Lancer wrote: ↑Thu Nov 05, 2026 6:26 am
Tciso wrote: ↑Thu Nov 05, 2026 6:16 am
I went to TSN to check goalie stats, and subconsciously read "trade tracker" as "tank tracker". My reaction was "that's a bit harsh" followed by disappointment that it didn't take me to the Canucks team page.
I either need coffee or a coma.
It's been a while since they were THIS bad.
I mean, even the year they drafted the Sedins, the Canucks still racked up 23 wins. Can anyone tell me with a straight face that they'll even win that many??
I wouldn't bet on it, but in many ways, the Canucks are weirdly exceeding my expectations because of the following:
(1) They are starting a rebuild with overall talent on the roster that ranks in the bottom third, and when you consider (lack of) experience in that talent mix, it will likely be expressed inconsistently.
(2) They have an extremely young defensive group, a position where experience probably has the most influence on reliability and success.
(3) If they had close to average goaltending, they wouldn't be the worst team in the league. They have the worst goaltending in the league. This is one position, Lankinen will not be part of any future. Meirilainan might, but lets look at his value -- it is the waiver wire roulette wheel for goalies that can be spun every year.
(4) They can't kill a penalty. This is part goaltending, but mostly inexperienced personnel. This is a *huge* reason they are losing so much. Doing the PK well typically requires experience and discipline (play within the system), which are correlated but distinct attributes. The Canucks penalty killers have neither, and they are rolling lots of guys through to see who might get it. Its like open tryouts.... But my eyes are on EP25 and TW -- if they don't improve as the season goes on, I will have some concern. But as for the forwards, by the time there's a whiff of competitiveness, PK competent complements are generally inexpensively acquired.
(5) They have two related problems -- lacking intensity after a goal and not playing 60 minutes, which has resulted in many potential points slipping away. This is another focus and mental discipline issue, correlated with experience, but also confidence (or lack thereof). That problem might run deeper (sometimes experienced teams have this), but even when it does, leadership (whether player leadership, which the Canucks lack at the moment) or coaching (whether new or just newly effective) can often steel up a group.
So why are those things good? Because the main aspect of the game -- the stuff that the rest can build off of -- is actually improving as the season goes on, and some of it is from the younger players who might be part of the crew. They are scoring at an okay pace -- certainly more than I thought they would. They have long stretches (more so recently, after that brutal road trip) where they are keeping up with the opponents, often 2/3ds of a game. Not better than the opponents typically, but at least they are playing the same game. This is evidence that if you are doing things right, there's something in this group (which wasn't the case with the late Willie early Travis days -- where there were more points (better goaltending and penalty killing....), but nothing pointing to a greater future potential. The fundamental systems for this group, e.g., how to transition both offensively and defensively, while not objectively good, are getting a little bit better. To me, this stuff is the core of the "process." For the bad stuff, the draft will improve (1), time will improve (2), anything can improve (3). (4) and (5) are different problems (and hopefully 5 is also simply time based), but while they are core for the wins and losses spreadsheet, they are secondary to development. You need stuff to build off before you can refine, and I think they are (slowly) creating the base from which to build, and refining can come in the future when it matters.