The mainstream media and most of us fans have been laying on the negativity pretty thick since the Canucks got swept by the Sharks. The MSM is waiting to hear the news that Alain Vigneault has been fired, which may not happen. The Alexan...
The mainstream media and most of us fans have been laying on the negativity pretty thick since the Canucks got swept by the Sharks. The MSM is waiting to hear the news that Alain Vigneault has been fired, which may not happen. The Alexander Edler knee job on Eric Staal in the IIHF World Championships just adds to the negativity. And Gollum himself wasted no time jumping on that wagon. It gets a bit much after a while. There are positives to draw from the current state of this organization.
Yes, I am one of the voices who wants Vigneault replaced. The winning-est coach in Canucks' history needs to be released. I think his shelf life has expired and a new voice in the room is required. What bugs me the most about Alain is how often he has stated that there is enough leadership in the dressing room to get the job done. It's like an autonomy. Now, I don't know what Vigneault says to the players in between periods and games to debug that theory. All we see is bag skates and line juggling from him. Am I right?
I also see an unfair or inconsistent way that AV goes about letting his players earn their ice time based on performance, which he has also preached. I mean, there have been plenty of times where the Sedins should sit. Or where Alex Edler should sit. Take your pick. It's as if anybody not named Sedin or Burrows, Edler or Kesler get free reign to play out their lousy play with big minutes and everybody else is getting dicked. It's not right. It's an inconsistent promotion process. That is on AV. That needs to changed, or move on. Can you remember a good story about AV motivating his players aside from the odd bag skate and line shuffling? I hear super stories about Red Wings coach Mike Babcock motivating his guys in these playoffs. Hell, even Babcock's pressers are composed and awesome. He is a winner. I look back at AV laughing at Kyle Wellwood being called a breakout player in front of the media a few years back and that really says it all as far as disrespect goes, right? Always hated that. It's juvenile.
AV has been a wondrous coach, but I'd like to see a different face and approach, in both the dressing room and in front of the media. Having said that, AV could stay and Mike Gillis could revamp the team and for all I know AV could work wonders with it. It is a possibility. Vigneault has proven to be adaptive. Glass half full.
Speaking of revamping the team, I can see some positives here. But the ball is in Mike Gillis' court. Hell, Gillis is going to have an insane summer. He needs to get the Canucks under the lesser salary cap, trade Roberto Luongo, draft like a fiend, pick the players he can buy out (maximum of 2) to get to / under the new salary cap (I assume Ballard for sure), re-sign current Canuck free agents (or not) and then hit the July 1 free agent signing market frenzy. That's why he gets paid the big bucks.. I am fairly confident that he will get the job done. Count me in as a Gillis supporter.
Now, he has said that the Canucks need to get younger, bigger. I don't have a problem with that. Most observers will say that the current farm team is shallow. It kind of is. However, there are several key players in the system that can make an impact. They are:
Forwards
Jordan Schroeder (center), Nicklas Jensen (right wing), Brendan Gaunce (center), Anton Rodin (left wing), Darren Archibald (left wing), Bill Sweatt (left wing).
Defencemen
Peter Andersson, Yann Sauve, Adam Polasek, I will throw Frank Corrado in here as well as Chris Tanev missed the late part of the season and playoffs due to injury.
Keep in mind: the Canucks have employed more experienced defencemen and forwards in the last few years in order to go for the Cup. Well if what Mike Gillis says is true, the kids are going to get a bigger chance than what they have been given lately. And that is good!
Especially up front.
Jordan Schroeder scored 3 goals and 9 points in 31 games with limited minutes with the Canucks this season. He scored 12 goal