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I don't know how the special teams lineup will round out, but I'll tell you who we'll see taking the shootout... Vrbata and Bonino. Both are scoring at greater then 40% over their careers, far better then anyone else currently on the Canucks roster.
Vrbata in particular, he's top five in the league in terms of appearances in the shootout. Nice to finally have someone who's considered a specialist in the area. A step in the right direction to be sure. Put Vrbata and Bonino with Burrows, and you have a pretty solid three for shootouts. It's a start at least, the team is going to need the extra points.
Every time I look out my window, same three dogs looking back at me.
I don't think so, Hamhuis will be there for sure. He's no PP1 guy but he's always been effective on the second unit. He'll be there w/ Bieksa, Edler will be on the first.
BurningBeard wrote:Vrbata in particular, he's top five in the league in terms of appearances in the shootout. Nice to finally have someone who's considered a specialist in the area. A step in the right direction to be sure.
True dat. There's no truer waste of points than being bad on the shootout.
Though the Canucks have only been 1-3 games below .500 on shootouts for the past few years, with this year's squad shaping up to be a bubble playoff team, those points could make the difference.
Plus Vrbata is a hell of a lot more palatable than Jussi Jokinen's 4-year, $16-million deal with Florida that takes him to age 40.
One thing I'm pleased about (although it will require the coaching staff to be more open minded than last year's) is the increase in right-shooting options for the powerplay.
We've lost Kesler but gained Vrbata, I don't know if it's a step up in quality but moving Garrison means we won't likely see two lefties on the point at the same time (Weber and Bieksa both being passable options), and then up front we also have Kassian and Vey.
Bonino also seems to have a knack for converting in close so we should be able to try a variety of looks on the first and second units this year.
dbr wrote:One thing I'm pleased about (although it will require the coaching staff to be more open minded than last year's) is the increase in right-shooting options for the powerplay.
We've lost Kesler but gained Vrbata, I don't know if it's a step up in quality but moving Garrison means we won't likely see two lefties on the point at the same time (Weber and Bieksa both being passable options), and then up front we also have Kassian and Vey.
Bonino also seems to have a knack for converting in close so we should be able to try a variety of looks on the first and second units this year.
Forgot about right shot Weber! he should see some powerplay time most def'!
Can the Canucks just win a Cup within the next 5 years.
