Vancouver: Cup Finally Coming to the Rogers?
Yesterday while deep in enjoyment watching robots fighting gigantic beasts in Pacific Rim, my phone buzzed and when opening it I was asked a question by Mike which struck close to home as the question read, "What's it gonna take for the Canucks to take home the Stanley Cup this season?" being a Vancouver fan this one that needs some serious analysis, so to work I go.
The short answer to this question would be 'a hell of a lot!' and after reaching the 2011 Stanley Cup final, the last two season have been a massive disappointment under Alain Vigneault which lead to his dismissal this May. John Tortorella has been appointed as the new Head Coach of the Franchise and I'm certain that journalists up and down North America are thrilled about more imminent explosions! Previously I have expressed both my delight and upmost fear about this appointment because although JT brings with him a Stanley Cup win, he has also failed to raise his game when need while coach of the Rangers which led to the decline in form of star centre Brad Richards.
But I suppose the real thing you want me to ponder is whether Tortorella is the right choice to guide Vancouver forward? My answer to this sadly is in the short term- no I do not think so because aside from his funny bench antics, his style of defensive co-ordinated play will not suit the attacking style that has been the Canucks trademark over the years and it will require a serious overhaul to make this work! Personally I would have like to have seen the appointment of a younger coach with newer ideas and perhaps the inclusion of a more youthful team which could provide a more creative and energetic style of play and become new building blocks for this team. But we have to give the man a shot, so the first we need is to look at the team more carefully!
Goaltenders
This issue will be among the first on the agenda as the Roberto Luongo saga yet again drags on and after the bizzare trade of Cory Schneider to the New Jersey Devils in the latest draft it seems that our $64 million misfire will yet again be keeping net! The man is in serious need of motivation after spending the majority of last season sulking on the bench and hopefully with a good start he can recapture the form that made him so memorable previously! Though Niklas Backstrom is currently a UFA! Just a thought...
Defense
Here is one area that has become a real concern over the last two seasons and team seems to have become two dependent on the skills of Alex Edler on the blue line and despite the solid form of Dan Hamhuis, Kevin Bieksa and Jason Garrison (who joined from Florida last season) we have a severe lack of depth in this roster and it was exposed during our first round playoff exit to San Jose. Recently the Canucks management have started to clear out the old guards such as Keith Ballard (who recently joined Minnesota Wild) and with some clever trading during this window hopefully we should be able to add some good shot stoppers (if only Seth Jones had been a lower draft pick!)
Attack
In recent years the Sedin Brothers have been the main men at the centre of the Canucks offense and last season they had moments of brilliance together but these 'moments' are a far cry from their exciting form they displayed in the early years and frankly we need to start grooming a replacement. But outside of these two there is little to challenge them with Ryan Kesler being continually injured and the on/off form of right winger Alex Burrows and left winger David Booth still unable to play. Derek Roy made a brief impact during the end of the regular season but his poor playoff form saw him traded to St Louis Blues the other day! What is needed is an out and out goal scorer and after missing out on Jarome Iginla we will have to explore the market carefully, new centre Bo Horvat comes highly regarded but is he worth losing Schneider?
So to answer your question, Canucks need to settle our goalie's mind (or just trade him), tighten and add more quality defense and add more goals to the offense. I doubt that next season will see us added to Lord Stanley's Cup Winners Club but after selecting 7 players in the last draft I can only hope there is a potential star hiding somewhere. JT you have one hell of a job in front of you, but you are dealing with the best fans in the NHL so don't let us down!
The short answer to this question would be 'a hell of a lot!' and after reaching the 2011 Stanley Cup final, the last two season have been a massive disappointment under Alain Vigneault which lead to his dismissal this May. John Tortorella has been appointed as the new Head Coach of the Franchise and I'm certain that journalists up and down North America are thrilled about more imminent explosions! Previously I have expressed both my delight and upmost fear about this appointment because although JT brings with him a Stanley Cup win, he has also failed to raise his game when need while coach of the Rangers which led to the decline in form of star centre Brad Richards.
But I suppose the real thing you want me to ponder is whether Tortorella is the right choice to guide Vancouver forward? My answer to this sadly is in the short term- no I do not think so because aside from his funny bench antics, his style of defensive co-ordinated play will not suit the attacking style that has been the Canucks trademark over the years and it will require a serious overhaul to make this work! Personally I would have like to have seen the appointment of a younger coach with newer ideas and perhaps the inclusion of a more youthful team which could provide a more creative and energetic style of play and become new building blocks for this team. But we have to give the man a shot, so the first we need is to look at the team more carefully!
Goaltenders
This issue will be among the first on the agenda as the Roberto Luongo saga yet again drags on and after the bizzare trade of Cory Schneider to the New Jersey Devils in the latest draft it seems that our $64 million misfire will yet again be keeping net! The man is in serious need of motivation after spending the majority of last season sulking on the bench and hopefully with a good start he can recapture the form that made him so memorable previously! Though Niklas Backstrom is currently a UFA! Just a thought...
Defense
Here is one area that has become a real concern over the last two seasons and team seems to have become two dependent on the skills of Alex Edler on the blue line and despite the solid form of Dan Hamhuis, Kevin Bieksa and Jason Garrison (who joined from Florida last season) we have a severe lack of depth in this roster and it was exposed during our first round playoff exit to San Jose. Recently the Canucks management have started to clear out the old guards such as Keith Ballard (who recently joined Minnesota Wild) and with some clever trading during this window hopefully we should be able to add some good shot stoppers (if only Seth Jones had been a lower draft pick!)
Attack
In recent years the Sedin Brothers have been the main men at the centre of the Canucks offense and last season they had moments of brilliance together but these 'moments' are a far cry from their exciting form they displayed in the early years and frankly we need to start grooming a replacement. But outside of these two there is little to challenge them with Ryan Kesler being continually injured and the on/off form of right winger Alex Burrows and left winger David Booth still unable to play. Derek Roy made a brief impact during the end of the regular season but his poor playoff form saw him traded to St Louis Blues the other day! What is needed is an out and out goal scorer and after missing out on Jarome Iginla we will have to explore the market carefully, new centre Bo Horvat comes highly regarded but is he worth losing Schneider?
So to answer your question, Canucks need to settle our goalie's mind (or just trade him), tighten and add more quality defense and add more goals to the offense. I doubt that next season will see us added to Lord Stanley's Cup Winners Club but after selecting 7 players in the last draft I can only hope there is a potential star hiding somewhere. JT you have one hell of a job in front of you, but you are dealing with the best fans in the NHL so don't let us down!
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