I've never seen this vibe to the team that I can remember... like we will get up 2-3 goals and then they'll kind if sit back a bit (not good) and the other team will score 1 or maybe 2.. you get a bit worried, but it's like they suddenly get this "Fuck you, you're not coming back in this" mentality and bear down again. It's so fun to watch.

What really sticks out to me is how often the other team has the goalie pulled for an extra attacker now. Like almost every game lol

because in the past decade it's usually US trying to tie up the game in the final minutes :lol

i'm definitely getting similar vibes to 2011 team though. it's arguably even better right now because our d core has never been this good or had this kind of depth. with that said, the team itself will be the first to remind you they haven't really done anything yet and that's the perfect mindset to keep until the post season rolls around.

I think this is shaping up to be a better run because the team isn't reliant on PPG to win. 10/11 was exciting because whenever we get a PP we had a good chance to score but they put the whistles away for playoffs.

Now we are getting a lot of scoring from 5v5

I can't wait to see what moves Allvin makes to improve the team even more. I've so missed the Canucks winning these past 10+ years.

Saw some report that said the Canucks have never had a defensive pair that combined for 100 points in a season, which just seems CRAZY.............. but now Hughes and Hronek are projecting to score 170+ as a pair?

Mental. To think people were bashing the shit out of the Hronek trade when they made it too... lol

Do you think this team is prepared or built for the playoffs, namely the physicality? The skill is definitely consistently there but that's the only area I'd be concerned about.

I don't think they are big enough up front in some ways... that might be why they're rumoured to be looking at dudes like Jordan Greenway who is really struggling right now in Buffalo, but is a way better player than his numbers suggest this season.

My dream addition if there was one would be Joel Eriksson-Ek... dude is an absolute beast and only 26... signed for multiple years at 5M, he's playing like an 8M+ player last year and this year. Minnesota is doing pretty badly, who knows? (Yes, I'm dreaming)

Honestly, I am not sure. Though it doesn't seem like teams are overtly built to punish the opposing physically as much anymore. The old Bruins model that beat us back in 2011 isn't as prevalent as skill guys are taking the precedent in the last few years.

We have a few big guys (2 really) but they aren't overly physical.

I'd say on paper we aren't as big as other teams in the forward group but the difference now is that they are playing physical despite that and more importantly, they stick up for each other when teams try to take their liberties. The cohesiveness of the group is excellent and that's largely due to Tocchet having them all buy into their system. I can see them perhaps looking at a 2C which would allow them to keep the lotto line together. Also, given the opportunity to add another D, any team would do that when looking at a deep playoff run.

Man the way this team and the staff, management, and coaching have been able to turn this ship around so fast just shows how completely useless the local media is.

I got caught up with all the commentary, doom and gloom from all the talking heads, new coach is going to suck, Allvin and Rutherford are out of touch, keeping JT is stupid, why trade for Hronick, etc.

They were all wrong, I don't think I've ever seen a team turn things around like this in such a short amount of time, to such a degree.

I've decided I'm going to take a serious step back from following sports media, notably on Youtube.

Too much bullshit for clicks.

The new media in place in Sat, Riccio, the couple Indian guys etc. all with Sportsnet are actually quite grounded and level headed in their assessment imo

I’ve been a daily listener to sports media for 20 years now, which is obviously
Largely focused on the Canucks and we’ve gone through so many sacks of shit here like Tony Ghallager, Dave Pratt, Matt Sekerss, etc. these guys who thought being edgy and negative pessimists all the time was the key to driving ratings, which ultimately got them booted from the media scene, rightfully so imo.

Local media also completely disrespected fans with painful stints like “Bro Jake” being a sports radio host who literally knew NOTHING about sports.

I feel like we’ve actually come to a good place lately with grounded analysis, but yea.. no media guy ever really knows what going on and this season proves how easy it is to turn things around. There’s no more calls for a rebuild/blowing up the team with what amounts to minor tweaks and a handful of trades.

This Canucks team is surprising many of the media, especially the Toronto biased reporters in Ontario.

Elliotte Friedman is reporting that Tocchet will be one of the coaches at the all star game.

Demko, Hughes, and possibly Miller and Petey could be playing in that game.

Tocchet and his coaching staff deserve much of the credit to putting in their system for this team and getting the players to play as a cohesive unit.

Watch out for the Canucks after this season ends. This team is a legit contender.

Maple Leafs? haha. They will win one playoff round. Oilers? Still have no defence to win a Stanley Cup.

The Jets are the only other Canadian team that is playing as well as the Canucks.

It's the 25-0-0 when leading after 40min stat is what surprised me this year. The usual canucks throughout history have a bad reputation of blowing leads and losing the game.

I hope this current trend and work ethic continues into the playoffs.

Tocchet has to be in the conversation for Jack Adams, you think? Right?

this is true, to the extent where it became expected for the canucks to just drop any lead and lose. the "typical" canucks fashion.

The coaching and player development has been incredible this year. It's 100% why the team is playing so well. I've been extremely impressed with the stick work and body positioning of all players. They're all learning it and executing it in game.

racing for a puck? let the other guy reach for it, then immediately lift his stick and take it away. player has the puck against the board? check him, and then roll over him and take the puck from the other side.

Yea, there were players in the past that did this stuff, but they were individuals doing it on the team, whereas everyone here is doing this stuff. it's like when Malholtra taught the team to be so good at faceoffs.

the forechecking is great. you can see the 3 forwards have set positions to be at to force the opposing player to put the puck into certain areas. this is also why Toch was saying that Kuzy not forechecking and being where he needs to be is throwing the other forwards off.

we're far enough into the season for everyone to see that it works, so the players are 100% on board and buying in.

Rick Hockey is also the type to actually hold people accountable, with the support of management as well, a rare thing to see.

There isn’t a player on the bench that could go to the coaching staff and have excuses for not buying into the system when you’ve got Toch, Gonchar, and Foote there

Anyone thinking of buying half/full season tickets?

I have thought about it, but man it's such a chore to go downtown and attend games... rather just go to a couple games a year and enjoy it rather than feel like I have to scramble to get down there after work every time, etc.

In sports everyone has to have a hot take. You have to drown out the noise, and use your own eyes. I don't follow hockey as deep as football, but I assume that there are experts out there doing tape review and all that. You'll learn so much watching those guys compared to listening to the talking heads. Just make sure you find an expert and not some jabroni who doesn't know wtf they're talking about.

The main thing is to let things happen and react to that, don't react to what you think is going to happen, or can happen. This is the thing most hot take fans and talking heads don't do.

I’d be down to split a pair 3-4 ways, but only lower bowl

I had seasons from around 2005-2013? Whatever the last season we were still selling out every game was. It was a nice fun run watching the West Coast Express > Sedin era and experiencing a cup final in person. Since then I think I've gone to 2 games and can't bring myself to drag my old ass down to the arena. The Van crowd is pretty damn tame (myself including in the blame), the corroder is way too fucking narrow I can't be bothered being funneled into it. Then all the rest of the getting down there, leaving etc. That said, I mean nows as best a time as ever since our our cup run to watch an excited, highly talented, and so this season so far winning team. Is there a wait list now or are seasons readily available?

Isn't there a train that goes to that area now?

You mean to Rogers Arena? Then yes there is a skytrain station right next to it. Stadium station.