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How did the Canucks go so wrong
April 5, 2008 · Derek Felix · Jump to comments
“What the puck is a Canuck?”
That question was posed by a delirious Ranger fan 14 years ago during the Original Six franchise’s fourth Stanley Cup and first in 54 years coming at the expense of a dangerous seventh seeded Vancouver Canucks team led by Pavel Bure and Trevor Linden.
Over a decade later, it wasn’t supposed to end so quietly for the 2007-08 version of the Canucks. So, while a few of us including yours truly still has no freaking clue what the heck a Canuck is, one thing we’re scratching our heads over is what just happened to Vancouver down the stretch? Well, for starters, they collapsed by dropping six of seven to miss the postseason.
Even worse, they were officially eliminated from playoff contention by archrival Edmonton losing 2-1 on home ice the other night turning a much anticipated home tilt tonight versus Calgary into a meaningless exhibition. Well, maybe not for Mike Keenan’s club, who will be entering the NHL tournament as either a sixth seed or a seventh depending on what happens between Colorado and Minnesota tomorrow.
A Flames’ win would put them at 94 points- one better than the Avs who currently rank sixth. In the event the Northwest rivals finish tied, the tiebreaker would go to Colorado due to more wins (43).
While Calgary and Colorado fans are entertaining those possibilities of who will get Jacques Lemaire’s division-winning club in Round One, there are plenty of questions surrounding coach Alain Vigneault and Vancouver GM Dave Nonis to answer about their club to disappointed Canuck fans who expected a whole lot more than this.
How could a team which boasts one of the best goalies in the game in Roberto Luongo fold up faster than a cheap deck of cards?!?!?!?!?! Well, if there was a team flaw, it was that they didn’t score a ton of goals as evidenced by their 212 (2.62 GF/gm). On paper, that average doesn’t look bad. Especially when our metro area teams haven’t fared much better. The Rangers have one fewer goal in the same amount and the Devils have gotten to 203 with tomorrow’s home showdown against Henrik Lundqvist a tall task. What do they have in the previous seven against him? I think it’s seven total goals. Sorry. I don’t feel like looking it up.
In case you’re wondering, the banged up Islanders finished with 194. Only the Blue Jackets have gotten fewer with 192 but by the time they play out their remaining two this weekend, the Isles will likely rank dead last in offense. Yikes.
Well, at least they will probably have the Metro Cup. As brought to my attention by our newest blogger Hasan, the Rangers can still pass them if they get a win tomorrow. Hey. I jumped the gun. Truthfully, the Isles deserve that mug for how well they played against our teams. Welcome aboard! 
Now if only fellow blogger and close friend Brian (grosek18) would come out of the woodwork to tell us about how the NHL hierarchy was extremely pleased that the Sabres missed. I’m sure he’ll have plenty to say once the regular season commences.
So, Vancouver is out with ironically the same 88 points as Buffalo. Just to illustrate the difference between the two clubs, the Sabres still have scored 252 goals (3.11 per-gm) with a chance to impact whether a second first round Battle of Hudson takes place in three years later tonight. And that was with Buffalo losing top two offensive centers Chris Drury and Daniel Briere to the Rangers and Flyers. Since he has been playing better lately, does Dainius Zubrus count?
The problem for the Canucks is they didn’t have Jason Pominville, Thomas Vanek or Derek Roy. Sometimes, styles make players. Just look at Carolina as Exhibit A. Peter Laviolette’s aggressive forecheck system based on speed allows forwards to flourish. Sergei Samsonov was nearly a point-a-game after looking like he’d wide up back home in Russia after the season. Had the Canes been healthier, they wouldn’t be praying to God that Alexander Ovechkin misses his shots tonight when the Caps host the Panthers. But hey. If you lose on home ice to a team that has nothing to play for despite outshooting them by 29, then you don’t deserve to make the playoffs. Especially if backup Craig Anderson comes in relief of Tomas Vokoun and stones you.
Honestly, Vigneault isn’t a bad coach. However, it’s obvious that his team relied way too heavily on Luongo and the Sedin Twins- Henrik and Daniel. Last season, on the strength of stellar netminding by the ex-Panther, they won 49 games edging out the Wild for the division with 105 points. During his first season in British Columbia, Luongo won 47 of the club’s 49 starting 75 of 76 while posting a 2.28 GAA, .921 save percentage and six shutouts. The gaudy stats got him nominated for the Hart Trophy alongside Martin Brodeur and league MVP Sidney Crosby.
With basically the same roster, the just turned 29 year-old Montreal native was asked to carry the load again. While his numbers (72 GS, 35 W, 2.35 GAA, .918 Save Pct., 6 SHO) were solid, the former New York Islander 1997 first round selection fizzled down the stretch posting an ugly 1-6 record with a 3.68 GAA and an .874 save percentage. That included four consecutive defeats including a couple in a row at Colorado and Minnesota in which he allowed nine total goals and was pulled in each.
Talk about coming up small. While it’s also true that he allowed two goals in a couple of those losses, the bottom line is Luongo who not long ago was considered the Vezina favorite didn’t come close to delivering for the Canucks. His poor stretch is the No.1 reason they’re making golf reservations instead of going deep into the Spring as I actually believed. Yes. I picked them to reach a 1994 rematch against the Rangers. Maybe I should’ve just left that one alone because the Blueshirts will have trouble even winning two rounds. Especially given how competitive the East is.
Luongo doesn’t even deserve to be nominated for the Vezina. I can cite at least four goalies who performed better down the stretch but we’ll save that for another day.
If the best goalie to never win a Stanley Cup (just one series win against Dallas in a great seven games) was sub-standard, then what about the rest of his teammates? How do they explain laying eggs the final couple of weeks when not too long before it looked like they could repeat as division winners and be a top three seed?
It’s hard to find fault with top scorer Henrik Sedin (15-61-76) but only one helper along with a minus-three rating in the last two losses in which his club was outscored 6-3 to Colorado and Edmonton wasn’t what the doctor ordered. Brother Daniel paced the club with 29 goals finishing with 74 points. His 12 power play goals and seven deciding markers also led the Canucks. Unfortunately, the top finisher remained stuck on 29 the final four games (three losses) while netting just a pair of assists.
The real question now is can a Sedin-led offense compete seriously for Lord Stanley. It’s not like the very gifted 27 year-old Swedish magicians got much support. Thirty-four year-old team captain Markus Naslund is still a decent player but has been finished as an elite scorer for a couple of years. His 25 goals and 30 assists for 55 points were five points down from last season.
The late bloomer has had a nice career scoring close to 400 goals (371) with 452 assists totaling 823 points in 1,034 NHL games. But it’s clear he’s not the same player and the Canucks can’t rely on the former Pittsburgh Penguins’ 1991 first round pick to be a consistent threat.
There in lies the problem. Naslund is still the team’s third most productive player behind his younger countrymen. Taylor Pyatt had a bit of a down season with his goal production suffering. A concussion didn’t help. Hopefully, the former Sabre will comeback healthy next Fall. As history tells us, those aren’t to be messed around with. Just ask Eric Lindros. All those Score subsets I have are now worthless. Wow.
Excluding tonight’s meaningless season finale, key cogs Brendan Morrison, Mattias Ohlund, Kevin Bieksa, Sami Salo, Alex Edler and Willie Mitchell have missed a combined 154 contests. Way too many- especially from a few core players which comprise one of the league’s most potent bluelines. That’s where the Canucks get a good chunk of their offense from as Ohlund, Bieksa, Salo and Edler are all capable of getting involved while Mitchell logs big minutes sacrificing his body all over the ice.
When you lose such vital players, it’s usually not going to help the cause. Even gritty vet Linden has missed over 20 games. Sadly, they’re a better team when the soon to be 38 year-old former popular captain is in the lineup because he still knows how to play the game and is effective in a supporting role. His two shorthanded goals are tied for second with Ryan Kesler for second on the club behind Alex Burrows’ three. Not bad for a grizzled vet.
If there are a couple of younger forwards on this Vancouver roster who should be an integral part of the club’s future, it’s Kesler and Burrows. In particular, the 22 year-old Kesler who the club took in Round One five years prior has developed into a solid all around pivot capable of more offense as his career best 21 goals and 37 points attest. They’ll need the kid from Michigan to build on that success next season.
As for Burrows, he’ll soon turn 27. The undrafted left wing from Quebec who Vancouver signed as a free agent three years ago has proven that he can be more than a goon. In his second full season, his 12 goals, 19 assists for 31 points along with a respectable plus-12 rating have to encourage Nonis and the organization.
Burrows has plenty of character and is very willing to mix it up almost to a fault. A recent cheapshot should’ve resulted in a suspension. He must tone it down so he doesn’t get a bad reputation around the league. He enters tonight with 179 penalty minutes which not surprisingly leads Vancouver. Figure that number to increase against nemesis Calgary. He’ll be needed more on the ice starting next October.
The Canucks also boast the promising Mason Raymond. In 49 games during his rookie campaign, the former 2005 second rounder tallied 21 points (9-12-21). He’s rehabbing from a bad knee and will be reassigned to Manitoba to compete for the Calder Cup.Â
So, Vancouver does have a few young forwards who should help lessen the load on the Sedins. However, you can’t help but wonder if a crop which includes journeymen Brad Isbister and Byron Ritchie needs to rethink their philosophy.
Clearly, the Canucks need to dip into the free agent market and add a quality offensive player. Another finisher would fit the bill. The cap is once again expected to increase. Will they have enough space to go after an elite player such as Marian Hossa? It all depends too on whether Nonis decides this summer that the Sedins are worth hefty raises. As TSN’s Darren Dreger points out, each will enter their final year of their contracts.
Does Nonis commit tons of dollars to players who aren’t what we’d term franchise offensive guys? Both are very good but need help.
All questions which will be heavily debated in Western Canada over the next couple of months. If the look of the Canucks isn’t noticeably different next Fall, there could be a lot more explaining to do.
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[...] Original post here [...]
[...] Kovy274Hart created an interesting post today on How did the Canucks go so wrongHere’s a short outlineHis poor stretch is the No.1 reason they’re making golf reservations instead of going deep into the Spring as I actually believed. Yes. I picked them to reach a 1994 rematch against the Rangers. Maybe I should’ve just left that one … [...]
[...] The Battle of New York :: A Tri-State Area Hockey Blog wrote an interesting post today on How did the Canucks go so wrongHere’s a quick excerptHis poor stretch is the No. 1 reason they’re making golf reservations instead of going deep into the Spring as I actually believed. Yes…. [...]
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[...] http://www.battleofny.com/2008/04/05/how-did-the-canucks-go-so-wrong/It’s hard to find fault with top scorer Henrik Sedin (15-61-76) but only one helper along with a minus-three rating in the last two losses in which his club was outscored 6-3 to Colorado and Edmonton wasn’t what the doctor ordered. … [...]
[...] read more Filed under Admin at 7:56 pm and [...]
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[...] http://www.battleofny.com/2008/04/05/how-did-the-canucks-go-so-wrong/It’s hard to find fault with top scorer Henrik Sedin (15-61-76) but only one helper along with a minus-three rating in the last two losses in which his club was outscored 6-3 to Colorado and Edmonton wasn’t what the doctor ordered. … [...]
[...] http://www.battleofny.com/2008/04/05/how-did-the-canucks-go-so-wrong/Taylor Pyatt had a bit of a down season with his goal production suffering. A concussion didn’t help. Hopefully, the former Sabre will comeback healthy next Fall. As history tells us, those aren’t to be messed around with. … [...]
[...] http://www.battleofny.com/2008/04/05/how-did-the-canucks-go-so-wrong/It’s hard to find fault with top scorer Henrik Sedin (15-61-76) but only one helper along with a minus-three rating in the last two losses in which his club was outscored 6-3 to Colorado and Edmonton wasn’t what the doctor ordered. … [...]
[...] http://www.battleofny.com/2008/04/05/how-did-the-canucks-go-so-wrong/Taylor Pyatt had a bit of a down season with his goal production suffering. A concussion didn’t help. Hopefully, the former Sabre will comeback healthy next Fall. As history tells us, those aren’t to be messed around with. … [...]
[...] http://www.battleofny.com/2008/04/05/how-did-the-canucks-go-so-wrong/It’s hard to find fault with top scorer Henrik Sedin (15-61-76) but only one helper along with a minus-three rating in the last two losses in which his club was outscored 6-3 to Colorado and Edmonton wasn’t what the doctor ordered. … [...]