The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

[ImTellinTim]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Losing in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals = A mass riot

Possibly getting swept in the 1st round of the playoffs = ???

Quietly sit down and reflect on another year of their "window" with no Cup.

[RealmK]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

I had a long post written but I closed it by mistake.

The Canucks played well but they still lost. Quick is probably the best goaltender in the league in terms of not giving up rebounds. I've been really impressed with the Kings. It's not a fluke that they beat the Canucks and are moving onto the 2nd Round.

The highlight of the night was the Scott Oake/Will Ferrell interview. Who knew Ron Burgundy took a road trip to Yellowknife with Don Cherry.

Generally not a fan of Ferrell but Anchorman was hilarious, glad they're doing a sequel. As for Quick, I think he deserves the Vezina, led the league in shutouts in the regular season, and Vancouver obviously doesn't have an answer for him so far. This Kings squad is fun to watch, I don't get to see alot of western conference hockey over the course of the regular season but have enjoyed every game of this series so far.

I would think they start Schneider again in game 4, can't blame the loss on him, and really Vancouver carried much of the play tonight. Had Lou been in net that could have easily been a 2 or 3 nothing game.

[Stormyhog]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Did you guys see the fans shirt behind the Canucks bench? It read " The Sedin sisters 2 girls no cup" lol

[VanCitySportsGuy]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Quick is such a beast, Vancouver playing better this game than the first two but still can't get anything going on offense. Schneider has played a pretty good game as well.

Lets go hypothetical here especially curious what DrJones thinks, if Vancouver would happen to get swept (still plenty of time here in game 3 and obviously game 4 anything can happen) do you think Vancouver tries at all costs to pawn Luongo off on a team trying to reach the cap floor or if they can find a contender desperate for a goalie (like Philly was last year with Bryz)?

Basically like the Blackhawks did with Campbell last year, I know Luongo also has a NTC but so did Campbell and he refused to go to Columbus but was willing to go to Florida. If they approach him about a trade and he knows he isn't wanted there anymore would he want out or do you think he is happy in Vancouver even with all that?

Luongo is about to turn 33 and he has 9 years left on his contract. Unless a team hires Milbury as the GM, no team is going to touch that contract. The Canucks could offer Luongo and a 1st round pick for a 6th round pick and no team would say yes to that. I'm hoping there's an amnesty clause in the new CBA. Schneider is the better goalie but Luongo's monster contract means he has to be the starter.

[VanCitySportsGuy]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Generally not a fan of Ferrell but Anchorman was hilarious, glad they're doing a sequel. As for Quick, I think he deserves the Vezina, led the league in shutouts in the regular season, and Vancouver obviously doesn't have an answer for him so far. This Kings squad is fun to watch, I don't get to see alot of western conference hockey over the course of the regular season but have enjoyed every game of this series so far.

I would think they start Schneider again in game 4, can't blame the loss on him, and really Vancouver carried much of the play tonight. Had Lou been in net that could have easily been a 2 or 3 nothing game.

I'm also not a big Ferrell fan (vastly over-rated SNL cast member imo) but Anchorman was great. I know Ferrell didn't want to do a sequel unless it was going to be great.

What's impressive about the Kings is that they are playing so well despite Doughty doing nothing. Their 4 best forwards have all been excellent (Brown, Richards, Carter, Kopitar). Even Penner, who was worthless in the regular season, has played well. I think they can beat any team in the league right now in a 7 game series. Like the Panthers, the Kings fans have had to watch a lot of bad hockey over the past 12 years. I'm actually happy for all the fans that stuck with them through the bad times and are now enjoying post season success.

Based on tonight's game, Schneider is a lock to start Game 3.

On a un-related note, I don't know how Melrose will make it through the playoffs. He has appeared on SportsCenter every night since the playoffs started. ESPN doesn't have another in studio hockey guy (which is a complete joke) so I don't think Melrose will be getting any days off anytime soon.

[IlliniM1ke]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Luongo is about to turn 33 and he has 9 years left on his contract. Unless a team hires Milbury as the GM, no team is going to touch that contract. The Canucks could offer Luongo and a 1st round pick for a 6th round pick and no team would say yes to that. I'm hoping there's an amnesty clause in the new CBA. Schneider is the better goalie but Luongo's monster contract means he has to be the starter.

Yeah that's true an amnesty clause would be your best bet, didn't realize he had 9 years left ouch.

[Kobalt]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

I'll be mad if there's an amnesty clause in the new CBA. Why give GMs/Owners a "get out of jail free card" for their own doings

[Kobalt]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread



I'm dead

[sharks]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Amazing performance by Quick!

[DrJones]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Losing in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals = A mass riot

Possibly getting swept in the 1st round of the playoffs = ???

Nothing. If the Canucks are swept, most of last year's rioters will be out in the 'burbs, sniffing glue as usual.

[DrJones]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Lets go hypothetical here especially curious what DrJones thinks, if Vancouver would happen to get swept (still plenty of time here in game 3 and obviously game 4 anything can happen) do you think Vancouver tries at all costs to pawn Luongo off on a team trying to reach the cap floor or if they can find a contender desperate for a goalie (like Philly was last year with Bryz)?

Basically like the Blackhawks did with Campbell last year, I know Luongo also has a NTC but so did Campbell and he refused to go to Columbus but was willing to go to Florida. If they approach him about a trade and he knows he isn't wanted there anymore would he want out or do you think he is happy in Vancouver even with all that?

My answer is pretty much the same as VanCity's. Ideally, yes, but who's going to take that contract? I suppose there's a small, small chance that Tampa or Florida would be interested (Luongo would certainly waive his NMC in either case), but I doubt it. Toronto might be dumb enough, but Gillis and Burke are on bad terms, and Luongo (if he's smart) would nix it. Can't really think of any other teams that might fit the bill.

As far as the whole "amnesty clause" goes, I'm skeptical. No way one would be in place before Sept. 15, whereas the Canucks have to deal with Schneider by July 1. They might try to re-sign him to a 1-year deal (Schneider would be a UFA after the 12/13 season) and see what happens with the CBA, but if I had to put money on it, they'll trade Schneider (for a lot less than people around here expect).

[BlueNGold]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Nothing. If the Canucks are swept, most of last year's rioters will be out in the 'burbs, sniffing glue as usual.

So what are your thoughts on where the Canucks should go from here (not talking goalie situation but team as a whole), assuming the Kings pull this off?

[DrJones]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

From the Trade Deadline thread:

Hmmm. The more I think about it, the more it seems that Gillis has been suckered by the media's (and some fans') obsession with the Canucks being "soft", much as the Caps became convinced that they needed to abandon their offence-first approach in order to win because "defence wins championships" - how's that working out?

Did Vancouver really appear soft in the playoffs before Boston? Yes, the Sedins can be nullified by playing them tight and physical - how does this trade help, unless Gillis believes that Kassian can be effective on the #1 line right now? Does anyone really believe that? IMO, the main reason Vancouver lost to Boston wasn't because they weren't tough enough or because of Luongo (though both of these were factors), but because they only scored 8 goals in 7 games. Wouldn't 2012 Hodgson have been a big help in last year's SCF? How much you wanna bet the Canucks' Achilles heel this year turns out to be lack of secondary scoring?

They're not stacked down the middle any longer. Pahlsson, Malhotra, and Lapierre are all fine 4th-line centres, but 3rd-line quality? No. The Canucks had a lot of problems in last year's playoffs because solid defensive teams like Boston, Nashville, and Chicago (once Bolland returned) were able to nullify the Sedins. When Kesler got hurt before the SCF, the well dried up completely. I'm a big, big believer in scoring depth. Hodgson represented that depth to me, someone who could prey on teams' 3rd D pairings. Not to mention manning the 2nd PP unit. Now Kesler has to be separated from the Sedins on the PP.

Don't get me wrong, I like Gillis' ability to re-sign free agents at below-market-cost, but the last time he traded one of the Canucks' few real propsects (Grabner), he got a $4.2M bag of magic beans in return. The only valid excuse for trading Hodgson or Schneider before the summer is if it helped Vancouver win the Cup RIGHT NOW.

[DrJones]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

So what are your thoughts on where the Canucks should go from here (not talking goalie situation but team as a whole), assuming the Kings pull this off?

As you can see below, most of the important Canucks are under contract for next season:

UFA: Salo, Rome, Pahlsson, plus 4th line junk (Bitz, Volpatti, Ebbett)
RFA (not including Schneider): Raymond, Gragnani, Weise

Salo will probably retire. Rome may be retained for cheap. Pahlsson's gone. 4th liners gone. Gragnani might be kept just for Gillis to avoid embarrassment of being fleeced by Buffalo. I'd let Raymond walk. He's a scorer who can't score.

So much to the chagrin of local sports radio callers, Vigneault and the non-goalie core (Sedins, Kesler, Burrows, Booth, Edler, Hamhuis, Bieksa) will probably get one more chance. Secondary players like Higgins, Lapierre, Hansen, maybe Malhotra, will be back. Tanev and Kassian will get full-time jobs. So basically 3rd/4th line, 3rd D-pairing tinkering. Hope Daniel's healthy, Kesler gets his head out of his ***. I think they need more scoring, but I'm not sure where it's coming from. I don't expect big changes in the offseason, to be honest, unless something big comes out of dealing Schneider, or if Gillis thinks his neck is on the block.

If the Canucks get off to a bad start next season, though, all bets are off. Vigneault's job is definitely on the line. I get the feeling that he was instrumental in Hodgson leaving town, as he didn't trust him defensively. The PP stalled shortly after the Bruins game in January, and never really got back on track. Lapierre did really well on the Henrik/Burrows line after Daniel went out, yet AV inexplicably put Raymond on the top line against the Kings. Gillis acquires players that AV doesn't play (Ballard, Kassian). He can't control (or does he encourage?) the diving BS that flares up when the pressure gets turned up, especially from top 6 forwards. What the hell is Kesler doing? He's supposed to be our Toews, not another Lapierre.

This is still a contender. But management has to address the REAL problems with this team, not media-fuelled BS about Luongo or "toughness".

[SidVish]

Re: The Official 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2012/04/16/photo-of-the-day-ryan-kesler-fell-down-and-went-boom/

What you see here is what happens when Ryan Kesler goes above and beyond the call of duty to draw a cross checking call by Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell. What’s funny here, aside from Kesler’s over-the-top theatrics, is seeing Mitchell and Alec Martinez busy chatting about the call about to be made against them while Kesler is still in the process of whirling and twirling to the ice.

Yes, Mitchell was called for a minor penalty while Kesler managed to escape without being called for diving. It’s as if Kesler is doing his best Austin Powers imitation here. “Oh, I fell over… Oh, I fell over again…” Hey, with acting like this it practically is comedy.