For the last 5-6 years, the Vancouver Canucks have been recognized as a dominant force in the NHL. The last 2 seasons, the Canucks have taken the Presidents Trophy for most points in a single season. In the 2010-11 season, they went to game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, but lost 4-0 on home ice. Vancouver had an incredible team for that cup run, so what changed?
Absolutely nothing. Asides from replacing bruisers like Torres and Glass with people like Booth and Kassian, the key lineup has remained the same. So do we like in fighters and checkers? Not a chance, Sestito, Kassian, Weise, Pinizzotto and Lappiere are holding down the fort just fine.
So the Canucks are lacking in skill then? Don't be stupid. Vancouver's lineup is filled with forwards who have no challenge putting the puck in the net. Think about it. The Sedin twins make anyone they play with a 40 goal scorer, we have a speed line that skates circles around the oppositions best, and a 4th line that is able to put the puck in the net when we need to (IE: Couple weeks ago against Nashville, 1-0 win). The only line that hasn't produced is Booth/Kassian, but they've shown great chemistry and look promising.
The Canucks defense isn't the problem either, loaded with the likes of Edler, Hamhuis, Garrison, Bieksa, the young Tanev, and even Ballard. Ballard hasn't had a bad season, and really deserves spot #6. It's not goaltending either, with two starting goalies in the lineup.
Gotta be injuries then. With Kesler gone, Booth frequently out, Bieksa having an injured groin, we just can't keep up, right? Wrong again. With Kesler and Booth out of the lineup at the beginning of the season, the Canucks still managed to win quite a few games. And with Bieksa out, why WOULDN'T you play Ballard?
That boils it down to one thing: Coaching, leadership. This isn't about Captain Henrik, or any of the assistant captains. This is about Alain Vigneault. This is his 7th year with the Canucks, and has had his coaching position longer than any other coach currently working in the NHL. I'm not knocking his coaching skills, he's done well with us. Actually, you know what? I AM going to call out his skills. This isn't a 'rebuilding' franchise, or a bottom 8 team. As I mentioned earlier, the Canucks have a star studded lineup. He has plenty to work with, but he continually makes bad decisions that leads to losses.
Alright, now we touch on what used to be the Canucks bread and butter, the powerplay. My goodness, 2 years ago, the Canucks had the number 1 powerplay in the league. The last 2 years, it has insisted on performing the drop pass in the neutral zone, which almost always gets intercepted. It has not performed well, and is on a 0-30ish drought this season. Either the players insist on the stupid repetitive plays,or AV does. Regardless, after 2 years, he should recognize what works and what doesn't. And either he is blind and hasn't, or just doesn't care.
Another thing: he holds grudges against players. Ballard has sharpened up well this year, and the Canucks most solid defensive pairing at the beginning of the year was Ballard and Tanev. So why in the **** does Ballard find himself in the press box mid season? I HAVE NO CLUE. Instead of bringing in the veteran Ballard to help out when Bieksa was injured, AV played Alberts. FREAKING ANDREW ALBERTS. And then Cam Barker made the lineup, while Ballard still watched. I'll admit, Ballard has had some defensive blunders in the past, but like I said, he's sharpened up nicely.
And the finale: The shootout. He insists on playing the same ineffective trio each game. Edler, Burrows and Raymond are great shootout scorers. But when you only play those 3, and they have only 1 or 2 moves each, it's pretty easy to scout and stop. Why not throw rotate them? Throw new faces in? The Canucks have plenty of good players who can deke the pants off any goaltender, yet never see the shootout.
So am I blaming AV for the Canucks terrible play? Absolutely. With players like Vancouver has, we should be competing with Chicago for top spot in the West. Instead, we lose the lead in our division and battle just to stay in the top 8. I'm calling for a coaching change, AV has 'expired.'
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