Can't wait. Reinhart or Ekblad will be awesome. And then 2015 McDavid.
- whipper334

Helllss yea, the 2018 Flames will be dangerous!

I got faith in Torts, one way or another i believe this will be a winning team be it a defensive minded system or not. It remains to be seen in which direction he will guide the team.

From what i hear the focus has been on conditioning up to this point while the systems aspect of the training will be in the week before the season opens. However i do enjoy seeing 2 to 3 guys forchecking in the offensive zone.
- Whiskey-Tango

That was one of few bright spots for me in the game last night. It didn't pay off, but I liked the constant pressure on the puck instead of sitting back and waiting. The key to high pressure forecheck is that the players are fit enough to back check should the puck get through, which is I guess why they are working on fitness so much...

I got faith in Torts, one way or another i believe this will be a winning team be it a defensive minded system or not. It remains to be seen in which direction he will guide the team.

From what i hear the focus has been on conditioning up to this point while the systems aspect of the training will be in the week before the season opens. However i do enjoy seeing 2 to 3 guys forchecking in the offensive zone.
- Whiskey-Tango

You guys are a couple years away from being the Flames. Go to game 7 of the cup final, lose and then still believe you can win it with the same core and then get booted early out of the playoffs the next 2 years. And finally sign the Sedins to 5 year extensions when you should be trying to get something for them, like many of you said about Iggy.

Helllss yea, the 2018 Flames will be dangerous!
- Whiskey-Tango

You guys are a couple years away from being the Flames. Go to game 7 of the cup final, lose and then still believe you can win it with the same core and then get booted early out of the playoffs the next 2 years. And finally sign the Sedins to 5 year extensions when you should be trying to get something for them, like many of you said about Iggy.
- whipper334

Difference is you also lost Kipper, whereas we have Luongo for the next bazillion years.

Difference is you also lost Kipper, whereas we have Luongo for the next bazillion years.
- 1970vintage

Yeah but he doesn't want to be there.

You guys are a couple years away from being the Flames. Go to game 7 of the cup final, lose and then still believe you can win it with the same core and then get booted early out of the playoffs the next 2 years. And finally sign the Sedins to 5 year extensions when you should be trying to get something for them, like many of you said about Iggy.
- whipper334

Not sure it's that dire, at-least we got a few decent prospects in the system where as you guys didn't, not to mention having one of the worst management teams in sports history. The Canucks defensive core is still relatively young and locked up for the foreseeable future, meaning if we cant score we can resort to a defensive system to still stay above .500. It's not pretty, but it's certainly not self-destructive like the Flames have been for the last 2-3 years.

At worst we turn into a Coyotes/Devils style team, all the while staying respectively competitive, again........unlike the Flames.

Edit: However it remains to be seen if that strategy would be beneficial to the long term stability of the franchise, i.e making the playoffs and putting butts in the seats, or rebuilding to get another shot at the cup.....

I haven't seen Yeti in here since he banned me for saying 'panties'.

Yeah but he doesn't want to be there.
- whipper334

If Luongo didn't want to be here the Canucks would have traded him by now.

Not sure it's that dire, at-least we got a few decent prospects in the system where as you guys didn't, not to mention having one of the worst management teams in sports history. The Canucks defensive core is still relatively young and locked up for the foreseeable future, meaning if we cant score we can resort to a defensive system to still stay above .500. It's not pretty, but it's certainly not self-destructive like the Flames have been for the last 2-3 years.

At worst we turn into a Coyotes/Devils style team, all the while staying respectively competitive, again........unlike the Flames.

Edit: However it remains to be seen if that strategy would be beneficial to the long term stability of the franchise, i.e making the playoffs and putting butts in the seats, or rebuilding to get another shot at the cup.....
- Whiskey-Tango

I don't think the franchise could survive a period where we become the Western Canadian version of the Coyotes/Devils. There's talk that the Aquilinis are having cash flow problems due to a couple of big construction projects being axed and the inability to get the Edgewater Casino project around B.C. Place up and running through city council. Not to mention that Francisco owes a lot of money up front to his ex-wife for the settlement of his divorce. If the Canucks fall down the standings and either miss the playoffs or become an average to mediocre just make the playoffs team and the season ticket base declines, you might see the Canucks being sold. A friend of mine used to manage Golden Eagle and knows FA quite well and ended up being let go with a lot of staff, and that's omnious seeing as Golden Eagle makes a huge profit for the Aquillinis.

If Luongo didn't want to be here the Canucks would have traded him by now.
- Scooby_Doo

Meh, it's the preseason still. We should save the anxiety for November. If we still suck then, we have a problem.

Serious question, because I don't watch Flames games, how many Flames fans show up to a San Jose or La home game?
- 1970vintage

That may have more to do with the cost of / availability of home tickets in van ... Plus most if the fans that go to these games in California are bushed from van .... So they still is from bc..... I just laugh at all the fans who use this reiivant term like their team is king poop

The media is still trying to make more out of Torts' comments about Kassian getting nailed with conditioning while he sits out 8 games.

They wont be satisfied til Torts freaks.

I don't think the franchise could survive a period where we become the Western Canadian version of the Coyotes/Devils. There's talk that the Aquilinis are having cash flow problems due to a couple of big construction projects being axed and the inability to get the Edgewater Casino project around B.C. Place up and running through city council. Not to mention that Francisco owes a lot of money up front to his ex-wife for the settlement of his divorce. If the Canucks fall down the standings and either miss the playoffs or become an average to mediocre just make the playoffs team and the season ticket base declines, you might see the Canucks being sold. A friend of mine used to manage Golden Eagle and knows FA quite well and ended up being let go with a lot of staff, and that's omnious seeing as Golden Eagle makes a huge profit for the Aquillinis.
- DariusKnight

Agreed, and i think that's one of the issues related to this team as going into rebuild now would all but seal the deal for the Aquillinis. Losing out on playoff profits not to mention the fan base growing frustrated with the season results would ultimately force them to sell. If however, the team remains competitive in a mediocre way, the die hards would still buy tickets/ merchandise and keep the Aquillinis afloat. Thus i believe Gillis can merely play the cards he's dealt without having the luxury of building from the ground up ala Chicago/Edmonton/Pittsburgh.

The media is still trying to make more out of Torts' comments about Kassian getting nailed with conditioning while he sits out 8 games.

They wont be satisfied til Torts freaks.
- boonerbuck

Seems as tho you are waiting for the same thing.

no rebuild needed

we will be one of the better teams
we have 2 of the top five players in the world. this entire sedin decline stuff is crap.
henrik has cored more points since 2007 then every single player in the league other than ovechkin. Fix the power play have a horvat or shink or gauce or kassian turn into a top 9 and we are fine

Seems as tho you are waiting for the same thing.
- Whiskey-Tango

I dont understand what that means?

Please explain why you think this?

I got faith in Torts, one way or another i believe this will be a winning team be it a defensive minded system or not. It remains to be seen in which direction he will guide the team.

From what i hear the focus has been on conditioning up to this point while the systems aspect of the training will be in the week before the season opens. However i do enjoy seeing 2 to 3 guys forchecking in the offensive zone.
- Whiskey-Tango

From the snippets I watched last night it was pretty clear this was a team still trying to learn a new system as opposed to SJ who've been running the same system for years.

That may have more to do with the cost of / availability of home tickets in van ... Plus most if the fans that go to these games in California are bushed from van .... So they still is from bc..... I just laugh at all the fans who use this reiivant term like their team is king poop
- Redmile247

Dude, I asked a serious question, if you don't know the answer just say so.

Not sure it's that dire, at-least we got a few decent prospects in the system where as you guys didn't, not to mention having one of the worst management teams in sports history. The Canucks defensive core is still relatively young and locked up for the foreseeable future, meaning if we cant score we can resort to a defensive system to still stay above .500. It's not pretty, but it's certainly not self-destructive like the Flames have been for the last 2-3 years.

At worst we turn into a Coyotes/Devils style team, all the while staying respectively competitive, again........unlike the Flames.

Edit: However it remains to be seen if that strategy would be beneficial to the long term stability of the franchise, i.e making the playoffs and putting butts in the seats, or rebuilding to get another shot at the cup.....
- Whiskey-Tango

This is an interesting point. the Vancouver crowd seem to be a bit more critical of the on-ice product and will vote with their wallets if they don't like what they see. Evidence #1: they had to reduce playoff tickets last spring by 50% to fill up the arena.

Unlike Toronto where the zombies will shuffle in no matter what they're watching on the ice, the Canuck franchise could suffer if this team becomes too painful to watch (for whatever reason).

Meh, it's the preseason still. We should save the anxiety for November. If we still suck then, we have a problem.
- micah555

Any idea if we get another regular blogger who might be local, that will replace Ian?

Would Ryan Jones (Waivers) be an upgrade for the 4th line?

This is an interesting point. the Vancouver crowd seem to be a bit more critical of the on-ice product and will vote with their wallets if they don't like what they see. Evidence #1: they had to reduce playoff tickets last spring by 50% to fill up the arena.

Unlike Toronto where the zombies will shuffle in no matter what they're watching on the ice, the Canuck franchise could suffer if this team becomes too painful to watch (for whatever reason).
- AlexF

Don't let this get out, but I think Leafs fans are more loyal than Canucks fans. This is hard to judge though. Maybe it is just the bandwagon jumpers on the Canucks side of the equation that is more noticeable living in the west and guessing there are as many Leafs fans on and off the bandwagon in Toronto/Ontario. Maybe the percentages are all the same?

Too many fair weather Canucks fans for a climate with a lot of rain.

Dude, I asked a serious question, if you don't know the answer just say so.
- 1970vintage

I don't know for sure but id imagine there's way more van fans ... Thought that was kinda insinuated in my response ....