What I'd Do To Fix This

[levelheaded]

Well, I'm insanely bored right now so I thought I'd put my thoughts since the Detroit game out there. What would I do if I was Nonis/AV right now.

Firstly, I'd send down Raymond and Edler call up Shannon and Hansen. Raymond has shown he has all the tools to be a solid player, but he needs time to develop. Too often he has looked lost and out of place out there. He has his flashes of brilliance, but he's been fairly average most of the time. Sure Shannon was -7, but he worked with the Sedins on the powerplay, so he'd add a bit of scoring to our roster. Hansen was solid in the playoffs, and has jump. Edler needs the playing time, I guess Weaver can rot in the pressbox as our #7.

So Lines:

Sedin-Sedin-Pyatt: I still think it needs time to get going.
Naslund-Morrison-Linden: I still have no idea why this hasn't been done before. Linden adds a bit of defence.
Cooke-Kesler-Burrows: Not breaking this line up any time soon
Hansen-Ritchie-Shannon: Hansen is a solid 2-way player and a right handed shot. It would be Rypien in place of Ritche, but I believe he's hurt again.


Ohlund-Salo: I like Ohlund with Salo more than anyone else
Mitchell-Krajicek: played well together last year and it's about time Krajicek's play was rewarded
Miller-Bieksa: Let BXA get his confidence back and at the same time allow Miller be less Mobile, as he can't skate.

Powerplay:

Sedin-Sedin-Shannon-Ohlund-Bieksa: It worked to start the season, then Shannon was inexplicably sent down.

Naslund-Morrison-Cooke-Krajicek-Salo: Cooke has stepped up his play big time since he was scratched, so he deserves a shot on the powerplay.


Thoughts/Comments? I don't usually do this, but I've been so frustrated with the team lately that I just HAD to prove that I would make a better GM than Nonis.

[D13G0]

The best line right now is the Burrows line. Put them on the first line and stick it to the first and second lines. That would say something to them.

I would seriously do that. That line deserves it. They never give up.

[George]

I disagree about Raymond. I think in some games he's been the best source of offensive speed and creativity, and so far that outweighs him turning the puck over once in a while. In fact I would like to see him play on a speedier line with Kesler and Cooke or Burrows, where he could benefit from their play but also be responsible for providing more offence. He's been used lately with Naslund and Morrison and I don't think that's the best place for a young player right now, both in terms of scoring chances and defensive play.

[whistler]

Not a bad thought George.

Keep youth with youth.

Move Cooke up with Nazzy & Morrison,
He's playing well right now and could try to be a mini Bert again.
Raymond Kesler & Burrows would be a fun line to watch.

[whistler]

Come to think of it, there are lots of options.

Cooke with the twins trying to become the next Ryan Smith

...and Pyatt with Nazzy & Morrison.
(Make him watch all the old Bertuzzi tapes then try and become a real power forward on a line that knows how to use one.)

This team has a good roster.
They just need something to light a fire in their bellies.

If they aren't going to win, they should work on becoming entertaining.

[Broda]

the issue i have with cooke moving to a line with the twins is that cooke is extremely streaky. He plays well in spurts. I like pyatt with the twins, he knows them and is getting better. Or possibly pyatt with Naslund. Because pyatt has a bit of a nose for the net and on occasion nazzy has set him up for some goals. I was really hoping this year for a rejuvenated Naslund and a healthy morrison. But so far both have looked very ineffective, sure there has been some plays but nothing that has shown a constant improvment over last year. I really hope that they especially nassy can turn things on. but im just not as sure as i was last year. I just think you get a guy that nassy can play with. who i don't know.. but you could possibly see a re emergence of a goal scorer in him, right now 20 odd goals isn't enough for him and this team.
I have confidence that this team will be alot better with time, things will change,
so far the most dissapointing thing about the loses, has been the fact that it hasn't been, "ah that too bad tonight they almost had that one, good effort"
its been too much of "wow we just look so off,"

I really hope that things change soon though because it has already shown this year that the west seeems even more competitive this year, Anyways hopefully they can grab a couple of points in washington, and then come back for a second chance at the wings. Anyways its just a couple of thoughts..

[Arbour]

I agree with George's comments on Raymond. Give him a little more time to adjust to the tempo of the NHL game and I think the give aways will become less and less. He certainly has the speed to contribute and unlike Shannon doesn't disappear completely when it comes time to play defensive hockey.

My gripe right now is with Nonis. It has been over a year now, and it is pretty apparent that the chemistry which made the WCE line so explosive was between Naslund and Bertuzzi, not Naslund and Morrison. Unless Nonis is prepared to convince Naslund to waive the no trade clause in his contract, he should be actively looking for a deal which will help him better fully utilize his six million dollar asset.

This is a team which needs at least two reasonably effective offensive lines, since the Sedins are too easily shut down five on five, by the better teams. Given this years personnel there is no reason to believe that the Canucks will fair any better in the playoffs, once they are faced with elite competition. Take Luongo out of the picture right now, and the Canucks are a less than mediocre team, a fact which should have been addressed by management. While Nonis did well to acquire and sign Luongo, he appears so far to be content to rest on the laurels of that acquisition, with the exception of one or two free agent signings, particularly in respect to the team's forwards.

[George]

I don't want to criticize the team too much this early in this season, but looking at the roster I see a definite over-abundance of grinders and not enough scorers, and I think that falls of Nonis' shoulders. Both he and Vigneault absolutely love these kind of third- and fourth-line checkers and as a result I think they've marginalized the playing time of more offensive players.

Right now, in this category, I see Cooke, Kesler, Burrows, Ritchie, Rypien, Linden, and Isbister who are currently on the roster. In the past we've seen guys like Goren, Bouck, and Keane roll through and play a similar game. Don't get me wrong, I think a few of those players are great and work hard, but in the end they play a similar game, and you can only have so many 'energy' players on a team before you need more pure scorers.

We've seen the impact even a marginal offensive player in Shannon can have on this team - couple of goals early and tons of chances on a couple of different lines. Imagine the effect a consistent, proven goal scorer could have. Vigneault's system is starting to get criticized, but I think there's plenty of room for offence, we just need more players who are willing to exploit it.

[DonCherry4PM]

. Vigneault's system is starting to get criticized, but I think there's plenty of room for offence, we just need more players who are willing to exploit it.

On the record, I have critiized AV's system from day 1. I also did admit last year that his system was working and took us on a veritible tear after Christmas. That said, I seriously wonder if it is a system that this team will tolerate for more than one season. Same goes for the coach.

I will accept that had we more offensive players we would be getting more shots and potentially more goals. But we don't. The question is whether, barring some major trade that brings in offense, the team needs to adapt its system to be able to score more goals. I have always thought that with one of the best goaltenders in the league and one of the top defensive cores (although right now they aren't playing that way) the team should play a more offensive style of game. We do not have snipers which means we need more shots on net to get the puck in the net. We have maybe four players that have any semblance of soft hands and the majority have hands of stone. This connotes the need for numerous shots on net. And one does not get shots on net playing an extremely defensive style of game.

I really think that had we a few more offensive players and a lesser defensive core then AV's system would work better. In such a case forced turnovers would have a higher probability of turning into goals as more skilled offensive players would be able to convert at a higher ratio. But with the team that we have and the hands of stone that we have, we need a plethora of chances to convert. (even last year when the team was playing the system when the going got tough - ie playoffs - goalscoring was the problem)

Thus, my sentiments are that the team needs to play a more offensive style of game. We have the goaltender, we have the defense, why not actually put some faith in them and use the strengths we have to allow our impotent offense to get as many tries as it needs to put the puck in the net. It doesn't matter how defensive the team plays, or how few goals against they have, if they do not get goals the team is going to lose.

[George]

On the record, I have critiized AV's system from day 1.

Didn't mean to suggest otherwise... I was referring more to the overblown response to Naslund's comments, which seemed to spark a bit of a firestorm.

I've echoed your sentiments somewhat about playing more offensively in the past, mainly because I think Luongo is better when he faces a lot of shots as he did in Florida and at times last season. But ultimately I look at how far this team got last year and then wonder how much farther they could have gotten had they had a couple more even average offensive players in their line-up. Could changing their system result in more goals? Probably. But I don't know if it would result in more wins. Let's face it, as good as our defence is, I don't think they're fast or mobile enough to deal with any sort of run-and-gun style. Mitchell and Miller don't have speed, Ohlund's lost a step since his early days, and Bieksa has positioning problems. Salo, Krajicek, and Edler are quicker but don't have any of the toughness of the other guys.

Frankly I think it would be more effective to make a couple of roster moves than revamp our playing style. I'm not dreaming about Forsberg or Jagr or anything here, I'm thinking one or two guys who could pot 20-25 goals on the right line. It's a not big thing, but I think it would make a big difference.

[mr perfect]

As much as I like Raymond, he doesn't appear to be ready for prime time and maybe has lost some of his confidence. I think he will fit in nicely with the Canucks but like Naslund, he will play best when he has a semi-talented big body on the ice making room for him. I believe he will be Naslund's replacement next season when Naslund retires. For now I believe Manitoba is the best place for him. Ryan Shannon isn't neccessarily the next call up from the Moose. Jason Jaffrey, Josef Balej and Pierre Cedric LaBrie are all outplaying him right now. Those are the players who should be rewarded with some playing time with the big club.
One of the problems with Vigneault's grinding playing style is the Canucks don't have the neccessary players to play that type of system. The Canucks are the lightest team in the NHL at 199.5 lb, a full 5 lb lighter than the NHL average. This means the Burrows, Cookes, Rypiens, Ritchies can be as gritty as anyone else but their bodies are going to take a severe toll over the regular season due to their lack of size. They are probably going to play with more injuries that teams with bigger players, thus hampering their play and effectiveness. The Canucks' bigger players (Isbuster, Pyatt) don't play like they are big players. Pyatt has been a boat anchor to the Sedins this season. Other than the fight with Ivanans, he's done very little so far and is on pace for a 16 goal season which is fine on the 3rd line but nowhere near what's needed for the top 2 lines. I'd like to see his butt parked and one of the aforementioned Moose players get a chance with the Sedins. Maybe sitting a few games will wake Pyatt up. I'd also like to see Trevor Linden get a chance to play right wing with Morrison and Naslund. Bring up Mike Brown from Manitoba for the 4th line toughness. So my Canucks lineup would look like this:

Sedin - Sedin - Moose Callup

Burrows - Kesler - Cooke

Naslund - Morrison - Linden

Isbuster - Ritchie - Brown


Mitchell - Bieksa

Ohlund - Salo

Krajicek - Miller

Luongo
Sanford

When Cowan gets healthy, he replaces Isbuster. This may shake up the team out of their doldrums and add some size and grit to their team. Brown is 210 lb and has excellent speed. He and Cowan can handle the physical aspect of the game. George is right about the Canucks defence. They don't have the capability of leading the attack up the ice so the forwards have to get back into their own zone quickly and sometimes have to grind the puck out of their own end. Some size along the wings is needed.

[DonCherry4PM]

Frankly I think it would be more effective to make a couple of roster moves than revamp our playing style. I'm not dreaming about Forsberg or Jagr or anything here, I'm thinking one or two guys who could pot 20-25 goals on the right line. It's a not big thing, but I think it would make a big difference.

I don't disagree. But I guess I don't see how or whom Nonis is going to trade to bring in the necessary offense. He seems to be pretty set on keeping his defensive depth and the only forwards that would be worth anything in a trade are ones that are somewhat productive - thus why trade? The more the team loses the more desparate we look and the more teams are going to want to take advantage of that fact in a trade. I may be wrong, but I don't see this season changing for the better without some sort of action being taken and the longer the team waits to such action, whether it be a trade or change in style of play or, dare I say it, a coaching change the more weak our position becomes.

Honestly, either the acquisition of some more offensive players while trading away defensive ones or changing the system used by the team would satisfy me.

Also, I didn't mean my comment about the record indicating my dissatisfaction with AV to be snarky but just to show that my distaste for his methodology isn't a knee-jerk bandwagon reaction.

[Madcombinepilot]

then Shannon was inexplicably sent down

Shannon was sent down because he didn't have to clear waivers. Nonis said as much on an interview.

[levelheaded]

then Shannon was inexplicably sent down

Shannon was sent down because he didn't have to clear waivers. Nonis said as much on an interview.

I know that, I meant inexplicably as I felt he'd done more than enough to stick with the big club for the year. He knew exactly where to go with the Sedins on the powerplay, and with a 4th line role his defensive shortcomings wouldn't be too noticeable. Offence is our problem, most offensive players aren't 2-way, I think we need to accept that and accommodate them, not force them to give up what was making them successful so they become marginally more defensively responsible.

[DonCherry4PM]

Offence is our problem, most offensive players aren't 2-way, I think we need to accept that and accommodate them, not force them to give up what was making them successful so they become marginally more defensively responsible.

Fully agree. It's like AV treats offensive forwards as a bane to his style of game when in fact they are what it needs to be successful.