Thomas Drance on the Canucks loss in St. Louis last night, Andrei Kuzmenko and more
Thomas Drance from The Athletic joined the guys from New York and looked back on the Canucks loss last night, what the Canucks will do with Andrei Kuzmenko and more.
We had so many wingers we were wondering what to do with them all maybe we shouldn't have got rid of so many of them. I think we wasted Beauvillier for nothing really but h did great with EP40 and Kuzmenko. There is an obsession with playing Mikheyev and EP40 together, and yes they are not bad together but they haven't been world beaters since October. Maybe it's time to mix up the lines a bit and stop trading away the wingers we already have (ie Kuzmenko ).
I get that Kuzmenko Petterson Mikayev has been outscored but you have to just keep playing them together to build chemistry can’t keep breaking it up if you only leave them together for 2 games and then break it up
The problem with moving Garland up the lineup is that that line has been so good and often the best line in games that splitting them up might be dangerous. The problem for me with blaming Kuzmenko is that they just lost a game 2-1 to a bad team and had no finish. Guess who has a history of finishing plays? It’s pretty hard to be consistent when you’re playing all over the place and getting scratched. The problem is that this team could easily go from being a goal scoring juggernaut to the Coyotes under Tocchet with better goaltending. I know you want him to play better defensively, but in the end, they need to score goals. I don’t see other players necessarily doing that job. They didn’t last night against a bad team. If you chase out talented players for nothing, sooner or later you end up with a hardworking team that can’t score and ends up losing 2-1 every night.
Not every player is a defensive specialist. How many times did Sather tell Gretzky to play better defensively? You can't fit a square peg in a round hole. Let Kuzmenko play in the top 6, and let him play through his struggles. No offence to Lafferty, but making Pettersson play with him rather than Kuzmenko is just stupid. Drag down Pettersson's numbers because you want a plug on the top line? Stop making Kuzmenko the whipping boy. Give Pettersson a skilled offensive player to play with, and bring back the Kuzmenko of last year.
Are the Canucks keeping Kuzmenko off the top line to try to drag down Pettersson's numbers by forcing him to play with pluggers? He has 11 points in the last month. That is 80th in the league over that span. 80!! Are they trying to keep his numbers down so they can get him at a lower number on his next contract? Why else would you be forcing him to play with a 3rd/4th liner? Let him play with other offensively gifted players ffs.
Management has to start evaluating players better when contracts come up.There is alot comin up next year.Overpaying Petey,Hronek,Zadorof is a huge mistake for this team
Hey Drance! Welcome to my city, from a Van expat. and lifelong Canucklehead. I got Devils and Islanders for my birthday with my boys. We'll wear our jerseys with pride! Rangers tix are too pricey. Argh. I'll have to watch MSG, since SportsNet will be blacked out. Go to Carmines in the UpperWest and feel like a gangster.
1) why is miller the spokesperson on games with Tockit and highlighted on special spots? 2) why is it that when miller has a few off games, Tockit blames the lack of help he has on his lines? 3) when Petterson is off, it is his fault, when he is the play maker? 4) Consider miller’s lack Of play in his inception year to Vancouver? Coaching aside, he was supposed to be a consummate professional, wasn’t he? Could it be because here is a sealed contract we must play out, therefore, we need to plug him with the fans? Petterson’ s contract is yet to be settled, so lets talk less of him? Could it be that coach/mngt has favourites where miller is one and Pettersson and kuzmenko are not? Help?
Bottom line is Kuzmenko carries a $5.5m Cap hit, you are sitting him in seemingly every other game of late…. Give this guy his due and free up space for an experienced/bigger body top 6. Kuz can score obviously, but like most Rushin's can not (choose not) to backcheck when it counts.
Well, I know it is that simple but you can't help a player with their struggle by sitting him out. That's basically a naughty corner timeout, it's too old school.
14 Comments
We had so many wingers we were wondering what to do with them all maybe we shouldn't have got rid of so many of them. I think we wasted Beauvillier for nothing really but h did great with EP40 and Kuzmenko. There is an obsession with playing Mikheyev and EP40 together, and yes they are not bad together but they haven't been world beaters since October. Maybe it's time to mix up the lines a bit and stop trading away the wingers we already have (ie Kuzmenko ).
Lol, kuz out… shots down… team slow…. Tockett hockey. If it weren't for demko and DeSmith… we would be in a bubble position
I get that Kuzmenko Petterson Mikayev has been outscored but you have to just keep playing them together to build chemistry can’t keep breaking it up if you only leave them together for 2 games and then break it up
The problem with moving Garland up the lineup is that that line has been so good and often the best line in games that splitting them up might be dangerous. The problem for me with blaming Kuzmenko is that they just lost a game 2-1 to a bad team and had no finish. Guess who has a history of finishing plays? It’s pretty hard to be consistent when you’re playing all over the place and getting scratched. The problem is that this team could easily go from being a goal scoring juggernaut to the Coyotes under Tocchet with better goaltending. I know you want him to play better defensively, but in the end, they need to score goals. I don’t see other players necessarily doing that job. They didn’t last night against a bad team. If you chase out talented players for nothing, sooner or later you end up with a hardworking team that can’t score and ends up losing 2-1 every night.
Bounce back vs the Devils boys
Practice hitting the net. Boeser and Hoglander missing them bad.
Not every player is a defensive specialist. How many times did Sather tell Gretzky to play better defensively? You can't fit a square peg in a round hole. Let Kuzmenko play in the top 6, and let him play through his struggles. No offence to Lafferty, but making Pettersson play with him rather than Kuzmenko is just stupid. Drag down Pettersson's numbers because you want a plug on the top line? Stop making Kuzmenko the whipping boy. Give Pettersson a skilled offensive player to play with, and bring back the Kuzmenko of last year.
Are the Canucks keeping Kuzmenko off the top line to try to drag down Pettersson's numbers by forcing him to play with pluggers? He has 11 points in the last month. That is 80th in the league over that span. 80!! Are they trying to keep his numbers down so they can get him at a lower number on his next contract? Why else would you be forcing him to play with a 3rd/4th liner? Let him play with other offensively gifted players ffs.
Management has to start evaluating players better when contracts come up.There is alot comin up next year.Overpaying Petey,Hronek,Zadorof is a huge mistake for this team
This is not good. Flames and Oilers dont lose, Only a matter of time until we're 5th in the division…..
Hey Drance! Welcome to my city, from a Van expat. and lifelong Canucklehead. I got Devils and Islanders for my birthday with my boys. We'll wear our jerseys with pride! Rangers tix are too pricey. Argh. I'll have to watch MSG, since SportsNet will be blacked out. Go to Carmines in the UpperWest and feel like a gangster.
1) why is miller the spokesperson on games with Tockit and highlighted on special spots?
2) why is it that when miller has a few off games, Tockit blames the lack of help he has on his lines?
3) when Petterson is off, it is his fault, when he is the play maker?
4) Consider miller’s lack
Of play in his inception year to Vancouver? Coaching aside, he was supposed to be a consummate professional, wasn’t he?
Could it be because here is a sealed contract we must play out, therefore, we need to plug him with the fans? Petterson’ s contract is yet to be settled, so lets talk less of him?
Could it be that coach/mngt has favourites where miller is one and Pettersson and kuzmenko are not?
Help?
Bottom line is Kuzmenko carries a $5.5m Cap hit, you are sitting him in seemingly every other game of late…. Give this guy his due and free up space for an experienced/bigger body top 6. Kuz can score obviously, but like most Rushin's can not (choose not) to backcheck when it counts.
Well, I know it is that simple but you can't help a player with their struggle by sitting him out. That's basically a naughty corner timeout, it's too old school.