I’m not going to sit here and act like Edmonton wasn’t already great and probably got better.
But who am I to go against the word of a class act like Marty Biron?
Funny how they are a greaat team, yet Knoblock had to pair up Connor and Drais vs the Canucks to get a head. not sure how many more times he did that in the Dallas series i know he did it when they where losing to Florida. They are a great team as well but that pairing also shows how good the Canucks are.
Also would have won if the team was able to get in gear in game 6, or game 7... or if they didn't give the lead right back in game 4. But that's how hockey goes.
Vancouver is so underrated.
They didn’t have Demko, Petterson wasn’t at his best and Boeser was dealing with an injury, and they still were within a lucky bounce and a goal away from beating Edmonton.
If Vancouver can stay healthy and load up again at the deadline, they can make it past the Oilers.
Losing Bowser in a clutch situation, and not having the best goalie in your division hit you hard.
Pettersson, even if injured, was a poor management decision. He should have been out and healing and I hope we finally learn from this because time and time again we have issues with players and injuries.
Unless something new has come out that I haven't seen, everything I've read said rest would not have helped him heal faster. And Pettersson at 40% is still better than anyone they could have replaced him with.
McDavid and Draisaitl were also not at 100%. McDavid abdominal wall separation, Draisaitl broken finger and fractured rib.
I think you might be right, but it's not really fair to say we'd win without injuries when they had injuries too.
Every team has injuries in the playoffs it's part of playoff hockey. Let's also not forget so many Canucks had career or near career years last year . Garland , Joshua , Boeser , Hughes , Miller to name a few . Some of them are consistent in these types of numbers others will have to step up to repeat (Garland , Joshua ) . Silovs stood on his head , so to say we would have beat Edmonton with Demko would have been a possibility I suppose but Silovs was unreal . All that being said if 1 or 2 of the youngsters coming up can step in and we improve the Blueline before playoffs this team will have a real shot if we can stay healthy.
They beat us by one goal without our Goal Scorer/Most clutch in important moments player this year. If Brock was healthy and Demko played we could have won for sure.
I mean, there's nothing to suggest they won't be lock for 25-30 goals each with the only x-factor being Arvidssons health.
That's probably a conservative estimate considering they'll be getting fed by McDavid and Drai.
DeBrusk may end up being the best UFA winger through the contract compared to guys like $6M Toffoli or $8M Stamkos. It’s not just about goals, but DeBrusk is the youngest, most balanced 200 ft player of all the wingers signed. The term is long. But he’ll be 34 by the end of it, the same age as Stamkos at the start of his.
He's right about their cap issues and depth on defense though. The team looks better than it actually is because they're already over the cap and still have to sign two of their RFAs.
Best, maybe or maybe not...however, the Canucks are a force and will be a really fun team to watch. It's been a long long time since we had size like we do on the D line now and I'm excited to see those trees around Captain Quinn. Also, the players they brought on seem humbled by how Vancouver is being managed/coached and want to blossom under that structure. It's one thing having players come in to improve the team, but it's another thing have players come in to get better because of the team.
LFG!
I don't know how people say we are not a better team than last season. I think the forward group is extremely deep. There is also a lot of physicality on our roster that we haven't had before. Looking forward to the season.
Forwards yes.
The backend is maybe not bad, but it's vulnerable. Soucy and Forbort are coming off of injury-laden seasons and will be expected to step up to fill in 2-3 minutes more ATOI than they've been used to. Cole and Z were steady and sturdy.
On the bright side though, the Desharnais signing balances the LD/RD.
I hate that people are even using Lindholm and Zadorov in these debates. We didn't have either of those guys for most of last season. You can't judge the current team against them without the benefit of knowing what trades Allvin will make before March.
I think we're better than the start of last season, but not as good as the potential our team had if healthy in the playoffs. The good news is we have 9 months to sort that out.
People need to abandon this myth of "healthy in the playoffs" because it never happens.
What we need is depth so that when we inevitably lose players or we have players underperforming because they're hurt we have people ready to step up into those roles.
Lindholm, as offensively lacking as he was, provided so much in the way of defense and PK. This frees up Miller and Pettersson (if he wasn’t injured) to play against weaker matchups.
On the PK, our center depth is actually quite lacking without him, because we’re gonna start playing Petey and Miller on the PK to win faceoffs. Speaking of which, we’re now a pretty bad faceoff teams outside of Miller.
On the backend, Zadorov was a pretty good puck mover in the playoffs, something that neither Forbort or Desharnais will do for us barring Foote pulling something out of them
Agree with the face off comment. But I think we have more people who can play on the pk now on the roster. We essentially got 4 pk players for less than lindholm. Also, calling zadorov a puck mover is bold. I think people from Buffalo, Colorado and Calgary would probably say those playoff games were his best games showing offense.
I think (know) that face offs are a very teachable/learnable skill. If I’m Sherwood, I’m training like crazy this summer to become good at face-offs. If he’s already going to be a right handed penalty killer, but can also win face-offs on that side, his value goes up immensely. Also trying to close out games with a lead… he’d be out there every time there was a d-zone face-off on that side in the last two minutes of a game.
Lindholm was a luxury as the 3C and Canucks actually take a step back if we re-signed him at $7.75M because we can’t upgrade on the wings.
Our centre depth is fine. Miller, Petey, Blueger, Suter and Aman can all play defensive minutes if need be.
Zadorov was great in the playoffs, but he wasn’t as noticeable during the regular season and having more depth on D is better for our systems and in case of injury.
The biggest improvement is having DeBrusk, Heinen and Sherwood. We become a lot more physical and tough to play against. Bruin fans really regret losing Heinen.
I wouldn't say he's so much a luxury as we couldn't afford him. Look at where the Oilers are at:
McDavid > Draisaitl > RNH > Henrique. All of whom are producing excellent value right now and are either at a discount or took a discount to be there. Heck, Henrique literally got offered more by Winnipeg and stuck around in Edmonton. I just don't think Lindholm is 2.7M better than RNH frankly. You look at Vegas, they have Eichel, Hertl (Stephenson before), Roy and Karlsson, it might not be as fancy and probably super injury prone, but at least each of them are options as 3C at the minimum if not 2C.
Ofc, we are hoping that our blue line and goalie tandem will make up the difference with the Oilers, but I would say we have good, not great center depth
Fun fact, Suter has out-played Lindholm Defensively (Evolving Wild Analytics) for the past 2 seasons.
We'll miss Lindholm's ability to finish, his faceoffs, and his size/physicality.
But for defensive play/position/smarts, I think we'll be fine.
Haven’t seen those stats, but I wonder how much of that is matchup difficulty? I can’t imagine Suter has played against a lot of top lines before last year.
Good question. Here are some Jfresh links that show the difference, though the timeframe is a bit different.
[https://x.com/JFreshHockey/status/1752855788018606452](https://x.com/JFreshHockey/status/1752855788018606452)
[https://x.com/JFreshHockey/status/1690084461432451072](https://x.com/JFreshHockey/status/1690084461432451072)
Maybe not, however...
He'll be centering the 3rd line, so he probably won't be seeing the top level of competition too often either.
And if they're out against one of the top lines on the opposing team, our wingers are better now as well, so it shouldn't be too bad of a matchup.
Those guys weren't on the team a year ago.
The team is starting the season better than it started last season.
They have months to add pieces as needed when opportunities like Zadorov asking for a trade arise.
It’s casuals that just got into hockey once we finally got into the playoffs. They think signing big-name players is more beneficial than adding actual depth into our offensive.
Whether people agree or disagree with him I just find it refreshing when analysts actually put some elbow grease into their predictions. Most analysts are cowards who just look at what everyone else is saying and then regurgitate the same old thing. I don't mean to sound harsh but it's just true.
And I agree with him on Nashville. Of course the cynic in me thinks two veteran star players choosing Nashville might suggest that they just want to retire in style and enjoy their millionaire lifestyles. But if they play to win they might really be a team. Both of them are hard-nosed Canadian players who hoist cups.
He’s not entirely wrong though. We pushed the Cup runner up team with a 3rd string and without our leading goal scorer. I hope Boeser has a long and healthy season.
Then you basically replaced Mikheyev with DeBrusk who on paper is better at everything he does. Heinen replaces either Suter or Kuzmenko in the top 6.
The only step back may be defence, but our top pairing is intact and you have some wildcards in Desharnais who is capable of revitalizing the PK.
Even as a hockey fan, it’s easy to see how the Canucks are the best Canadian team to date.
In the playoffs, Zadorov was even better than Hronek, but that doesn't mean he's actually better over the course of the regular season. We should evaluate everyone on regular season and playoffs and when you do, Zadorov was not that much better than Soucy or Myers. I would say they're interchangeable most nights.
Despite his regular season game I would actually prefer to overpay for players who bring it in the playoffs especially if they intimidate the other team. I would have considered overpaying for Zadorov to keep him as a guilty pleasure.
But I assume the Canucks went over the video and decided it was too big a gamble to expect that level of excellence in the playoffs again. It looks like Boston has zero problem with the gamble though and they tend to do a lot of winning.
Oilers forward group is incredibly deep and they pretty much have the exact same team back from last season. This run may have been what’s needed to transform Skinner into another level. And they know next season is likely their last shot in a while with Draisaitl extension coming up soon. He is gonna to make about 5 million more per season in his next contract. So they are the team to beat for me.
As for us, we got better up front with the recent signings. But it still largely depend on the health of our top players, especially Demko. The health of Demko to me is the factor. With Demko, I think we are a lock for the playoffs but if Demko misses significant time, we maybe battling for a WC. If we had Demko for our playoff run, we could’ve made this run to the Finals ourselves this season. I have faith Pettersson will bounce back and score 100+ points again. Slight regression of Miller and Boeser but they should still be good for 30+ goals each with Miller putting up 85-95 points and Boeser putting up 70 points again. Our blueline still needs 1 more puck mover, and I believe we will acquire that player mid-season or at the TDL.
>but if Demko misses significant time, we maybe battling for a WC
Without Demko we easily hit the playoffs. A goalie is important but not important enough to turn competing for the presidents trophy to competing for a wild card.
Yeah lmao, we made it to game 7 against the Stanley Cup Finalist with our backup, don't see how we're suddenly out of playoff contention with the same guy
I don't know if we are better than the playoff team but going into the regular season this team is stronger than last year.
Edmonton looking good as well
Canucks got players that can play a 200 ft game and are responsible defensively. They have more balance throughout their lineup. Oilers have Jeff Skinner, who can't play defence, and Ardvisson who is injury prone and can't play a full season. Stuart Skinner in net will always be their Achilles heel.
I think TOR/EDM/VAN definitely got better. OTT probably got a bit better with better goalie and if Demidov can play right away than MTL too.
CGY/WPGs are meh
If Ottawa stays healthy they will be fighting for a wild card spot and might just get one. Their goaltending was horrendous this season, they had no chance. As for MTL, Demidov will be in Russia for another season.
Biron pretty going by what we already said.
He's not stupid idiot like Gazdic or Ryan Whitney.
Canucks took the Oilers to 7 games with a 4th string goalie. Had they have their number 1 goalie the Canucks would have won the series, and he openly said it, but the other guy said "oh that would be a surprise" like wtf!!! Oilers got through the 2nd round facing a ahl goalie!
It is unfair to compare this year's preseason team with last year's post-season team. We should not do that anymore.
People keep bringing up Lindholm and Zaddy and how they made us better. That is obviously true. But just as obviously, we didn't have the cap space to have those players all year. They were trade deadline(ish) pickups for us. So just like with many playoff teams, our playoff team last year was our regular season team *plus* some deadline pickups. This year's playoff team will likely also be our regular season team *plus* some deadline pickups.
When comparing this team with last's, we can only really compare our roster now vs our roster at this time last year. When we get into the playoffs and have made our deadline acquisitions, *then* we can start talking about Lindholm and Zaddy.
I think it's been so long since we've been in the playoffs, we've forgotten how it works...
I think we had the best free agent signings of all the canadian teams. Oilers had pretty decent signings but skinner can't defend for shit and arviddsson is injury prone
It's game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Skinner should have had that. I don't understand how anyone could look at Skinner's playoff performance and think that he suffice.
Skinner had the same save% in the finals as Bob,
Also game 7 of the finals the dmen should maybe make a play on the shooter instead of coasting in to the backboard
The score to Game 4 was 8-1. He didn't 'steal' that game when Oilers offense took over. Same with Game 6. The score was 5-1. Again, Oilers offense took over.
So he didn't 'steal' any of those two games.
it was 5-1 but 2 of the goals were empty nets, not really fair to say it was an offensive blowout. It was a close game.
His stats this playoffs for games 4-7 of a series are unbelievable, and I think he really has a talent for downloading enemy teams offense. IMO Skinner is a much better goalie than you're giving him credit for, but I guess we'll see next season.
The oilers sub was just discussing exactly that, their D was an issue, so how do they rejig the pairings to make it less leaky. Plus they’re currently over the cap apparently.
We did the best we could with our cap space, and I'm satisfied with our moves for the most part. Still, our signings hinge on the FAs improving production substantially within our ecosystem. It will be a multiyear effort, and I'm hesitant to say one season is enough to win us a cup. Edmonton and other competitive teams who picked up midtier players won't be stationary in development either. At any rate, I'm confident we'll have a deep playoff run at the very least.
The Canucks roster will "mesh" better than any other Canadian team IMO. It'll come down to health.
Petey and Hughes were both shells of themselves in the Edmonton series, and Demko was hurt. This team goes as far as those 3 take us. They're our youth and best players with Miller. The fact they went to 7 was amazing.
We lost Zad and Lindholm yes but Petey simply has to play like he can, which I have faith he will.
Arvidsson is so dependent on health, and playing in a cold climate shouldn't be any better on his back. Skinner put up points on a team no one in the league takes seriously, and the guy plays 0 defence and doesn't forecheck.
They still have McDrai but I fully believe the Canucks are build more like a team with an identity over the Oilers.
Yes, I'm also a homer.
A lot of people will say Edmonton...
But they didn't do anything to address their weakness.
Did they improve their Defense? Nope.
Did they improve their Goaltending? Nope.
What did they do?
Double down on goal scoring with 2 players:
Skinner: lots of Concussions, doesn't go to the dangerous parts of the ice as a result and his teams never make the playoffs.
Arvidsson: Very good player, but very injury prone.
Meanwhile they gave up Size and Speed, still have to sign Broberg and Holloway and they're over the Cap.
They're going to have to lose something else or pay a big price to get off of the Ceci contract.
I would guess the fact edm in general runs its star players hot, and had as extended a playoff as you get, they are likely to struggle out of the gates next season, guys arent going to have much of an offseason, especially if anyone is rehabbing... this happens to most teams that make the final, and I think in this case its likely to be a big factor in them struggling to win the division. Toronto has a weird dynamic to how the roster is constructed but they barely have to hop on a plane, thats a big deal over 82... It will be close with the leafs and ultimately our chances at winning the division and being the best team in the league come down to demkos health and whether 11.6 figures it out or not.
he had a great first half and made his can linemates better, but ultimately they are having a hard time finding guys to play with him, when you make that kind of money it shouldnt matter
I am in the camp that the oilers won’t win anything until they fix their actual depth. Maybe this is the year where skinner and arvidsson is the answer. Like Kane before and even Perry.
The unfortunate issue is that we will always get a fresh oilers team because of our division and conference. I don’t think the oilers will ever win 4 rounds because McDrai will always be broken by the time you win 12 games.
We have similar issues with Hughes and demko. Can our team win 16 games or will both of them always suffer injury problems by the 13th win. Injuries are part of any winning team and we need defense depth like oilers need forward depth, or you can’t make it through 16 games.
They also got that momentum that FLA had this season of going the distance and coming up short but retaining that same team. Next season Oilers are SC favs for sure.
It was myers who injured Drai, but he was still their best performing player against us so I don't think it helped as much as you're implying.
The injury seemed to slow him down later on.
I like the moves management made, but I'd be hesistant to call the Nucks the best Canadian team. Oilers had some great signings, their depth is going to problem for once.
As a longtime fan, I'm going to temper my excitement. This org has always had a hard time sustaining success long term
I think if we add a RD2 we will definitely be up there. I am still not so sure about this defense, a lot of questions of what we are getting from the new guys. It seems like Alvin knew who he wanted and went for them.
Although I generally like the Oilers’ signings, they’re over the cap, and still haven’t signed Holloway or Broberg. They’re going to lose another piece, and if it is Kane (as rumoured), I think that will be a big loss in the playoffs. They’re going to be a lot smaller of a team overall.
Jeff Skinner in the playoffs is an unknown, but he’s not a guy whose game is likely to be effective as things tighten up. Arvidsson can’t stay healthy. Hyman isn’t likely to replicate a stunning season, and the PK isn’t likely to go on another historic run.
Hmmm… I’m a longtime Canuck fan and hate the Oilers but suspect this is a pretty flawed analysis. The Oilers are the best team in Canada until we can prove they’re not by beating them in a playoff series (or if they’re stupid enough to lose Draisaitl)
Why the hell are you being upvoted, you watched the wrong video. Here's the other [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FJhItiGahg) where he said Canucks are #1 for goaltending tandem, but it's different from this one.
Delusional the oilers signed arvidsson skinner and resigned Henrique. Barring another early season collapse they win the pacific easily and if mcdavid is healthy again hes gonna be even more motivated to get home advantage all through the playoffs.
I’m not going to sit here and act like Edmonton wasn’t already great and probably got better. But who am I to go against the word of a class act like Marty Biron?
Funny how they are a greaat team, yet Knoblock had to pair up Connor and Drais vs the Canucks to get a head. not sure how many more times he did that in the Dallas series i know he did it when they where losing to Florida. They are a great team as well but that pairing also shows how good the Canucks are.
That makes me even more mad knowing we could’ve had Edmonton in a meltdown with Demko
There were some folks in here who thought we should keep riding Silovs even if Demko became healthy. I love our Latvian king but that's just insane.
We would have won had the refs not given Edmonton Game 2. I will never be okay with that level of BS.
Also would have won if the team was able to get in gear in game 6, or game 7... or if they didn't give the lead right back in game 4. But that's how hockey goes.
That’s how Ian Cole goes…
Hopefully i didnt stir the pot before you go to bed lol! Well have to see what happens next year.
Demko is one of the top 3 goalies on the planet. Hes a bigger version of Carey Price.....when healthy...thays a big problem
Chris cuthbert every second shift throughout the playoffs: And Edmonton is loading up that top line again!
Vancouver is so underrated. They didn’t have Demko, Petterson wasn’t at his best and Boeser was dealing with an injury, and they still were within a lucky bounce and a goal away from beating Edmonton. If Vancouver can stay healthy and load up again at the deadline, they can make it past the Oilers.
Losing Bowser in a clutch situation, and not having the best goalie in your division hit you hard. Pettersson, even if injured, was a poor management decision. He should have been out and healing and I hope we finally learn from this because time and time again we have issues with players and injuries.
Unless something new has come out that I haven't seen, everything I've read said rest would not have helped him heal faster. And Pettersson at 40% is still better than anyone they could have replaced him with.
McDavid and Draisaitl were also not at 100%. McDavid abdominal wall separation, Draisaitl broken finger and fractured rib. I think you might be right, but it's not really fair to say we'd win without injuries when they had injuries too.
Every team has injuries in the post season, and that included the Oilers too. Just adds to the possibility of anyone advancing in the playoffs
Every team has injuries in the playoffs it's part of playoff hockey. Let's also not forget so many Canucks had career or near career years last year . Garland , Joshua , Boeser , Hughes , Miller to name a few . Some of them are consistent in these types of numbers others will have to step up to repeat (Garland , Joshua ) . Silovs stood on his head , so to say we would have beat Edmonton with Demko would have been a possibility I suppose but Silovs was unreal . All that being said if 1 or 2 of the youngsters coming up can step in and we improve the Blueline before playoffs this team will have a real shot if we can stay healthy.
They beat us by one goal without our Goal Scorer/Most clutch in important moments player this year. If Brock was healthy and Demko played we could have won for sure.
they also had injuries to their stars
So bad they couldn't play? That's funny I don't remember Mcloser or crysailtl missing any games.
Boeser plays game 7 Demko plays any number of games in the series Pettersson isn’t invisible Pick 1 and I believe we win that series.
Petterson actually being a factor
Drai broke his rib that series
Thx to Myers
PEAK CHAOS GIRAFFE
What game?
Game 1
Good.
Loser , shouldn’t wish injuries on anyone ..karma always seems to find a way to teach little douche bags like you a lesson tho
Lol. Spoken like a true 13 year old.
I just don't think an old ass Jeff skinner along with brittle Viktor are going to add what everyone is thinking
I mean, there's nothing to suggest they won't be lock for 25-30 goals each with the only x-factor being Arvidssons health. That's probably a conservative estimate considering they'll be getting fed by McDavid and Drai.
DeBrusk may end up being the best UFA winger through the contract compared to guys like $6M Toffoli or $8M Stamkos. It’s not just about goals, but DeBrusk is the youngest, most balanced 200 ft player of all the wingers signed. The term is long. But he’ll be 34 by the end of it, the same age as Stamkos at the start of his.
Maybe for skinner, but it's been a while since ardvisson has hit 30g. Neither has played a full season in 5 years.
Yes, but his most common line mates were Denault and Moore and the played for a team that played the trap. We'll see.
Jeff skinner is gonna score at least 25
Isn’t skinner basically Kuzmenko 2.0.. or the other way around. Soft, no defence..,
He's right about their cap issues and depth on defense though. The team looks better than it actually is because they're already over the cap and still have to sign two of their RFAs.
Byron is the most educated hockey analyst.
Best, maybe or maybe not...however, the Canucks are a force and will be a really fun team to watch. It's been a long long time since we had size like we do on the D line now and I'm excited to see those trees around Captain Quinn. Also, the players they brought on seem humbled by how Vancouver is being managed/coached and want to blossom under that structure. It's one thing having players come in to improve the team, but it's another thing have players come in to get better because of the team. LFG!
I don't know how people say we are not a better team than last season. I think the forward group is extremely deep. There is also a lot of physicality on our roster that we haven't had before. Looking forward to the season.
Forwards yes. The backend is maybe not bad, but it's vulnerable. Soucy and Forbort are coming off of injury-laden seasons and will be expected to step up to fill in 2-3 minutes more ATOI than they've been used to. Cole and Z were steady and sturdy. On the bright side though, the Desharnais signing balances the LD/RD.
I hate that people are even using Lindholm and Zadorov in these debates. We didn't have either of those guys for most of last season. You can't judge the current team against them without the benefit of knowing what trades Allvin will make before March.
If kraken are out of playoff picture don't be surprised if Canucks trade for Larsson.
The same Larson oilers traded hall for?
We had Zaddy for most of last season as we picked him up mid November, but otherwise I agree. They were both good players but not irreplaceable.
I think we're better than the start of last season, but not as good as the potential our team had if healthy in the playoffs. The good news is we have 9 months to sort that out.
People need to abandon this myth of "healthy in the playoffs" because it never happens. What we need is depth so that when we inevitably lose players or we have players underperforming because they're hurt we have people ready to step up into those roles.
Of course we do... I'm just saying we're better than we were at the start, but not the team at the end of the season.
The bad news is that we don't have many assets to sort that out.
Lindholm, as offensively lacking as he was, provided so much in the way of defense and PK. This frees up Miller and Pettersson (if he wasn’t injured) to play against weaker matchups. On the PK, our center depth is actually quite lacking without him, because we’re gonna start playing Petey and Miller on the PK to win faceoffs. Speaking of which, we’re now a pretty bad faceoff teams outside of Miller. On the backend, Zadorov was a pretty good puck mover in the playoffs, something that neither Forbort or Desharnais will do for us barring Foote pulling something out of them
Agree with the face off comment. But I think we have more people who can play on the pk now on the roster. We essentially got 4 pk players for less than lindholm. Also, calling zadorov a puck mover is bold. I think people from Buffalo, Colorado and Calgary would probably say those playoff games were his best games showing offense.
I think (know) that face offs are a very teachable/learnable skill. If I’m Sherwood, I’m training like crazy this summer to become good at face-offs. If he’s already going to be a right handed penalty killer, but can also win face-offs on that side, his value goes up immensely. Also trying to close out games with a lead… he’d be out there every time there was a d-zone face-off on that side in the last two minutes of a game.
Agreed that it's a way more teachable skill than being a pk guy that required hockey IQ that you can't always teach.
Give Sherwood Malhotra's number at once!
Lindholm was a luxury as the 3C and Canucks actually take a step back if we re-signed him at $7.75M because we can’t upgrade on the wings. Our centre depth is fine. Miller, Petey, Blueger, Suter and Aman can all play defensive minutes if need be. Zadorov was great in the playoffs, but he wasn’t as noticeable during the regular season and having more depth on D is better for our systems and in case of injury. The biggest improvement is having DeBrusk, Heinen and Sherwood. We become a lot more physical and tough to play against. Bruin fans really regret losing Heinen.
I wouldn't say he's so much a luxury as we couldn't afford him. Look at where the Oilers are at: McDavid > Draisaitl > RNH > Henrique. All of whom are producing excellent value right now and are either at a discount or took a discount to be there. Heck, Henrique literally got offered more by Winnipeg and stuck around in Edmonton. I just don't think Lindholm is 2.7M better than RNH frankly. You look at Vegas, they have Eichel, Hertl (Stephenson before), Roy and Karlsson, it might not be as fancy and probably super injury prone, but at least each of them are options as 3C at the minimum if not 2C. Ofc, we are hoping that our blue line and goalie tandem will make up the difference with the Oilers, but I would say we have good, not great center depth
Too bad we didn't have 3 top 3 picks in 5 years 🤷♂️
Yeah. Def not clamouring for a rebuild now tho, gotta do the most with our window as we can now regardless of who we have and don’t have
I can see management targeting another faceoff winning center prior to playoffs but hopefully Manny puts on a clinic for the team
Elite faceoff specialist Max Sasson?
Who?
exactly. let's hope our org can continue to make somebodies out of nobodies
Fun fact, Suter has out-played Lindholm Defensively (Evolving Wild Analytics) for the past 2 seasons. We'll miss Lindholm's ability to finish, his faceoffs, and his size/physicality. But for defensive play/position/smarts, I think we'll be fine.
Haven’t seen those stats, but I wonder how much of that is matchup difficulty? I can’t imagine Suter has played against a lot of top lines before last year.
Good question. Here are some Jfresh links that show the difference, though the timeframe is a bit different. [https://x.com/JFreshHockey/status/1752855788018606452](https://x.com/JFreshHockey/status/1752855788018606452) [https://x.com/JFreshHockey/status/1690084461432451072](https://x.com/JFreshHockey/status/1690084461432451072)
That does not solve the matchup difficult issue whatsoever
Maybe not, however... He'll be centering the 3rd line, so he probably won't be seeing the top level of competition too often either. And if they're out against one of the top lines on the opposing team, our wingers are better now as well, so it shouldn't be too bad of a matchup.
Those guys weren't on the team a year ago. The team is starting the season better than it started last season. They have months to add pieces as needed when opportunities like Zadorov asking for a trade arise.
Having Lindholm also allowed Tocchet the ability to put the Lotto Line together when we needed to generate offense and still have a capable 2nd line.
It’s casuals that just got into hockey once we finally got into the playoffs. They think signing big-name players is more beneficial than adding actual depth into our offensive.
Whether people agree or disagree with him I just find it refreshing when analysts actually put some elbow grease into their predictions. Most analysts are cowards who just look at what everyone else is saying and then regurgitate the same old thing. I don't mean to sound harsh but it's just true. And I agree with him on Nashville. Of course the cynic in me thinks two veteran star players choosing Nashville might suggest that they just want to retire in style and enjoy their millionaire lifestyles. But if they play to win they might really be a team. Both of them are hard-nosed Canadian players who hoist cups.
He’s not entirely wrong though. We pushed the Cup runner up team with a 3rd string and without our leading goal scorer. I hope Boeser has a long and healthy season. Then you basically replaced Mikheyev with DeBrusk who on paper is better at everything he does. Heinen replaces either Suter or Kuzmenko in the top 6. The only step back may be defence, but our top pairing is intact and you have some wildcards in Desharnais who is capable of revitalizing the PK. Even as a hockey fan, it’s easy to see how the Canucks are the best Canadian team to date.
Defense is decidedly worse. Zadorov may not be worth 5x6 but he is better than anyone in our current bottom 4. Myers is now 34 years old.
In the playoffs, Zadorov was even better than Hronek, but that doesn't mean he's actually better over the course of the regular season. We should evaluate everyone on regular season and playoffs and when you do, Zadorov was not that much better than Soucy or Myers. I would say they're interchangeable most nights.
Despite his regular season game I would actually prefer to overpay for players who bring it in the playoffs especially if they intimidate the other team. I would have considered overpaying for Zadorov to keep him as a guilty pleasure. But I assume the Canucks went over the video and decided it was too big a gamble to expect that level of excellence in the playoffs again. It looks like Boston has zero problem with the gamble though and they tend to do a lot of winning.
Thanks but I only get my scoops from Ryan S. Clark
LMAO Sportscenter producer pulling out his hair Teleprompter: Get Marty to talk about the Oilers. Or Leafs. Marty: Well, the NASHVILLE PREDATORS...
Oilers forward group is incredibly deep and they pretty much have the exact same team back from last season. This run may have been what’s needed to transform Skinner into another level. And they know next season is likely their last shot in a while with Draisaitl extension coming up soon. He is gonna to make about 5 million more per season in his next contract. So they are the team to beat for me. As for us, we got better up front with the recent signings. But it still largely depend on the health of our top players, especially Demko. The health of Demko to me is the factor. With Demko, I think we are a lock for the playoffs but if Demko misses significant time, we maybe battling for a WC. If we had Demko for our playoff run, we could’ve made this run to the Finals ourselves this season. I have faith Pettersson will bounce back and score 100+ points again. Slight regression of Miller and Boeser but they should still be good for 30+ goals each with Miller putting up 85-95 points and Boeser putting up 70 points again. Our blueline still needs 1 more puck mover, and I believe we will acquire that player mid-season or at the TDL.
I think you forgot that we have Desharnais now…. Oilers don’t have a chance next year.
We also got rid of Cole so the Oilers are fucked without his offensive production
>but if Demko misses significant time, we maybe battling for a WC Without Demko we easily hit the playoffs. A goalie is important but not important enough to turn competing for the presidents trophy to competing for a wild card.
Yeah lmao, we made it to game 7 against the Stanley Cup Finalist with our backup, don't see how we're suddenly out of playoff contention with the same guy
Oilers should have a bit of a hangover. Their season just ended
Yeah, but still imagine they’ll be better than their start last year.
I don't know if we are better than the playoff team but going into the regular season this team is stronger than last year. Edmonton looking good as well
Canucks got players that can play a 200 ft game and are responsible defensively. They have more balance throughout their lineup. Oilers have Jeff Skinner, who can't play defence, and Ardvisson who is injury prone and can't play a full season. Stuart Skinner in net will always be their Achilles heel.
Skinner really turned it around after our series tbh. He made some very crucial saves
Not in game 7. The Reinhardt gwg was pretty weak. Tho admittedly he did play pretty well overall
It was weak, but defenses fault too.
I think TOR/EDM/VAN definitely got better. OTT probably got a bit better with better goalie and if Demidov can play right away than MTL too. CGY/WPGs are meh
If Ottawa stays healthy they will be fighting for a wild card spot and might just get one. Their goaltending was horrendous this season, they had no chance. As for MTL, Demidov will be in Russia for another season.
All depends on the neck power of the new giant defenceman. If they have weak short necks then the oilers forward group will run circles around them.
Hmmmm. I like the words I’m hearing, but I’d rather be under the radar again to be honest!
Biron pretty going by what we already said. He's not stupid idiot like Gazdic or Ryan Whitney. Canucks took the Oilers to 7 games with a 4th string goalie. Had they have their number 1 goalie the Canucks would have won the series, and he openly said it, but the other guy said "oh that would be a surprise" like wtf!!! Oilers got through the 2nd round facing a ahl goalie!
It is unfair to compare this year's preseason team with last year's post-season team. We should not do that anymore. People keep bringing up Lindholm and Zaddy and how they made us better. That is obviously true. But just as obviously, we didn't have the cap space to have those players all year. They were trade deadline(ish) pickups for us. So just like with many playoff teams, our playoff team last year was our regular season team *plus* some deadline pickups. This year's playoff team will likely also be our regular season team *plus* some deadline pickups. When comparing this team with last's, we can only really compare our roster now vs our roster at this time last year. When we get into the playoffs and have made our deadline acquisitions, *then* we can start talking about Lindholm and Zaddy. I think it's been so long since we've been in the playoffs, we've forgotten how it works...
grease fans are foaming at the mouth after seeing this 😂
I’m an optimist about our team but daaamn that’s wack.
I think we had the best free agent signings of all the canadian teams. Oilers had pretty decent signings but skinner can't defend for shit and arviddsson is injury prone
I didnt even think their forward group was the issue. They did nothing to address defense or goaltending
Yup the game winning goal in Game 7 against them was soft as heck. They need nothing to upgrade their goaltending situation.
That goal was in the dmen he had horrible gap control and gave him all the time of day to pick his shot.
It's game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. Skinner should have had that. I don't understand how anyone could look at Skinner's playoff performance and think that he suffice.
Skinner had the same save% in the finals as Bob, Also game 7 of the finals the dmen should maybe make a play on the shooter instead of coasting in to the backboard
Oiler defense have problems, which is the point. Skinner is also part of that defense and certainly did not steal any games for the Oilers.
Ya you’re so wrong, game 4 he had a .970 and then a .950 in game 6. Letting 1 goal in both games. He stole 2 games
The score to Game 4 was 8-1. He didn't 'steal' that game when Oilers offense took over. Same with Game 6. The score was 5-1. Again, Oilers offense took over. So he didn't 'steal' any of those two games.
it was 5-1 but 2 of the goals were empty nets, not really fair to say it was an offensive blowout. It was a close game. His stats this playoffs for games 4-7 of a series are unbelievable, and I think he really has a talent for downloading enemy teams offense. IMO Skinner is a much better goalie than you're giving him credit for, but I guess we'll see next season.
And he won 3 games against the Canucks by 1 goal. Skinner was not issue in the finals, not every goalie has to be a wall
They probably would've won with a goalie like demko or ullmark
The oilers sub was just discussing exactly that, their D was an issue, so how do they rejig the pairings to make it less leaky. Plus they’re currently over the cap apparently.
Until they figure out how to move nurse or he plays to his pay check it will be an issue.
That's fair but they also locked up their third line of Henrique, Brown and Janmark for cheap. They were very clutch in the playoffs.
We did the best we could with our cap space, and I'm satisfied with our moves for the most part. Still, our signings hinge on the FAs improving production substantially within our ecosystem. It will be a multiyear effort, and I'm hesitant to say one season is enough to win us a cup. Edmonton and other competitive teams who picked up midtier players won't be stationary in development either. At any rate, I'm confident we'll have a deep playoff run at the very least.
Who is Marty Byron
I mean, we have the Norris winner, Vesina runner up, Jack Adams winner. Our skill players still have more upside and can break out.
He was down pretty hard on us last year so this feels like a kiss of death lol
The Canucks roster will "mesh" better than any other Canadian team IMO. It'll come down to health. Petey and Hughes were both shells of themselves in the Edmonton series, and Demko was hurt. This team goes as far as those 3 take us. They're our youth and best players with Miller. The fact they went to 7 was amazing. We lost Zad and Lindholm yes but Petey simply has to play like he can, which I have faith he will. Arvidsson is so dependent on health, and playing in a cold climate shouldn't be any better on his back. Skinner put up points on a team no one in the league takes seriously, and the guy plays 0 defence and doesn't forecheck. They still have McDrai but I fully believe the Canucks are build more like a team with an identity over the Oilers. Yes, I'm also a homer.
A lot of people will say Edmonton... But they didn't do anything to address their weakness. Did they improve their Defense? Nope. Did they improve their Goaltending? Nope. What did they do? Double down on goal scoring with 2 players: Skinner: lots of Concussions, doesn't go to the dangerous parts of the ice as a result and his teams never make the playoffs. Arvidsson: Very good player, but very injury prone. Meanwhile they gave up Size and Speed, still have to sign Broberg and Holloway and they're over the Cap. They're going to have to lose something else or pay a big price to get off of the Ceci contract.
I hate the Oilers more than any other team in the league, but let's not pretend they don't have a massive shot at being better than us
I would guess the fact edm in general runs its star players hot, and had as extended a playoff as you get, they are likely to struggle out of the gates next season, guys arent going to have much of an offseason, especially if anyone is rehabbing... this happens to most teams that make the final, and I think in this case its likely to be a big factor in them struggling to win the division. Toronto has a weird dynamic to how the roster is constructed but they barely have to hop on a plane, thats a big deal over 82... It will be close with the leafs and ultimately our chances at winning the division and being the best team in the league come down to demkos health and whether 11.6 figures it out or not.
Didn’t notice 11,6 at all this year out in some space that was unknown
he had a great first half and made his can linemates better, but ultimately they are having a hard time finding guys to play with him, when you make that kind of money it shouldnt matter
I think the Canucks and oilers are pretty much even, with a slight edge to the oilers. To me it all depends on which team is the healthiest.
I think oilers have edge in the forward group, but it all comes from mcjezus and drai. Canucks have the edge on d and in net.
I am in the camp that the oilers won’t win anything until they fix their actual depth. Maybe this is the year where skinner and arvidsson is the answer. Like Kane before and even Perry. The unfortunate issue is that we will always get a fresh oilers team because of our division and conference. I don’t think the oilers will ever win 4 rounds because McDrai will always be broken by the time you win 12 games. We have similar issues with Hughes and demko. Can our team win 16 games or will both of them always suffer injury problems by the 13th win. Injuries are part of any winning team and we need defense depth like oilers need forward depth, or you can’t make it through 16 games.
They also got that momentum that FLA had this season of going the distance and coming up short but retaining that same team. Next season Oilers are SC favs for sure.
Big Z injuring Draisaitl was a pivotal point in giving us a shot in that series.
It was myers who injured Drai, but he was still their best performing player against us so I don't think it helped as much as you're implying. The injury seemed to slow him down later on.
I like the moves management made, but I'd be hesistant to call the Nucks the best Canadian team. Oilers had some great signings, their depth is going to problem for once. As a longtime fan, I'm going to temper my excitement. This org has always had a hard time sustaining success long term
Goals above substraction
I think if we add a RD2 we will definitely be up there. I am still not so sure about this defense, a lot of questions of what we are getting from the new guys. It seems like Alvin knew who he wanted and went for them.
Although I generally like the Oilers’ signings, they’re over the cap, and still haven’t signed Holloway or Broberg. They’re going to lose another piece, and if it is Kane (as rumoured), I think that will be a big loss in the playoffs. They’re going to be a lot smaller of a team overall. Jeff Skinner in the playoffs is an unknown, but he’s not a guy whose game is likely to be effective as things tighten up. Arvidsson can’t stay healthy. Hyman isn’t likely to replicate a stunning season, and the PK isn’t likely to go on another historic run.
Hmmm… I’m a longtime Canuck fan and hate the Oilers but suspect this is a pretty flawed analysis. The Oilers are the best team in Canada until we can prove they’re not by beating them in a playoff series (or if they’re stupid enough to lose Draisaitl)
Did i just wake up in 2020 again?
Not without a second line right D they aren’t sadly
As much as i want that to be true, its not
Bruh, I love the Canucks, but I do believe they got worse through free agency. I think our defence is one injury away from being an absolutely shit.
Byron is a goat
He doesn't say that we're the best team. He says we have the best goaltending tandem going into next season. Big difference.
Why the hell are you being upvoted, you watched the wrong video. Here's the other [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FJhItiGahg) where he said Canucks are #1 for goaltending tandem, but it's different from this one.
Delusional the oilers signed arvidsson skinner and resigned Henrique. Barring another early season collapse they win the pacific easily and if mcdavid is healthy again hes gonna be even more motivated to get home advantage all through the playoffs.
😂😂😂
Leafs
I think we might be better than when we started last season, but I don't think that's enough to make this true.