Category: Sports

This is part 3 in my short series on why the Vancouver Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final.  Today I will be looking at the forwards and discuss what can be done to improve the team for another run next year.

I will comment on a line by line basis.

First Line

Very talented unit, except in the playoffs.  I liken Alex Burrows to the guy who played the other wing with Gretzky and Kurri or Bobby Orr‘s defence partner, remember them?  What, you don’t, come to think of it, neither do I.  The guy is not very good and actually may have been a distraction.  Based on his inflated stats from playing with the Sedin’s, maybe they could trade him for a real hockey player with grit as opposed to a yappy diver that people dislike.  He is well on his way to becoming a less talented version of Sean Avery or Matthew Barnaby.  As for the Sedin’s themselves, the Canucks will never win with them so lose them as well.  They could easily bring a number 1 defence guy and some needed 2nd and 3rd line depth.

Second Line

The second line could easily be number one with Ryan Kesler, Mason Raymond and a third player gained in trade.  Kesler is the type of guy that a team can build around.  Tough, highly skilled and not a yapper.  He will not disappear in a playoff as seen in this year’s run and the 2010 Olympics.

Continue reading “Vancouver Canucks – What Went Wrong – Part 3 – Forwards”

Please remove all Canuck fans from the vicinity prior to viewing the attached video.  Canuck fan may explode or begin uncontrollable sobbing.  Poster is not responsible for damaged laptops or medical bills for failing to heed this warning.  Boston Bruin fans may watch without difficulty.

This is Part 2 in a short series examining what went wrong with the Vancouver Canucks and what needs to be done to ensure the possibility of a timely return to the Stanley Cup Final.

Goaltending

The Canucks are actually in very good shape. Yes, Roberto Luongo had a tough series and yes they have 11 more years left on his contract, but there is really not much wrong with either him or their overall situation. Cory Schneider is a more than capable backup. There are issues, but they are easy fixes.

#	Goalie	GPI	GS	Min	GAA	W	L	OT	SO	SA	GA	Sv%
1	Roberto Luongo	60	60	3590	2.11	38	15	7	4	1753	126	.928
35	Cory Schneider	25	22	1372	2.23	16	4	2	1	714	51	.929

First is coaching. Alain Vigneault must not look on Roberto as the second coming of Martin Brodeur. He has been played far to much and the Canucks really don’t need him to play this much. Play Schneider more, especially once a playoff spot is secured. Luongo will be the man in the playoffs and common sense says, get him ready and don’t go in with a tired goaltender. The stats don’t lie.

Defence

The defence. This is the real issue with this team. Let’s face it, the best they have, Kevin Bieksa, is only number 3 and maybe number 4 on Boston. I would place him behind Chara, Kaberle and maybe Seidenberg. The rest of them, maybe number 5 or 6 on any team. Erhoff is a complete waste, Edler, same. No team in recent history has won a cup without at least one superstar on defence. Heck, most teams that lose have one. Chicago won last year with a stellar cast on defence, Keith, Seabrook, Campbell and Byfuglien. Philadelphia lost with Pronger, Coburn and Timmonen.

The solution. Simple. Trade the twins for a second line centre and a number 1 defenceman. Lose all their “top” defencemen on the roster with the exception of Bieksa by either ditching the free agents or sweetening the pot with the Sedin’s. They are all disposable, interchangeable parts of a whole.

Summary to Date

After 2 posts we now have a team with a new coach, a rested goalie, and a complete makeover of the defence corps, a new second line centre and no more Sedin’s. Which will lead me to tomorrow’s post on Forwards

Related articles

• Vancouver Canucks – What Went Wrong – Part 1 – Coaching (joebeans2002.wordpress.com)
• Vancouver Canucks Left With Many Questions Follow Stanley Cup Finals Loss (sbnation.com)
• Vancouver Canucks: 6 Reasons Why They Are Not Stanley Cup Champions (bleacherreport.com)

I know that there will be much angst, complaining and questioning of why or how, did the Canucks fail.  I have some thoughts and suggestions on how to ensure they remain competitive and maybe return to the Finals.  I believe I am being objective here as an interested Boston fan who watched them get dissected with a great game plan that exposed several weaknesses.

Coaching

I found that Alain Vigneault was consistently out-coached by Claude Julien.  The Canucks were very undisciplined, as evidenced by continued diving, taunting, yapping and dumb penalties.  The Bruins were guilty of the same at times, but Julien put a stop to most of the stuff with a word to the players involved.  The taunting in Game 3 by the Bruins did not reoccur in any later games and Shawn Thornton was quick to point out that it was because Coach read them the riot act.  The organization is a class organization  with many traditions and he expects his players to live up to these traditions.

The other notable area was with the team rosters.  Julien was quick to make adjustments (inserting Thornton) and rolled his lines over very well during the games.  Vigneault refused to juggle his lines at all.  Obvious error, the Sedin line.  It became apparent early on that Burrows was useless on this line and the Sedin’s should have been moved around a bit, maybe even split up.  The Bruins had a plan for them and it worked.  Splitting them may have thrown a kink into the plan and this error falls solely on Alain Vigneault’s shoulders.  Burrows was a mistake as well.  A constant distraction to his linemates, continual taunting, yapping and dive after dive.  If he was a Bruin, this would not have continued.  As a Canuck, it continued and greatly influenced the refereeing.  You show up the refs, you don’t get the call.  Being on the number 1 line, the ref effect contributed to the Bruins success in shutting down the Sedin’s.

The comments made by Luongo about Tim Thomas are well known.  The one by Daniel Sedin, guaranteeing a game 7 victory are not as well knowN.  The link to this comment is below.  Again, Alain Vigneault’s fault for not guiding his players.

Bottom line, the Canucks need a new coach, a coach not unlike Claude Julien, who can get 110% out of his players and insert discipline into the mix.  The talent is definitely there.

Part 2 tomorrow, Goaltending and Defense.

Related articles

• D. Sedin backs off Game 7 win guarantee (sports.espn.go.com)
• Canucks’ D. Sedin guarantees Game 7 victory (sports.espn.go.com)

To commemorate, I post the theme song for Roberto Luongo’s nightmares.

At the start of the playoffs, I figured I would cheer heartily for my Bruins and then, if they were knocked out, would cheer for the Canucks.  Boy, I regret that now.  In their latest show of unmitigated arrogance, they are trying to sell the rights to their victory parade.  That’s right, haven’t even won yet and they are doing this.  And I thought Luongo Part 1 was bad, and Part 2 was worse, but this.  The whole organization is bush.

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/sports/archives/2011/06/20110613-154421.html