that's the thing tho, they haven't been playing to their potential. last year we had 2 40 goal scorers heading into the playoffs, this year not so much.
also idk how you can claim booth is better than samuelsson yet
Remind me what sammy did last year other then lose the puck and get injured
It's tough to say. If you look at it in terms of a strict in/out comparison...
Ehrhoff = hasn't really been replaced, but i think we've seen a better version of Salo this year, and Tanev has impressed me massively down the stretch. But we're still missing what he brought to the PP and transition game.
Samuelsson = was hurt last playoffs anyway, and you have to hope/think Booth is going to come out with a fire under his ass and be an improvement there.
Torres = Kassian brings the same sort of wildcard element, with spotty defensive play and the potential to turn a series in completely the wrong way, or knock somebody out. The fact that Kassian will likely be iced in a more limited and focused role is probably better.
Pahlsson = Maybe a minor upgrade on Lapierre as 3rd line Center, but the upside is that we also still have Lapierre so that's a net gain over the rotation we saw at the 3rd/4th line C spots last year.
4th line depth = The biggest improvement IMO. While i'm not sure we have a lot of players who are qualitatively better (it's a possibility, but negligible imo), but we have a LOT of guys who have looked capable in that role. That should help in keeping those grinders fresh and hungry to go all out...vs Fanner Glass from last year limping in and basically doing nothing.
Schneider = More ready to step in if needed this year. Hopefully it doesn't come to that, but if it does...i think he's more prepared than when he was thrown in last year.
Tambi = Ebbett. Pretty much a wash on that one as our 'utility guy', but i'd add that we have guys like Reinprecht on the way up who should be just as capable of playing that utility role as needed.
Ballard = who really knows if he's better or worse this year. He WAS playing better, but he's been sitting for so long it's hard to know what sort of disaster we might get.
As a whole, i think our powerplay isn't nearly as dominant and this team is built much more for the sort of 'let 'em play' games that we saw at times later in last years playoffs. I'm still not confident in the amount of 'playoff scoring' this team has, but it seems better configured to be a tight shutdown team competing in a boatload of 1 goal games compared to last year. So that's what i'm expecting. AV's natural tendency towards tight defensive hockey will re-emerge, and we'll probably see a lot of real nail-biters.
And when you're talking about a team that is likely to find itself in a ton of 1-goal games again...it's terrifyingly easy for those to go the other way. We came out on the plus side of a lot of those last year, but there's no guarantees a handful of those don't go the other way this year.
with the additions of booth/kassian/bitz/weise etc. vancouver got bigger,better and we all know how the west is physically. it'll take a grinding toll. also with sammi pahlsson, you get a elite shutdown centerman whose won a cup before in 2007 on a line with higgins/hansen that will neutralize the opposing team's top players and chip in the odd goal here and there. vancouver can play any style if they want too. trap? you got it. run/gun with some teams.. okay... nursing a 1 goal lead? nucks have the right guys to do it. goaltending is about the same. less workload for lui. schiends can come in if lui ***** the bed. defense imo is the only weakest link. lost erhoff who was instrumental in the canucks transition game and moving the puck up. but defensively he was bad. hope keith ballard's time off from pcs will off-set that.
Going into the playoffs, the Canucks are a better team than last year:
Goaltending - both are better
D - Tanev might actually be better defensively than Ehrhoff, rest is about the same.
Forwards
Henrik - about the same
Daniel - about the same
Burr - about the same
Kesler - slightly worse due to off-season surgery
Raymond - slightly worse due to off-season surgery
Hansen - continues to improve
Higgins - more used to systems and teammates
Lapierre - more used to systems and teammates
Booth vs Torres - slightly better Pahlsson vs Hodgson - much better
11th/12th forward - deeper = better (Malhotra, Wiese, Bitz, Kassian, Ebbett, Duco, Reinprecht).
The intangibles should be better - players have more experience and hopefully there'll be less injuries.
Coaching could be the difference - the additional experience means they should be able to make more adjustments more quickly. For example, starting Schneider last year was a risk. This year its an option.
Edit: the trade deadline acquisition of Pahlsson and call-up of Tanev made a huge difference.
But then, who knows? There are many variables outside of the team's control that will affect the outcome of games - its called puck luck and referees.
I know I will be in the minority because people will defend the current team but I will take last years team, no question about it
There were more players last year who played great, especially the top end guys. To me the key differences are:
1) This year, Higgins and Lappy have found their home and have played well, giving the team what it needs in scoring, defense and physical play.
2) Pahlsson, gives the team the ability to play 4 lines, rather than the 3 that AV rolled out for most of the playoffs last year. It caught up to the team later on.
3) Wait and see if Bitz, Weise, etc. on the 4th line can add the physical presence to wear down the opposition that Glass and Oreo failed to do last year. Someone needs to step up and make up for the physical game changing hits that Torres laid out.
4) Schneider should now give AV the full confidence to make an in-game goalie switch earlier (2 goal difference at most) and/or start Schneider in the very next game.
5) Booth gives them someone who can score and adds size. Lost Sammy early in the playoffs.
6) Reinprecht, could be a wildcard with his versatility and experience.
7) AV may finally decide to split the twins up if they aren't going. Can't keep sending them out only to get smothered by a top D pairing.
On the flip side:
1) PP is not as good. Missing the point shot of Erhroff. That limits Kesler's effectiveness in front of the net if the point shots don't make it through. Also, means that more pressure goes to the twins (who are notorious for not shooting the puck on the PP) to have to be more assertive and shoot the puck so that the PK forwards don't simply close the gap on the point men.
2) Rome/Ballard as a regular 3rd pairing guy. Losing Erhroff on even stretch, so the break out passes aren't there as much this year.
3) Production from the big 3 has slipped this year. Need more consistent scoring from them. Can't be shutdown for a whole series.
depth wins championships. guys like talbot/dupius/bolland and other past cup winners have guys on the bottom 6 that could contribute on a nightly basis when your top guns are shut down. thats the key for the nucks. their depth in their bottom 6 will help ease off the pressure off sedins/kesler if they get neutralized.
