I always appreciate Carol's insight into things Canuck. Just wondering if she could comment on Eklund's comments re Bylsma and specifically his lack of systems and the lack of emotion shown by Pittsburgh - both of which fall on the coach. Is that really the kind of coach we want? We need someone that can get the best out of the players we have and instill some emotion into their play.
- BurnabyBob

Personally I'm not a big Bylsma fan. A bit like AV, he seems to identify his best lineup at the beginning of the season and then just rolls with it for the remainder of the season. I'm not saying you necessarily need a tightly regimented system but some tactical skill is required to get the most out of your team. Quenville has a great team but is still able to purpose-build his lineup depending on the opposition.

Bylsma does seem to have a good rapport with his players and the media, and there are certainly worse options out there, but I'd hope we could do better.

And Shero seems to have a hard time letting go that it's not 2009 anymore. Every year he seems to think they're just one piece away from another Cup run.

I agree, but didn't he go through waivers and 28 other teams didn't bite as well.

He has looked pretty good in Pittsburgh though.
- fiveandagame

Can't exactly remember how it went down, but I do recall CAR even kept some of his salary. I remember Vantel and I being fans at the time. Anyway...

Agreed. I was on here pushing for us to get him when PIT did. Having a guy like that on your team at 2.1m is a great piece of cap management.

Say, what did think of PA Parenteau? Think he'll be traded?
- AlexF

I can see him being moved out, if they resign Stastny and O'Reilly, really no room for him in the Top 6 Anymore. Can use his cap hit to help resign those guys.

O'Reilly, Duchene, Tanguay
Landeskog, Stastny, MacKinnon
McGinn ready to move up if there is an injury

Who here thinks that Linden and the new GM can actually accomplish anything this offseason in terms of significant roster moves?

Not only are their hands tied due to all the NTCs, but I think it's quite obvious that the Aquilinis believe that this team is still a playoff contender. Wishful anyone?

And hey, old man Aquilini knows how to do one thing best, counting dollars (that's Luigi ).

Any one notice during the Torts firing presser when Linden said that "somethings I agreed with Torts, somethings I didn't."

As Torts would have reiterated to Linden in their exit meeintgs that this core is stale and aging, deep down Linden probably agreed, but he'd rather not say it publically anymore because it's going to be nearly impossible to actually deliver and bring about a change to the core.

Piror to becoming President, Linden had made it quite clear that this roster has been together for a long time, something to that effect (Global BC interview).

Now as President he does the easiest thing that can be done and terminates Torts while in effect giving this core a vote of confidence (to some degree).

Coming back to the owners, I don't get the sense that they want to rebuild (which they need to do by the way). All they are interested in is making playoff revenue in the short-term and thus Linden and GM have to play along to this game plan.

When Gillis tried to unload Kesler at the trading deadline, make no mistake that Francesco was not in favour of it. I don't believe he is in favour of it now. We shall see how the summer goes.

While I do believe that the Aquilinis are 100% committed to 'winning,' their vision of winning means keeping this roster because they feel that this gives them the best shot at perhaps another run (wishful thinking indeed).

Personally I'm not a big Bylsma fan. A bit like AV, he seems to identify his best lineup at the beginning of the season and then just rolls with it for the remainder of the season. I'm not saying you necessarily need a tightly regimented system but some tactical skill is required to get the most out of your team. Quenville has a great team but is still able to purpose-build his lineup depending on the opposition.

Bylsma does seem to have a good rapport with his players and the media, and there are certainly worse options out there, but I'd hope we could do better.

And Shero seems to have a hard time letting go that it's not 2009 anymore. Every year he seems to think they're just one piece away from another Cup run.
- AlexF

To be fair... the Pens were one win away from the ECF. And they basically outshot the Rangers in game 7 2-1 (36-20).

To me Pittsburgh is not a good trading partner and I really don't like the idea of hiring a coach who's had little to no time to reflect on how he could improve. See Tortorella as an example.

Shero, no thanks. We need some free meat in this organization.

To be fair... the Pens were one win away from the ECF. And they basically outshot the Rangers in game 7 2-1 (36-20).
- nucks_94

They've lost to several different opponents over the years and haven't been back to the final since they won. I don't believe you need to get beaten badly to realize the dynamic is off or something is missing.

Gotta say I was rooting for a wild win. I really wanted a Rangers and Wild final with Ballard scoring the ot winner in game 7. That handshake would have been epic.

Gotta say I was rooting for a wild win. I really wanted a Rangers and Wild final with Ballard scoring the ot winner in game 7. That handshake would have been epic.
- Linden_4_Capt

Gotta say I was rooting for a wild win. I really wanted a Rangers and Wild final with Ballard scoring the ot winner in game 7. That handshake would have been epic.
- Linden_4_Capt

AV probably would have just burst out laughing.

They've lost to several different opponents over the years and haven't been back to the final since they won. I don't believe you need to get beaten badly to realize the dynamic is off or something is missing.
- AlexF

Sure, with the talent the Pens have, they should be in the Finals every year. It's not always that easy though

Who here thinks that Linden and the new GM can actually accomplish anything this offseason in terms of significant roster moves?

Not only are their hands tied due to all the NTCs, but I think it's quite obvious that the Aquilinis believe that this team is still a playoff contender. Wishful anyone?

And hey, old man Aquilini knows how to do one thing best, counting dollars (that's Luigi ).

Any one notice during the Torts firing presser when Linden said that "somethings I agreed with Torts, somethings I didn't."

As Torts would have reiterated to Linden in their exit meeintgs that this core is stale and aging, deep down Linden probably agreed, but he'd rather not say it publically anymore because it's going to be nearly impossible to actually deliver and bring about a change to the core.

Piror to becoming President, Linden had made it quite clear that this roster has been together for a long time, something to that effect (Global BC interview).

Now as President he does the easiest thing that can be done and terminates Torts while in effect giving this core a vote of confidence (to some degree).

Coming back to the owners, I don't get the sense that they want to rebuild (which they need to do by the way). All they are interested in is making playoff revenue in the short-term and thus Linden and GM have to play along to this game plan.

When Gillis tried to unload Kesler at the trading deadline, make no mistake that Francesco was not in favour of it. I don't believe he is in favour of it now. We shall see how the summer goes.

While I do believe that the Aquilinis are 100% committed to 'winning,' their vision of winning means keeping this roster because they feel that this gives them the best shot at perhaps another run (wishful thinking indeed).
- Dan&Bob

I disagree with you. Too many assumptions and wild guesses here to even bother pointing out which ones specifically, so I'll just say... almost all of them.

Who here thinks that Linden and the new GM can actually accomplish anything this offseason in terms of significant roster moves?

Not only are their hands tied due to all the NTCs, but I think it's quite obvious that the Aquilinis believe that this team is still a playoff contender. Wishful anyone?

And hey, old man Aquilini knows how to do one thing best, counting dollars (that's Luigi ).

Any one notice during the Torts firing presser when Linden said that "somethings I agreed with Torts, somethings I didn't."

As Torts would have reiterated to Linden in their exit meeintgs that this core is stale and aging, deep down Linden probably agreed, but he'd rather not say it publically anymore because it's going to be nearly impossible to actually deliver and bring about a change to the core.

Piror to becoming President, Linden had made it quite clear that this roster has been together for a long time, something to that effect (Global BC interview).

Now as President he does the easiest thing that can be done and terminates Torts while in effect giving this core a vote of confidence (to some degree).

Coming back to the owners, I don't get the sense that they want to rebuild (which they need to do by the way). All they are interested in is making playoff revenue in the short-term and thus Linden and GM have to play along to this game plan.

When Gillis tried to unload Kesler at the trading deadline, make no mistake that Francesco was not in favour of it. I don't believe he is in favour of it now. We shall see how the summer goes.

While I do believe that the Aquilinis are 100% committed to 'winning,' their vision of winning means keeping this roster because they feel that this gives them the best shot at perhaps another run (wishful thinking indeed).
- Dan&Bob

If it was so obvious that the Aquillini's think that this team is contender then why did they fire Gillis and bring in Linden?

Unless you have connections with the Aquillini's and the Canucks brass there seems to be a whole lot of speculation here.

As far as the roster goes, Gillis handed out all the NTC's and Gillis is the one that said he wouldn't ask players to waive. The new GM could have a completely different out look on NTC's and ask multiple players to waive. We won't know until the GM is hired, the coach is hired and we see the opening days roster in October. There are also teams like San Jose and Pittsburgh that could also be looking for a roster shake up that could make interesting trade partners with the Canucks.

Last year with the cap getting slashed, a lot of teams had trouble just getting in under the number let alone make significant roster moves. This year with the cap going up it give a lot of team a lot more options then they had a year ago.

That's why I say we shall wait and see what happens in the summer. I'm not saying that it's a done deal that the Canucks aren't going to do anything major, but I'm not going to be all that surprised if they stand pat.
Given all of Linden's public comments about needing to be back in the playoffs next year, hearing from various sources about the owners plans...I don't think much will be done on the player front.
Sorry to say it

Who here thinks that Linden and the new GM can actually accomplish anything this offseason in terms of significant roster moves?

Not only are their hands tied due to all the NTCs, but I think it's quite obvious that the Aquilinis believe that this team is still a playoff contender. Wishful anyone?

And hey, old man Aquilini knows how to do one thing best, counting dollars (that's Luigi ).

Any one notice during the Torts firing presser when Linden said that "somethings I agreed with Torts, somethings I didn't."

As Torts would have reiterated to Linden in their exit meeintgs that this core is stale and aging, deep down Linden probably agreed, but he'd rather not say it publically anymore because it's going to be nearly impossible to actually deliver and bring about a change to the core.

Piror to becoming President, Linden had made it quite clear that this roster has been together for a long time, something to that effect (Global BC interview).

Now as President he does the easiest thing that can be done and terminates Torts while in effect giving this core a vote of confidence (to some degree).

Coming back to the owners, I don't get the sense that they want to rebuild (which they need to do by the way). All they are interested in is making playoff revenue in the short-term and thus Linden and GM have to play along to this game plan.

When Gillis tried to unload Kesler at the trading deadline, make no mistake that Francesco was not in favour of it. I don't believe he is in favour of it now. We shall see how the summer goes.

While I do believe that the Aquilinis are 100% committed to 'winning,' their vision of winning means keeping this roster because they feel that this gives them the best shot at perhaps another run (wishful thinking indeed).
- Dan&Bob

Pardon

That's why I say we shall wait and see what happens in the summer. I'm not saying that it's a done deal that the Canucks aren't going to do anything major, but I'm not going to be all that surprised if they stand pat.
Given all of Linden's public comments about needing to be back in the playoffs next year, hearing from various sources about the owners plans...I don't think much will be done on the player front.
Sorry to say it
- Dan&Bob

Disagree entirely. Judging from Linden's comments I would be absolutely floored if there wasn't any major moves this summer. Isn't that a big part of why they fired Gillis? His inability or unwillingness to make any moves?

And they want to make moves in order to get back into the playoffs. Not stand pat to try and get in.

Sounds like Bylsma is as good as fired.

Disagree entirely. Judging from Linden's comments I would be absolutely floored if there wasn't any major moves this summer. Isn't that a big part of why they fired Gillis? His inability or unwillingness to make any moves?

And they want to make moves in order to get back into the playoffs. Not stand pat to try and get in.
- KB3Point0

Meh, After everyone in the organization said that the team needed to get younger all Gillis managed to do was replace the coach. I'm not holding my breath, but agree, a new GM should have more freedom to make roster changes as he won't have the same connection/loyalty issues that Gillis had.

Sounds like Bylsma is as good as fired.
- 1970vintage

Hope he doesn't end up here. I don't want another coach who fails to adjust when needed(although AV seems to be doing that more with the Rangers), he was constantly tweaking his lineup this round and it seemed to pay off.

Meh, After everyone in the organization said that the team needed to get younger all Gillis managed to do was replace the coach. I'm not holding my breath, but agree, a new GM should have more freedom to make roster changes as he won't have the same connection/loyalty issues that Gillis had.
- 1970vintage

We'll see how cut-throat the new GM is in that regard.


Also how stubborn some of the players are with their NTC's.

Hope he doesn't end up here. I don't want another coach who fails to adjust when needed(although AV seems to be doing that more with the Rangers), he was constantly tweaking his lineup this round and it seemed to pay off.
- Nucker101

He has been tweaking the lineup but his game plan seems to be the same: Get the lead and then hold on for dear life and hope your goalie is standing on his head.

I disagree with you. Too many assumptions and wild guesses here to even bother pointing out which ones specifically, so I'll just say... almost all of them.
- KB3Point0

Yeah, that's basically the worst case scenario that he just laid out. I have to take back a bit what I said about FA, doesn't seem as involved as I had once thought which is great. Who knows if he's cool with a rebuild approach though. If this team goes out to sign a Moulson/Cammy type to big money while keeping Kesler/Edler/Garrison then we're in trouble.

He has been tweaking the lineup but his game plan seems to be the same: Get the lead and then hold on for dear life and hope your goalie is standing on his head.
- fiveandagame

Yeah, having Henrik as your goalie doesn't hurt.

We'll see how cut-throat the new GM is in that regard.


Also how stubborn some of the players are with their NTC's.
- Nucker101

My take on NTC's is that it should give the player ability to veto a trade to a team/situation he doesn't wan't to go to, but not stop the GM for trying to negotiate a trade.

I look at both Pittsburgh and SJ as 2 teams that could be looking for a shake up. Both team are very competitive and would give any playing waiving a NTC a good opportunity at a cup run.

Who here thinks that Linden and the new GM can actually accomplish anything this offseason in terms of significant roster moves?

Not only are their hands tied due to all the NTCs, but I think it's quite obvious that the Aquilinis believe that this team is still a playoff contender. Wishful anyone?

And hey, old man Aquilini knows how to do one thing best, counting dollars (that's Luigi ).

Any one notice during the Torts firing presser when Linden said that "somethings I agreed with Torts, somethings I didn't."

As Torts would have reiterated to Linden in their exit meeintgs that this core is stale and aging, deep down Linden probably agreed, but he'd rather not say it publically anymore because it's going to be nearly impossible to actually deliver and bring about a change to the core.

Piror to becoming President, Linden had made it quite clear that this roster has been together for a long time, something to that effect (Global BC interview).

Now as President he does the easiest thing that can be done and terminates Torts while in effect giving this core a vote of confidence (to some degree).

Coming back to the owners, I don't get the sense that they want to rebuild (which they need to do by the way). All they are interested in is making playoff revenue in the short-term and thus Linden and GM have to play along to this game plan.

When Gillis tried to unload Kesler at the trading deadline, make no mistake that Francesco was not in favour of it. I don't believe he is in favour of it now. We shall see how the summer goes.

While I do believe that the Aquilinis are 100% committed to 'winning,' their vision of winning means keeping this roster because they feel that this gives them the best shot at perhaps another run (wishful thinking indeed).
- Dan&Bob

Dan/ Bob (not sure if one is an alter ego for the other) Lets look at your assumptions.

Not only are their hands tied due to all the NTCs, but I think it's quite obvious that the Aquilinis believe that this team is still a playoff contender. Wishful anyone? it is obvious that this tema is not good enough to make the playoffs. That is thereason they traded the No 1 goalie for a 3rd line center and a Future top goalie. I don't believe the Aquilini's are that delusional.

Any one notice during the Torts firing presser when Linden said that "somethings I agreed with Torts, somethings I didn't."

As Torts would have reiterated to Linden in their exit meeintgs that this core is stale and aging, deep down Linden probably agreed, but he'd rather not say it publically anymore because it's going to be nearly impossible to actually deliver and bring about a change to the core.

Torts also said that he believed that Lack gave him the best option to win at he classic and he said that he will charge the opposing teams locker again if that means he will protect his players. Could it be that this is the part the Linden does not agree with Torts? I am saying Torts said a lot and you cannot pick and chose what he said and assume that is what Linden has an issue with.

Now as President he does the easiest thing that can be done and terminates Torts while in effect giving this core a vote of confidence (to some degree).

Could it be that Torts was a failed experiment and Linden did the classy thing and let him go early instead of waiting for the new GM to do it knowing fully well that the new GM might not be in place till June. It was a classy move imo by Linden. There are a lot of HC jobs open this summer and he wanted to give Torts a fair shot at them. It is more then what Linden got in his retirement announcement.

When Gillis tried to unload Kesler at the trading deadline, make no mistake that Francesco was not in favour of it. I don't believe he is in favour of it now. We shall see how the summer goes.

Just because this was a rumor it does not make it true. Maybe Gilis got greedy and wanted more or the Ducks wanted Gillis to retain salary and it was a no go. All I am saying that we don't have all of the facts. Lets not fill in the black with speculation. Also if you are such a sucker for speculation, please subscribe to the season ticket for HB. I hear Eklund has some juicy trade rumors all the time.

While I do believe that the Aquilinis are 100% committed to 'winning,' their vision of winning means keeping this roster because they feel that this gives them the best shot at perhaps another run (wishful thinking indeed).

Off course the owners want playoffs. Playoffs is the only time that they don't have to pay a players salary. That means all merchandise and gate sales are profit. All owners want to make playoffs. It is a no brainer. I was really hoping that you had a strong argument for your closer but it seems either Bob or Dan came back the senses and realized that he was off the rails.