jannik hansen

Gutting Current Roster Stalls Canucks Future

The NHL Trade Deadline is fast approaching and the rumour mill is churning out new material by the day. Regardless of what side you’re on, the changes the Canucks make could potentially shake the future direction of where the team wants to go. It’s no surprise who’s on the block, what their respective trade destination list looks like or who potentially will be the realistic destination for any of the said players. What may end up being a surprise is what could happen if Jim Benning decides to stock the cupboards with picks and prospects and lose valuable mentors in the room.

Building for the future comes at a cost, how quickly they decide to build will dictate how soon the true results are achieved.

I, like everyone else, want the Canucks to turn the corner and become what they used to be: a competitive, winning hockey team. I understand that they had an opportunity to get to the top of the mountain and they let the window close for any future chances at getting back to the Stanley Cup. It’s been a trying few years and now, Vancouver is facing some tough decisions with their current team.

On the one hand, they can trade Alex Burrows, Jannik Hansen, and Ryan Miller to name a few and get valuable draft picks to start putting together a stable that will compete 3-5 years down the line. There are other players who haven’t been mentioned that could be moved right now and in return would bring players that have already been developed by other teams.

There have been discussions on the Internet about moving Ben Hutton because of the progression of Troy Stecher and Nikita Tryamkin and the promise of Olli Juolevi. What people don’t realize is that you can’t just eliminate a player like Hutton and expect that everything will be ok. Every action causes a reaction. If Hutton goes that leaves a spot for Erik Gudbranson or even Jordan Subban. Minutes go up for players that aren’t used to seeing that kind of action and the dominos begin to fall.

Does everyone remember when Kevin Bieksa was forced to play monster minutes? Ya, it didn’t go so well. Same goes for Luca Sbisa or even Alex Edler. Unless you are a true star and survive on your own, being thrown into the fire hampers the effectiveness of the player in question. Can taking Hutton out of the mix really help the Canucks? It just doesn’t feel like the right move. The other take there is the question of why would you even consider trading him so early on when he hasn’t even developed yet?

Moving on from Ben Hutton could end up being a huge mistake and considering the huge mistakes the Canucks have made in the past, there could be some serious damage done to the franchise.

Trading away Burrows gains a draft pick and there is a chance the Canucks can re-sign him in the offseason. Same can be said for Jannik Hansen and even Ryan Miller. Parlaying all those players puts a pretty big hole in the lineup and inevitably a freefall will occur. The problem with getting rid of all of these guys is that the leadership of the team takes a monster hit and it puts the Sedins in an awkward position to step their roles up on the team.

The Canucks need to ease the Twins into a supplementary role where they can maintain minutes in the low teens and still be effective. It’s obvious they aren’t getting any faster and their decisions throughout the game are starting to be routinely compromised. Their bodies aren’t reacting as fast as they can think the game and it shows.

Sure, they still sit among the leaders on the team in points but they are placed in so many situations that they have become overworked and in turn, it affects their teammates progression as well.

So what do the Canucks do?

They need to rebuild but they can’t have a massive void that keeps them from smoothly transitioning. Is it a case of starting over cold turkey or can they make the move a few players at a time? There no doubt are players coming up from the farm and in junior that will put the Canucks in a better position to win but not all of those players will be instant impacts on a nightly basis.

When those players make the switch to the NHL it also empties the cupboards of anything they have been working on and puts the team right back in the same position, not enough players drafted that they can develop.

I think this is called a “catch-22” situation.

What the Canucks SHOULD do, in my opinion, is admit defeat with a few players and maybe even the coach and give the players they moderately more responsibility. Loui Eriksson is a good start to move on from. Whatever the Canucks believed they had in Eriksson has not shown up on the scoresheet this season.

Maybe he’s injured and maybe he’s not but a player making $6 million a year for the next 5 years after this one is a pretty big waste of money if this is as good as he gets here. There is no Patrice Bergeron to play with and even playing on a line with Bo Horvat won’t amount to all-star numbers within a season, I just can’t see it happening.

Finding a buyer for Eriksson would be just as hard but Benning is a confusing character so I do have odd faith that he could pull it off. Jake Virtanen could be yet another “power forward” that doesn’t work out and he could be another Hunter Shinkaruk clone that fizzles out. A pick or a comparable prospect or a package deal to go get a star from that Denver team would be great.

Ryan Miller is the odds on favorite to move this year or at the very least, be the first one shipped off. The handling of both goalies this year has really clouded up what the team has in either player. Miller performs well when he’s rested and Jacob Markstrom performs well when he’s played more than once every three weeks.

Thatcher Demko shouldn’t be rushed into the league which means the Canucks need more time. Sending away Miller puts everything on Markstrom’s shoulders and even though he wants the chance to shine, there’s no way he sustains a winning record with no one to spell him after the burnout. Is trading Miller the answer in net?

The critics say yes but what does that solve? Not a whole lot and it creates issues in net which in turn means the Canucks would have to either find a cheap backup for Markstrom or take Richard Bachman from Utica and force Demko to be everything on the farm.

There is no easy fix and it feels like if the Canucks cut the wrong wire or push the wrong button, this team will create more problems than they originally had.

But hey, at least we’ll all scream at them regardless of what they do. That’s our thing.

Follow me on Twitter: @always90four

photo – vancitybuzz.com

Hansen/Carter: The Other Sedin

This Canucks season has been a really disappointing roller coaster, kind of like the one at Playland (because if you have knees its not very fun). Last year, the Canucks surprisingly made the playoffs and gave hope for this year; what we got was a bunch of bleh. Thankfully, Jannik Hansen has been able to enjoy a career year with 20 goals so far and his point total equals his jersey number (#36).

Hansen has been the best option on the Sedin line this year and I wrote a piece awhile back where I made the case he has been the best choice for quite some time. We all remember when Anson Carter played here and rode the success train to a hefty contract in Columbus where he enjoyed fame, riches, Cups and prestige. Actually, he eventually suffered a concussion and his NHL career was over. (Im not slagging him for that)

It seems like there has always been a search to find “the one” to play with the Sedins and both Carter and Hansen, as well as Alex Burrows obviously, were and have been great fits. But what do the stats say? At the time Carter left, hockey analytics were in its infancy, to many of us anyways; but now we have an abundance to sift through. How do they stack up though, who’s better, who has more hair?

Just so I don’t have to say it later, these stats are based on 5v5 in all situations from War On Ice. I’ve compared Jannik Hansen this season to Anson Carter’s season with the Twins.

Looking at the meat and potato stats Jannik Hansen and Anson Carter BOTH have 17 goals (Hansen’s year isn’t done yet though.) In the assists category, Hansen edges Carter 15 to 11, still pretty impressive.

Hansen just edges out Carter in Goals/60 –  1.2 to 1.1 (but who’s counting?)

Going over to CF%, Anson Carter took this one easily. He finished the 2005/06 season with a 54.5% to Hansen’s 48.0%. Ok, so there were a few more shots going on during the arrival of the “new NHL” but its still pretty good and yes, we’re comparing one season only here.

Who had the luckier season? Well, Anson Carter was taking care of business with a PDO of 100.9 (CRAP, thats BTO, and really that’s not that phenomenal of a number.) Jannik Hansen is the all star here with a VERY impressive 105.1;  Clap for em, clap for em.

Personal Shooting percentage? A full point ahead, Hansen takes it with 19.3 to Carter’s 18.3.

I took a look at high danger corsi/fenwick % and I bet you don’t need an official stat to know who won this one: Did you guess Anson Carter? You’d be correct. Carter ran away with it at 55.3% and Hansen’s pedestrian 45.7% would be fair to guess. The “Other Brother” did much of his work in the blue paint and had an abundance of tap, tap, tapperoos from the Sedins. Why he wanted to pass that up is beyond me.

Even looking at just their individual high danger scoring chances, Hansen was no match for Carter. Anson had 59 to Jannik’s 39 but again this season compared to the one when Carter played has been quite different; things were looking up instead of what we currently see today.

Imagine if Anson Carter stayed and built on the initial success? Where would we be today? Would the Burrows thing ever materialize?

Not all of these stats are exclusive to playing with the Sedins as both players had a lull where they needed to find a new line. Interesting also to note that Anson Carter played 80 games in 2005/06 while Jannik Hansen has been out a bit this year and has only played 63 so far.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a WOWY to measure their exact production on the Sedin line exclusively but there’s plenty of evidence here to make up your minds.

At the end of the day, we’re looking at two different eras but not a whole lot different. Jannik Hansen has still amassed a pretty nice season with Henrik and Daniel but it’s no surprise who the better line mate was. Anson Carter gambled and lost and his career was never the same. Jannik hasn’t been selfish and has gone up and down the lineup where needed and has been an integral part of the Canucks for some time.

With the stats showing Carter’s dominance in this instance, Hansen’s loyalty and determination to always be better is something that will stick with us far longer. BUT, if I had to choose, I’d take Carter all day long, stats don’t lie and he was a monster that year. I think I just made Thomas Drance cry.

I’m so sorry everyone, you’ve read this far and I haven’t given you the answer you wanted: better hair; is it even a contest here? Anson wins on a landslide. Those dreads were something fierce and I miss them dearly.

I also miss the Canucks being good, hopefully this will suffice for now.

Raymond, Ballard and a 3rd; The Trade That Never Was

We’re 10 days away from the 2016 NHL trade deadline and unless Jim Benning and Co. go on a month long bender and forget they still have a job to do, the Canucks will be sellers at the deadline. In previous years, the Canucks have sold off what we believed to be important parts of the team (Hodgson, draft picks) but found out those would have just held us back.

So seeing that the playoffs are not an option for Vancouver this season and plenty of contending teams are looking for valuable rentals, what can the Canucks get for the future of the franchise? That same question was asked back in 2011 and 2012 but the Canucks were the ones doing the buying. What did we all think they should offer; how bout Mason Raymond, Keith Ballard and a 3rd round pick?

This was the package that was theoretically put together by anyone that thought they could run the Canucks back then. Of course, we never wanted to get rid of anyone of true value because the Canucks still needed to win the Cup; but we didn’t need Keith Ballard who Alain Vigneault basically cast off of the team and Mason Raymond was just good enough to fetch value on the open market, but we could have cared less about him.

As for the 3rd round pick, whether you play fantasy sports or you are actually the real life GM of a sports franchise, this was the very most you were willing to give away without going into the hot zone of future prospects or being shoo’d away for being to frugal. Giving up a 1st or a 2nd was usually out of the question unless you were getting back a premier player or a hot prospect.

The 3rd was the top pick in the 2nd tier of value so everyone was cool with that. But why did that trade never materialize?

Was it because in reality, it was awful? Was it not enough to fetch the likes of Shea Weber, Corey Perry or jeez, I don’t even remember the amount of players I thought could come back in that trade. It’s funny to think that the Canucks still had Cody Hodgson at the time and was so highly sought after by Canucks brass but would later become the scar just above your chin that you no longer can grow facial hair on.

That vacancy just annoys now and the embarrassing story that is the reason for it has just been told too many times. Imagine if they traded Hodgson at the height of his perceived value: Hodgson, Raymond, Ballard and a 3rd for Shea Weber; that totally would have sealed the deal.

Everyone wanted the Canucks to get better and we’re going through that same cycle all over again except THIS TIME, we suck.

Getting back to the pieces of yesteryear, Keith Ballard was a perfect fit for literally any other team because well, he’d get playing time. AV did not like Mr. Ballard and it was frustrating to see a top 4 defender benched or stapled to the bench on so many nights. Frankie Corrado must know the feeling.

Ballard wasn’t huge factor in the 2011 run but most felt he could have offered more had he actually played, same could have been said for Cory Schneider in the Final. Speaking of Schneider, Pass it to Bulis ran a story on this “package” back in 2012 and I forgot Cory was also a chip in the so called deal.

Thinking back, if that deal happened, we’ d have Corey Perry instead of Bo Horvat. Ryan Kesler may never have wanted out and….you know what, it’s fine. We’re better for it and I’ve moved on.

Mason Raymond was what Jannik Hansen is basically this season. Speed, skill, finish and back checking all described Raymond and he was valuable, in our eyes anyways, because it didn’t disrupt the core and we figured we could add some star power. I think a good chunk of the GMs around the league passed on our deal when they started seeing Raymond tripping over the blue line night in and night out.

That would be a deal breaker for anyone.

This trade may have been destined to fail from the beginning or maybe it never was offered but you have to wonder, would any team have taken that deal? There will never be again a package of that nature that would allow the Canucks to keep all the good and get rid of the suck.

Radim Vrbata and Dan Hamhuis, heck Ryan Miller and even Alex Burrows are now all guys we mention regularly as trade bait. Matt Bartkowski wouldn’t fetch a ball so I can’t imagine there’s a use for him even at a dog park. The Canucks are in a rare situation where a few draft picks, B prospects or even one B level star is attainable through trade this season.

They also have the off chance of being able to draft “generational talent” Auston Matthews in June if they suck just bad enough to beat out both the Leafs and Oilers, ya those guys.

I don’t know if any of you have forgotten that the whole Milan Lucic and Cody Franson thing still may happen so a few extra picks, a kid from Zurich and some hometown boys might just make the Canucks worth watching again.

Anything is better than seeing them lose 5-2 for the 4th consecutive game.

New Year, More Problems, Same Canucks and a Camel Story

2015 sure was a bizarre year for the Canuck faithful. It really gave us the highs and lows of a team in transition and that isn’t always fun. As the clock strikes midnight, which it definitely will ya doomsdayers,  we look back at the year that was and pout. The beginning of the year gave us some of that hope stuff people talk about and we liked Willie Desjardins and applauded his decision making, I think? We could see the potential of Eddie Lack as the true starter and Bo Horvat quickly became “the next one”. But then the playoffs.

Radim Vrbata wasn’t his normal staring self, he went invisible like a straight to dvd sequel of Serendipity starring Joan Cusack and probably Nic Cage because he’s doing stuff like that now. Luca Sbisa was internet infamous, Sbizza actually was just between us (he seriously didn’t even know) and we had no answer to NHL super enforcer Michal Ferkland (sp?) Ferglund? Ferland. There, got it.

Will anything change or will the Canucks stay the same?

After the Lameoffs all of that changed for the worse when we shipped away fan favourite Eddie Lack to Carolina, Nick Bonino to Pittsburgh for Brandon Sutter (still don’t really like that one…for either team), had the news that Ryan Miller COULD have been traded and Frankie Corrado was waived. That all sounds like doom and gloom but it isn’t entirely.

Breakout defender and twitter sensation by hashtag anyways, Ben Hutton aka #HUTTONmania, earned a spot on the big club and hasn’t given any reason to relinquish it. He’s been a welcome sight on the back end and with some patience and guidance, he could be the offensive version of Chris Tanev. We like Tanev.

Rookies Jared McCann and Jake Virtanen both made the team as well and all of Canucks land was a fluster. Could the Canucks truly be rebuilding? Is this the time we finally see the young guys work their way into stardom? Not exactly. Jared McCann is still largely between Derek Dorsett and Brandon Prust and even though its a learning curve, they’re duds.

You would never put a camel in a grizzly farm and say “hey camel, be a grizzly!” Not gonna happen. That camel can only be a camel; but if you put that camel with other camels at the camel farm, he can be a …..totally wrong analogy. I really don’t know how the camel would get better.

Basically you don’t put a budding offensive centre with 2 plugs. That’s the jist of it. Remember the camel story, that might be huge one day.

Jake Virtanen has time to learn his skill and we will continue to see his development as the year goes on. Not every player can be a Horvat and even Bo isn’t having a great sophomore year. What we have learned is that the team is committed to these guys and at some point, the veterans will start to be phased out.

The Sedins aren’t going anywhere and at 35, they still look as amazing as they did years ago. Sure, there’s a miss here and there but with 37 and 33 points, Daniel and Henrik Sedin respectively, are every bit as effective as they once were; the down side is that they’re the only ones….ok them and Jannik Hansen.

Speaking of the Great Dane, Jannik Hansen is alive once more with the sound of (whatever the heck his goal song is). Salvaging good story lines has been tough this calendar year but he of Danish origins has kept the Sedins fresh. Once on the rumoured trade block, Hansen has finally seen his game elevate and has brought worth to a team project a few years in the making. Good to see.

With all this, there are low lights like the distribution of minutes amongst players that shouldn’t even be in the lineup, the decision to keep important players out of the lineup, not keeping the goaltending tandem fresh with quality starts by each and an absolute failure to address the scoring needs this team so desperately has.

How Hunter Shinkaruk, Brendan Gaunce and Alex Grenier AREN’T on the club yet, I’ll never know. Chris Higgins isn’t what he used to be and is ready to maybe not be put to pasture but maybe let him outside for a run and don’t lock the gate. Dorsett and Prust are not #MUST guys and they don’t look like they will be anytime soon.

Anyone putting in a quality effort seems to suffer because the other lines are being misused. The Canucks also aren’t very big so the ability for them to be literal pushovers is alarming.

As the year turns to 2016, the Canucks haven’t really changed their direction a whole lot and maybe thats just the fan in me saying that. They definitely have made transitional moves and I guess the team is quite different from a year ago but nothing says they’re going to be better or more competitive than they have been.

In 2016 Mr. Benning, Desjardins and Linden, please know that we’re willing to wait for this ship to turn itself around, but give us a reason to be hopeful. Clearly we’ve waited THIS long so just be fair to us, that’s all we/I ask.

Happy New Year for Always90four

Also, remember the camel story.

 

How Are These Canucks Different From Before?

Everyone’s doing a quarter season article so I figure what the hay? The Canucks have already shown us quite the roulette wheel of games; big wins, big losses, one goal games and a shootout for profiling purposes only. What do we know about them after 23 games? For starters, the sky isn’t falling. I’ve read the tweets and seen all the possible trade locations for anyone that is over 30 and has scored in the last week; this fan base has no chill. So after everything we’ve seen thus far, how are THESE Canucks any different from last season?

 

The Canucks position in the standings is basically the same, they just have less points. If you think about it, they’re accomplishing the same with less. That’s actually better I think?

A year ago, we were all excited to see Bo Horvat in the lineup and we watched his progression from the nine game audition to what many believed to be the 2nd line centre without a doubt. Radim Vrbata was already at 10G, 7A and he has struggled to find his groove this year. We’ve called for his head and just begged for him to score so we can trade him away. Now, he’s finally producing and it looks like he’s ready to take over.

Ryan Miller surprisingly looking back was 14-3 at this point last season and I’m pretty sure we felt the same way we do this year, well, we had Eddie Lack last season; it’s possible we didn’t like Miller as much. This season, we are seeing a bit of Miller’s age but he continues to impress. If Willie D can balance the goalie starts both Miller and Jacob Markstrom could actually get on a serious roll.

Another thing the Canucks didn’t have last year was an abundance of youth. This season, Vancouver has dressed rookies Jake Virtanen, Jared McCann, Ben Hutton, Hunter Shinkaruk, Alex Grenier and Brendan Gaunce and almost all at the same time. It has been a reeeeeeeally long time since there have been this many young stars playing for the Canucks.

The shift in mentality that youth works is slowly taking over. You can see the reluctance from coach Willie to entrust his rookies with the same responsibilities that the veterans are asked to shoulder and rightfully so, but Ben Hutton and Jared McCann most notably have forced WD’s hand. Ben Hutton is quite possibly the next Chris Tanev/Alex Edler hybrid and he’s 22!!! This guy looks like he’s been in the league for years and his presence on the back end is most welcome. It’s a shame he’s been injured because Hutton is already a staple on the blue line.

Jared McCann has given the Canucks depth at a position they haven’t had it for a few years. What’s better is that the pivots that occupy the middle of the ice are being molded under captain Henrik Sedin. The blend of veterans and rookies is a very happy medium in that players like Alex Burrows and Jannik Hansen, Dan Hamhuis and Alex Edler can help these newbies adjust to the pro game easier and they will help shape the future of this organization.

Not to drag this on forever but what about Jannik Hansen and the Sedins? Did anyone see this coming? BESIDES THOMAS DRANCE? If you look back and check out the stats, its one of the best possible fits the team has! Aside from Burrows making his run with the Twins, Jannik Hansen is a slam dunk on the wing. Hopefully this run of theirs keeps up and we can see the other three lines develop more regularly.

The Canucks have changed a lot since last season and they will continue to change as this season plays out. The difference though: it’s about to get better and it appears the Sedins will play until they’re 50. Gordie Howe and his sons might want to lace up again just to keep those records intact.

Seriously, the Sedins are playing for keeps again, this might get dangerous.

Follow my shenanigans on twitter: @always90four

cover photo – hockeysfuture.com

Sedins And Hansen: The New… West Coast Express – A Hot Taek

 

Its been a long time since someone has given a Canucks line a catchy name. We had the Mattress Line, Kid Line, Brothers line (but we won’t talk about that one because honestly, who came up with that one), KLM line, That 70’s line and American Express among others. Some of those aren’t even Canucks ones but after a few I realized Canucks fans aren’t that clever, they’ve also had a ton of unexciting players to name together. But there is one line that stands out above them all: The West Coast Express – Naslund, Morrison and Bertuzzi made up one of the greatest, most productive lines of all time even better than Gretzky, Kurri and Larionov. 

But that was a long time ago, over 10 years in fact, so isn’t it time to recharge that line with NEW members? Henrik and Daniel Sedin are very deserving of a new line name and with Jannik Hansen platooned on the other wing he has received a new lease on life and is producing as a true Sedin winger. Its been such a long time since the West Coast Express that many new fans don’t even remember the first one. What a great way to bring fans full circle.

Crazy idea? Probably. But think of the marketability. SEDINS NEW WEST COAST EXPRESS!!! Forget Naslund and Bertuzzi, these guys are as old as the train itself and still produce nightly. Just like the REAL West Coast Express, you’ll never lose your hat when the Sedins are rolling. Need a rest? Henrik and Daniel are there to carry the load while you get some much needed relaxation, sadly if you are playing on any line but theirs, that means you are stapled to the bench.

It’s not all about the Sedins though, Jannik Hansen brings his own trademark style to the rejuvenated line – like Naslund and Bertuzzi, Hansen is no stranger to breakaways; however Jannik is more like Skytrain than the WCE – frequent in-explainable power outages that result in long delays, in his case scoring. But fear not new West Coast Express followers, now that Hansen is on the top line, his production has never been better and at age 29 he’s well on his way to his best season ever!

This is nothing new to you though, you all have seen how well these three play together. In an article by Jason Botchford of The Province he echoes why the Sedins and Hansen just make sense. Or you could look at my last hurrah why they should be cemented together for the foreseeable future. Would it be smart to reboot the mid 2000’s “West Coast Express”? I say yes and if I’m wrong, I don’t wanna be right.

At 35, the Sedins are still a draw if you have any sense in you and if we get this thing trending on the twitter it can get legs. I mean, jeez #TweetDanielaHat trended. How vain are we? It was a great hashtag and the Bulis Boys know how to unknowingly create a trend.

The Canucks are not playing their greatest hockey right now and a welcome distraction is needed and renaming the Sedins/Hansen line is just that distraction. I’ve seen the hilites: we don’t throw hats, we start the wave when we’re losing and we DON’T THROW FREAKING HATS!!!! If we can’t muster up enough courage to do anything remotely productive, like a 16 year old in his parents basement blogging …….

…or on his latest 36 hour Fallout 4 bender, then lets bring back something that quite frankly we all used to love. Hank and Dank aren’t Nazzy and Bert but when it comes about excitement, real fans know how exciting these guys are and I would say they are definitely on par with that line in a slightly different shell.

So even though you are thinking this –

By Manny Mahal

You’re still seeing this pretty regularly –

By rapturjesuss

Henrik, Daniel and Jannik – your NEW West Coast Express.

Follow me on twitter: @always90four ……….if you still think I’m alive after this article.

 

The Secret Reason The Sedins Aren’t Good at 3 on 3

Admit it, you’re intrigued. Its one of life’s great mysteries that has yet to unriddle itself. Much like the age old ones that it joins (how’d they get the caramilk into the caramilk bar, why do they call it bluetooth and where on earth is Carmen Sandiego?), why do the Sedins absolutely blow at the 3 on 3 bonus round of hockey after 60 minutes? The answer might surprise you but I have nothing better to do and my hot taek theory just might be so bang on that it will make it’s way straight to the top (Willie D’s chalk talk).

 

We’ve all wondered why the Sedins just don’t click when the game hits OT and all of a sudden they’re in a 3 vs. 3 nightmare scenario every time. 5 on 5, the Sedins are arguably THE top producing pair over the last 10 years, moreso let’s look at the last 5 or so. I might look into that later on. HA, I found it! At 5th, thats arguable enough for me, but hey I’m a pushover sometimes. So when its even strength or even a normal power play, why are Henrik and Daniel SO good?

You would think with all that extra space they would be able to dominate and make lesser non twin team mates look silly; that isn’t the case. When it’s full strength, the duo have put up a combined PDO of 101.6 since 2010 and a CF% of 57.9. That’s ridiculous! Here are the full stats from Puckalytics.com:

 

Player_Name TOI GF GA GF60 GA60 GF% Sh% Sv% PDO CF CA CF60 CA60 CF%
Together 4659:17 218 136 2.81 1.75 61.6 8.54 93.10 101.6 4747 3458 61.13 44.53 57.9
HENRIK SEDIN* 792:28 40 33 3.03 2.50 54.8 10.26 92.34 102.6 702 783 53.15 59.28 47.3
DANIEL SEDIN* 609:28 21 27 2.07 2.66 43.8 7.34 91.64 99.0 546 574 53.75 56.51 48.8

OK, but I promised you that I knew the secret to their 3 on 3 woes and I’m getting there; I will say it’s based more on theory than stats but hopefully you will still be my friend after I tell you. Can we agree on that right now?

So here it is, my manifesto, my deer hunter:

Henrik and Daniel have always looked for the winger that best compliments them and can understand their thought process, their cycle game and can stick up for them when things get dicey. Add to that the two defencemen that flank the blue line to make sure the Twins can do their thing and you have a line that has so often been unstoppable. So when you take away 2 players you would think that gives Henrik and Daniel more room to work and that patented drop pass would just own.

It doesn’t.

By going to a 3 man group you have to have one dman to get them the puck and NOW they don’t have their 3rd cycle guy on the wing. To add to the obvious frustration that both you and I have, not to mention the Sedins, the 3rd guy that DOES join them is usually a defenseman and quite frankly his job is to defend and if given the opportunity maybe set up a point shot. That’s pretty rare though.

So now you’ve gotten rid of your winger that completes the cycle, you’ve eliminated your other defender and the distraction of the cycle is gone! The beauty of it and the reason its so amazingly effective is that the winger that completes it gets to be involved and the defense holds the line in case of emergency or if they need to get the puck up top and back to Henrik or Daniel to start it all over again.

The Twins aren’t the fastest skaters which is also a reason they should rename the hooking penalty “Sedining” and every team that the Canucks face have fast forwards that can adjust and race up the ice on a bad rebound which seems to be a very regular occurrence these days. If the cycle breaks down even a little bit, the Sedins are exposed pretty quickly and with only one other guy back there isn’t enough time to haul back and break up most certainly a 2, potentially 3 on 1.

I love the Twins, I really do but if just like the Canucks botched the use of Luongo in big game situations ,(see 2011 Stanley Cup Final, 2013 Heritage Classic) they continue to put Henrik and Daniel in OT, the results will eventually dwindle back to absolute zero. There isn’t a different formula that works for them together. If you are going to have either of them on the ice in OT, separate them and do it now.

The other alternative is that you put in players that are  more suited to race up and down the ice on a dime, Jannik Hansen, Bo Horvat and Ben Hutton perhaps? I’ll even include Alex Burrows, Sven Baertschi, Jared McCann and what they hey, Luca Sbisa! Look at the last points column after wins and losses, it’s OTL and you know what Canucks fans, that is going to be your most important category of all.

It will be this year’s version of the 2012 Phoenix, yes Phoenix Coyotes. The OTL will be as popular as #HUTTONmania or #weareallcanucks or even #pleaserefundmytickets.

Saying the Sedin’s shouldn’t be on the ice is criminal but if its OT, I don’t want them together and I don’t care how you do it. The proof has already presented itself and Willie’s burnt enough games now that it should be crystal clear. No more OT Sedins.

You will hear the phrase “addition by subtraction” but in the Sedins OT scenarios its subtraction by subtraction and that is the worst kind of subtraction. If there are any math gurus out there that have a worse kind of subtraction, let me know. I’ll listen.

Follow me on my twitter, im worth it: @always90four

photo courtesy of blogs.theprovince.com

Jannik HanSedin (A Statistical Argument For Their Existance)

Wanting the best for Jannik Hansen seems to be a recurring theme for Canucks fans. He works hard, he’s the best player in practice almost always and the imitations of him from players across the league, ok just Cory Schneider are just so super. It might be just one game and maybe he gets buried on the 3rd line by the end of the week but Jannik Hansen might have a chance to revive his career.

The Canucks have jokingly labeled Hansen as the team’s best practice player but the 25-year-old winger showed on Wednesday he can be perform on the big stage as well setting up a charging Raffi Torres for game one’s only goal that secured Vancouver 1-0 series lead.

Jannik Hansen after Game 1 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final – Globe and Mail

Does this mean the Canucks have once again found a proper linemate for Henrik and Daniel Sedin? After one game that may be a stretch but Alex Burrows did a lot with his tenure on the top line. Top line minutes are hard to come by for any player but Jannik Hansen has been there before and he’s produced. According to Puckalytics.com which is a mind bendingly awesome site, even for a fancy stat noob like myself, the line consisting of Daniel, Henrik and Hansen have accounted for 27 goals since 2009. That isn’t exactly a “wake your parents up the house is on fire” number but considering who has been the third member of that line, its pretty decent.

What the site also tells you is that these SweDanish linemates (new word I made up) has a career PDO together of 103.7. If you type  that number in google you most likely will get Top 100 pop, retro pop and country music in Maine. I suggest using PDO hockey to get a better result. A final number you could gather from Puckalytics would be the Corsis!!!! Love that one. At 60.5% according to my buds at Canucks Army, this is basically ridiculous. So I ask you, why hasn’t this line been given a chance to blossom?

Look at this goal against Columbus, Hansen just sweats out awesome here:

 

Can you figure out a reason that Hansen shouldn’t be the new third wheel on the Sedin Tricyc…..no that might be taken the wrong way. Can anyone give me a big package of stats that would make Hansen a terrible idea on that line? I don’t think you can but I’m sure someone will try. We’ve all seen what the Jan man can do and he does have some pretty impressive skills. He’s a bit of a banger, his speed surprises you on occasion and despite his closing rate on breakaways, he gets a sick ton of breakaways.

I am definitely not a guy who will toot the advanced stats mega horn because I just don’t know enough about it yet but seriously, if these three have produced at a clip of 3.62 goals per game, why the heck are you holding back current head coach Willie Desjardins? Why I ask. The Canucks have finally gone younger and in a few years, younger than that and if this team is to stay relevant not only in their division but in the league as well, decisions will have to made to keep the Canucks competitive.

We all know the Sedins are on the back nine of their illustrious careers maybe even the Amen Corner if you will, and if Willie D is their coach until they retire, he needs to maximize their productivity. Radim Vrbata was a great addition for them when he was signed at Free Agency in 2014 but since then has gone from hero to um, not great? This line is the litmus test of how the Canucks will hold up to other teams and if the top guys aren’t producing, don’t expect the rest of the team to bail them out on every occasion.

Roberto Luongo was forced to be Vancouver’s everything until the scoring arrived and more importantly the Sedins; so if the Sedins are being relied upon to be the Canucks everything until the next wave is ready to be on its own, don’t you think a guy like Hansen makes sense then?

Jannik Hansen may have received his best criticism from former coach John Tortorella as he was chewed out for his mistakes but maybe we can thank Torts for pushing Hansen to be a better all around player? Ya, I’m saying it. Look for the silver lining on this one and it’s not entirely foreign that Hansen will work with the Twins. Scandinavia has longed for a SweDanish hockey threat and this is their chance to see it materialize.

Sure, some of this is fluff and as I said before, this might fade out after a game or so but let’s give it a chance. It’s still early enough in the season to experiment with lines and with Hunter Shinkaruk forcing the Canucks to call him up, freeing Vrbata up to play with Horvat or Sutter gives this team the D word: Depth.

Thursday’s game against the Senators is a prime opportunity to explore the HanSedin line and see how well it fits. The Senators are having a decent season but they give up their fair share of goals. The Sedins like scoring goals and they like to share so its basically a match made in Sweden/Denmark.

Just appease us Willie D, we don’t ask a lot…not entirrrely true, but we deserve to see what our team is capable of. Run with these guys until next week and you might be a happy man. It’s either that or the face you made when Vancouver almost blew the game against Jackets on Tuesday. Sadly I don’t have that photo but he mouthed a few words I’m not allowed to say.

Jannik Hansen might sound like Kermit from time to time, or all the time, but when he’s with the Sedins….he’s an Animal. Get em on that top line and those breakaways will have to convert sooner or later. Breakaways.

Follow me on twitter: @always90four

feature photo – thehockeynews.com

I Wrote About Hunter Shinkaruk

Clever name for a title hey? At least you know this will be a goalie controversy free article. There will be no talk about how the Sedins aren’t producing yet or how Sven Baertschi is close to losing his job. Ok that last one may get mentioned. Hunter Shinkaruk is having an other worldly start to his Utica Comets season. The skinny is as follows:

12 GP, 9G, 3A, 4PP and a 34.6 SH%

Translation = NHL bound.

Shinkaruk now has 2 hat tricks to start the season and he is becoming a true pro. He’s healthy, he’s producing and he’s doing the things that got him drafted back in 2013. It’s no surprise that when touted future stars get the proper time and space they need to succeed, they usually do, unless you’re Alexandre Daigle or Patrik Stefan. Hunter has been given a challenge and he’s taken it and ran with it.

It will only be a matter of time before he gets called up to the Canucks and if he does anything like he already has in Utica, he won’t be going back. It would have been nice if Bo Horvat and Hunter Shinkaruk could have cracked the lineup together but with Hunter’s inability to be a true 200 foot player, he was sent down and had to hone his skills in Utica.

This season again, he didn’t crack the opening night roster but that only seemed to push him harder. He’s getting top line minutes right now and as I said before, the goals are aplenty. Here’s a recap of his 2nd hat trick of the year:

 

For Shinkaruk to get called up however, would require an injury or a brutally slumping winger to create that position. Sven Baertschi is a possible candidate but not for lack of trying. Willie Desjardins has failed to get him the same opportunities that maybe Jake Virtanen may get. Putting the puck in the net doesn’t happen every shift and Baertschi has sure tried to stay relevant, which can’t be said for many Canucks on a nightly basis.

If a trade is in the works for say Radim Vrbata or Chris Higgins, that could spell the end of Shink’s AHL stint. His gift for goals and his flare when he celebrates them are all things Canucks fans have yearned for since the good old days (2009-2011). The youth movement has grown steadily in the last season and even more so this year with 3 rookies making the club.

The Canucks need goals, speed and a bit more grit. Shinkaruk is proving he can bring all those things and put on a line with either Horvat or Sutter along with wingers Virtanen or Hansen would really give the budding star a big boost. You can’t put a star on the 4th line. It just doesn’t work. Dropping Shinkaruk with Horvat, whom he has great chemistry with along with Hansen would really pack a solid punch and give Hansen an opportunity to distract more and create chances for the kids.

Here’s an article from 2013 that dives into Bo and Hunter’s chemistry.

How Hunter gets called up has yet to be seen but it’s coming and when it does be ready. We might just be seeing the full transition of the Canucks and more losses because of that is a by product of letting them blend in. When it clicks, it’s going to be life changing.

I’m predicting Shinkaruk is called up within the next month and that might be a little bit shy. What we saw of him in his first preseason was enough for me. He can score goal scorers goals and he drives the net. We currently have maybe 2 guys, nay 3 that do that(Horvat, McCann, Burrows…Hansen?). They aren’t the Sedins.

Hate to go all homer but with Connor McDavid out, the Canucks could really take the rookie spotlight by storm and what a time to do it! You have to think Don Cherry is a fan.

I wrote about Hunter Shinkaruk. He’s coming.

 

cover photo: Utica Comets

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Ryan Miller And Chill

I’m not gonna lie to you guys, I still don’t know what that means. I don’t even have Netflix so the reference is lost on me. That being said I DO know one thing for sure: I may be wrong about Ryan Miller and its safe to say most of you are too! After 3 games this year he has posted an impressive 3-0-1 and 1 shutout (LA) along with a chipper 1.21 GAA and .955 SA%

This just in: Ryan Miller is very good at the puck stopping.

Miller seemed like a decent signing a year ago as the Canucks were looking for a new #1 goalie to mentor Eddie Lack and win the big games. Well, last season didn’t exactly go Miller’s way and late in the season it was questioned if he should even BE a Canuck. Pretty harsh criticism but quite typical in a market that can turn on their goalies after a bad pumpkin spice latte.

When Miller was bowled over by Jannik Hansen in a game against the Islanders last year, it gave then back up Eddie Lack the keys to a very touchy sports car which he did not want to relinquish after a phenomenal spring. As Ryan Miller neared return, the question was does he deserve the net back?

All in all, he came back but the Canucks were far from ready for anyone to be the goalie as they couldn’t even hold their own up front with the Calgary Flames completely outplaying the Canucks in round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

So what is so different from last year’s start that gives us hope this season? As of now, not a whole lot. Miller posted a solid 16-4 record to start his season, with 3 shutouts and 3 one goal games. It seems that even in Canuck nation if we aren’t awarded a Stanley Cup (which they’ve never won) after every win, the team fell short.

Kinda ridiculous but that’s how we roll.

In comparison, Roberto Luongo’s first season in Vancouver wasn’t exactly the best season ever in his first 20. OK, we all know he played lights out almost the whole season, finished a win shy of the NHL record and was robbed of both a Vezina and a Hart trophy, but I digress.
Luongo posted a 10-9-1 record in the 2006/07 season after his first 20 games but considering the team had to be almost all defense, his performances took on a life of its own.

Like Luongo, Miller came from the Eastern Conference and had to learn a whole new travel system, a whole new coaching system and a conference that is Fast and Furious 8, seven days a week. Miller did have a stop over in St. Louis for 19 games and then was easily knocked out of the playoffs in 6. He, like Justin Trudeau “just wasn’t ready” for the West quite yet. But he figured it out.

Ryan Miller isn’t exactly that type of cat though; he’s very chill, possibly even….Miller Chill? I would guess lime because its the best of the chill drinks one would assume. He is a gamer like any other top goalie, he puts his jock strap on one loop at a time and after playing in Buffalo for so long, a bit of angst is allowed. He’s played in some pretty big games, most notably in 2010 in the Gold Medal Game at the Vancouver Olympics in which he gave up the winning goal to Sidney Crosby on Canadian ice. He continued to impress that same year taking home the Vezina as the top goaltender in the NHL.

But back to him being awesome in Vancouver.

Miller time has once again made an appearance and this time around, Canucks fans seem to be warming up to the guy. He isn’t any more approachable, he still clings to the “team game” mentality when conducting interviews and even WITH the injury to Jacob Markstrom and having Richard Bachman as his backup, he still plays like it’s his job to lose.

Good on you Miller!

Millsy as his team mates probably call him is building confidence with a very fragile fan base and the defenders in front of him are making his job quite easy. But in case they do screw up, he’s been every bit an all star as rookie dman Ben Hutton. Roberto did it with more swagger but maybe we need a guy that just plays net for a living? I’m not sure if that actually was a question but imma roll with it.

Miller Chill is just that; he doesn’t seem to panic when the puck frenzy is in front of him. He just goes about his business and he focuses on just stopping the puck. Seems like an obvious deal there but making the save that stops the play is just as important as keeping the first few out of the net. Its rebound control 101.

It is kinda weird that even with Eddie Lack, Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider all gone from Vancouver, we actually are at the point of embracing a goalie because he just plays for his team and goes home. Better late than never to have a revived career and it looks like he might even get better, wouldn’t that be nice?

We welcome your chillness Ryan Miller, we welcome it with two arms and an approval looking nod. You signed on for 3 years in a city that you knew could possibly hate you after 1 month, but there was enough money on the table that you figured “Hey, hate doesn’t hurt if I don’t acknowledge it”. Bad theory to go on but he has stepped his game up and the team in front of him seems to have done the same thing.

Miller doesn’t need fancy stats, zone entry data, corsis or even tacos to be successful. For that you should go on over to Canucks Army.  Come to think of it, I don’t either but here I am writing about these things (actually I’m only writing about the words fancy stats, zone entry data and corsis) and I don’t need to be flashy or swaggered out.

After only 3 games, a handful of media and fans have anointed Ryan Miller the MVP of the season and what could be better? The answer is the Stanley Cup but maybe lets not jump the shark quite yet. I can’t believe I’m saying this but even Luca Sbisa is playing better this year and that can only mean great things for Ryan Miller…and rookie sensation Ben Hutton. But this isn’t about them, its about the guy with the bulldog on the back of his mask.

So lets all Miller Chill with Ryan Miller and let him do his thing. Let’s let this season materialize organically and see how everything pans out. What do we have to lose? Not much. What I know is all this guy wants is for Miller to stay chill and maybe a tweet back:

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Follow me and my hilarious taeks (sp?) on twitter: @always90four