(upbeat music) Back in on Knock Central, Statericho and Satyarsha. Knock Central is for Enzo in Pacific Vancouver's premier Chrysler, Dodd Ram and Jeep Superstore on 2nd Avenue between Cammy and Maynard, Enzo and Pacific Chrysler. Dot, CA, and in the Kintec Studio, Kintec Canada's favorite orthotics provider, powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews. So, what are you waiting for? 650, 650, Dunbar, Lumber, text, message, inbox, a lot of thoughts on our discussion with Bick in the round table and some takeaways from the discussion about Tockett and who he's gotten the best out of. With Tockett came a far better Miller. That alone makes him the best ad. So, essentially the texture saying, because he's gotten the best version of JT Miller that Rick Tockett has been a great ad for the Vancouver Canucks. - Yeah, absolutely. We've seen a similar version to JT. This is the best overall version of JT we've seen. - Yeah. - And Drywaller Joe says it's not just Rick. They have a really good assistant staff as well with Foote, with Ganchar, obviously having Ian Clark who Joe says is the best goalie coach in the league. - Yeah. - So, and he's like he says, the things that finally online for us to meet Carolina or the Rangers in the final this year. So, Joe is very enthusiastic about the Canucks chances. - Is this Miller better than first year Miller with the Canucks? - Yeah, he's better 'cause he's playing center. - Yeah. - He was playing wing and he did a lot of center responsibilities but his production-- - A little more point production too. - His point production now was greater. - So, he's living in the greater. - He had 69, well, 72 points and 69 games that season. He has 89 points and 69 games this year. - I mean, it's offensively it's another level. The responsibility defensively, he's been better defensively. He was really good on the wing but it was a more simple role for him. He hustled back defensively. He was really good along the walls. He was a great four checker. He won battles consistently. He was play making. So, those were a lot of the things that he did really well that I wouldn't say inflated his defensive numbers necessarily but by the metrics it made him look exceptional. Whereas now with the responsibility he has and the degree of difficulty playing center, I think it's a better version of him. - It's JT, it's been a quieter version of JT as well and maybe that's because the team has had a lot of success. You're not seeing the bursts of frustration that were such a heavy topic last year with JT Miller and in prior years, what you're just seeing is his energy going in a positive direction. And the team sort of feeds off that in a leadership role which was always like yeah, you like to see the emotion from JT but it's got to be directed in the right way and now that the team around him is having a lot of success we're seeing that emotion get directed into the right direction. And that's kind of what leaders are supposed to do. It's Dan Reicho and Satyar Shah. We go back to the dispatch plumbing heating and air conditioning hotline. The first call, the only call and we are now joined by Gemma Carson Smith, reporter for the Canadian press covering the Vancouver Canucks. Thanks for this Gemma, how are you? - I'm wonderful, how are you gentlemen? - We are pretty good. Getting ready for the Montreal Canadiens tonight. We were just talking about JT Miller and how good he's been yet again this season. 89 points for the team. We saw him be dynamic on the power play the other night. Is this the best version of JT Miller that we've ever seen in Vancouver? - I think so. I think that he's just been a bit of a, Rick talking to you, likes to use the terms with Army knife and I think JT Miller's really been that. You've been using all sorts of different situations whether it's on the parabola, whether it's on the paleo, he's been a leader in that locker and he's kind of stepped up to talk to us, media vultures, all of those things. He's all over the place and he's really become a leader. He's grown into a real leader with this team and I think that you're seeing it both on and off the ice. - Yeah, and it's the impact he can make. He's always been the emotional player. And if you ask him, he's pretty steadfast in saying he's still the same guy's same thing. Maybe channeling it at somewhat better but it's the same reaction he would have last year but they're winning now. And maybe there is some truth to it. But I think with a player like him, if he's able to be more disciplined with channeling that emotion that he has, it just makes him such a more impactful player, doesn't it? - Absolutely. I think that Rick Talkie has never said this but I think that he probably sees a little bit of himself in JT Miller. They play kind of a similar style. I think that they're both kind of guys who have that deep burning passion for this game and for competition. I think that they've worked really well together and that's part of what we're seeing, right? We're seeing a coach who really speaks to JT Miller as a person, as a player, to his playing style and has found ways to put him in ideal situations. Like that partnership between Miller and Besser has been like chef's kiss. They work so well together. We've seen it both in Miller's numbers but also in Besser's numbers. Like, look who, Besser got off to an incredible start, four goals in the first game and just has, yeah, he's had little dips here and there but he's got what, 36 goals now? Like, this was a guy who we talked forever about. Would he ever hit that 30 goal plateaus? And he has because he's found that connection. He's found someone that he really can play with. They really read each other well. I think that they communicate in a way that Besser hasn't found in another teammate that's firing his career. And we're seeing it really pay off. - So we started this season and the Canucks, they got off to a hot start and a lot of it was the offense. It was the high powered power play. They had the eight one against Edmonton. They put 10 behind the San Jose Sharks and they were the leading, they had the most goals in the league for much of the first half of the season. Now, the way that they've been winning games lately and it hasn't been as often but the way that they've played lately is more lockdown defense, right? They don't give up a lot of shots. They don't give up a lot of rush chances against. We've seen this team develop defensively and I think now, Gemma, like we're looking at this team, this is their ace in the hole going into the playoffs is how they play defensively as a team. - Exactly. Teams in the playoffs are not giving up Tengos game. I'm sorry, the San Jose Sharks have been not going to make it the playoffs this year. I know that's a huge surprise, like spoiler alert for everyone up there. But no, they're one of like three teams have already been eliminated. So that's just not what you're going to see in the playoffs. You're going to see the games like we saw with, oh my gosh, Buffalo the other night that you saw the other night against the Capitol. Those games are a lot closer. Games where you have to lock down that defense and you have to play a different style, right? It's like talking to saying after the game the other night, you can't play around and get in the playoffs. It's not, it's just not going to work. You're getting a burn pretty much every time. And this is a team that hasn't made the playoffs in a long time. So they need to build this. They need to be practicing these things now. 'Cause as Taka just said, you can't just turn it on come April 20th or whatever it is. - Well, and I think the biggest challenge that Taka has right now, I think it's twofold that it has to do with two players who share the same first name, but I guess pronunciation is that for different for each one? Elias versus Elias. But both those guys and things, the key here for Taka is how does he get those guys to peak performance ahead of the playoffs? - For sure. And Taka was saying after a morning skip this morning that he hinted that Lindholm might be a little banged up. So I think that's part of it, but he just hasn't found his spot here, right? We talked about how Miller and Buss are really collected and they've formed that partnership. We all know that the target loves these duos. We don't know who Lindholm's duo is. Who's his little mirror image that's gonna help him pop heading into this postseason run? I don't know the answer to that. I think that we started to see a little bit of that old PD the other night against the Capitol and not just in the goals. Like I really liked that of the team matter. I thought it was, it showed that kind of control and that poise and hockey IQ that he's become a superstar. But I think what we also saw was there was that play where he drew the puck between his legs as he's getting into the zone in. And that is the kind of thing that we haven't seen a lot of from Patterson lately. He's been missing that confidence. He's been missing having those wingers who can really help him make plays. I think putting him with Hoglander and Garland has been with a great move. I don't know how sustainable it is, especially once Josh was back up to full health here. But I think that this is a good way to build PD's confidence as we move into this scenario that a lot of these guys haven't been in before, right? So there's a lot of moving parts for Target and it's entire staff. But there's a lot that they're working on getting moving and greasing gears when it comes to Elias and Elias is probably a top of mind for all of them. - I just wonder with Lindholm at this point, if, and given that he's nursing some kind of an injury, if you almost just view him as a third line center, right? And you paid what you paid at the deadline, maybe it was too much in the end, but we know he could still play pretty well defensively. He can match up against other team's top lines. Do you just say, hey, whatever offense we get from now on is gravy, but we at least know that this guy can be a matchup center for us? - For sure, sunk cost policy. You gotta, you paid what you paid, that's over, you can't go back. You know, you're probably not gonna sign him 'cause like, look, this is obviously not the dream scenario that everyone wanted to see. It's just, it's not working out the way everyone had hoped and envisioned too bad. You take what you can get, you get the face off 'cause the face off percentage is real good. And you just, you get what you get out of it. You hope that he does find that scoring touch. You hope that you can get a little bit more offensively, but I don't think that you can try and elevate him beyond what his role has been so far because it's just not gonna happen. - No, I'm with you on that. Now, as far as what we're seeing here on the back end, so far this season, and we were talking about this before the show, that the Canucks have remarkably become one of the better defensive teams in the National Hockey League. And sure, you can always look at, you know, any defensive not named Hughes and her own again, and wonder, can you add one more top four defense, and I think that's something that's pretty much true for maybe 29 out of the other 31 teams in the National Hockey League. But how remarkable is the defensive turnaround, and especially with how stable each individual defender also looks on this team right now? - I would not have placed money on the Canucks having a solid, and especially this solid of a defense heading into this season. Like, we know that this has been a bug-a-boo for this team for ages. I think that the front office made some really smart moves in the off season. They really solidified that back line, and it worked. And the other thing is, like, everyone touched wood right now, because if you don't, I'm gonna jinx everything, and everything will fall apart. But like, they've stayed remarkably healthy. - Yes, we're seeing some guys come in and have the lineup right now, but for the most part, this entire team has been so lucky when it comes to injuries this year. And I think that we've seen the place that has paid off the most, if on the back line, because it has been such a problem going back, however many years you wanna go back. So like you said, yeah, of course you wanna add another top four defense defense, who does it? Especially when you're bracing for a playoff run. But I think if you're looking at this team last year, you're salivating over what you've got right now. - The question of how this team will respond in the playoffs is very hard to answer. Like so many of these guys, JT's got a lot of playoff experience, but most of the guys on this team, they haven't had playoff experience with this group. Outside of the bubble, of course, right? Besser was there, Patterson Hughes and the like. But this is gonna be the first time where we really see them get to test their metal against the tops of the league in a playoff scenario. I mean, this team's own GM, Patrick Levine, is on record as saying, I don't know how much everybody took the bubble playoffs all that seriously. So it's kind of unknown territory for a lot of these guys. - Are you telling me that the geo yard experience was in the playoffs and playing in a completely empty arena in Edmonton was not what they should expect? No, I think-- - There should be a spoof movie made about this actually. It's kind of funny. - I cannot wait till these guys start to retire and they will actually tell us the like inside stories of what happened there. 'Cause I want to know, I've heard this invites but I want to know the dirt. Dish the tea, guys. Anyway, I think that what we could see will depend on which team shows up. We've seen some inconsistency through this season. I say that as someone who's watched the vast majority of the games from my couch. So I think that what team shows up and what team shows up at the very beginning is gonna set that tone. So I think that's why they've been preaching consistency and mentality and blah, blah, blah, over this home stand. They want to start drawing that into these guys now. They want to start getting them ready for what they're going to face now. Yeah, we're still a month out but if they're not thinking in that mindset, if that gear hasn't shifted and clicked, it needs to do so soon because it is a different-- if it's from beast, playoffs is just a different beast. And like you said, a lot of these guys haven't been in a normal playoffs. They don't really know what to expect. There's only so much of telling stories and listening to your teammates and the coaches that's going to prepare you. It's about getting into those battle drills on the ice and preparing for that harder for a check and for locking down that defense. Those are the things that these guys are gonna need to start thinking about now and start locking in on now because playoffs is just a different animal. A bit earlier when we were talking about talk it and JT Miller, you mentioned communication being really good between the two and one of the things that from a personal standpoint from us in the media, and I'm sure you as well as a writer, it's been a godsend having Rick talk it, like talk about the things that he wants to see. Like he's very good at getting across his message, communicating with us in the media and telling us what his approach is and getting into the details. Like how refreshing is that to have a head coach who's not afraid of telling you what's going on in detail the way he has? That is a man who just lives, breathes, eats, loves hockey. He just wants to talk hockey. Like if I think that if you gave Rick talk at the opportunity, he would sit and talk hockey with you for like 24 hours. And it is so refreshing. He will dive down like post game after the cap of game on Tuesday or whatever night that was. He got into like the nitty gritty of why one power play structure was better than another against that particular formation of a PK. That's not something that coaches do post game. Like that's just not heard of for whatever reason, whether they don't want to give away trade secrets or they don't trust media or whatever. There are lots of reasons that coaches don't delve that deeply and it's so nice when someone does. He is just so passionate and you see that and I think that that's part of what this group has responded to. They see that passion. And it's not that Bruce Boudreau or Travis Green didn't have that same passion, but the way that talk it expresses it and the way that he is so about those details, not only with us, but on the ice as well, that's what's bringing out something else in these guys, I think they see that passion, they see that attention to detail and they respect it. And I think that it's hard for guys to not respond to that. - Gemma, it's great to have you back on the beat. Thanks for this. - Thanks. - There is Gemma Carsten Smith. You can follow her @gcarstensmith on Twitter covering the Vancouver Canucks and Vancouver based sports at the Canadian press. - Yep, brought some class back to the media contingent with her returning. It's good to have Gemma back and provided some good insight on the Canucks and what's going on with the team. - Much needed class brought back to the Vancouver media division. Would you ever try Pedersen on the wing and Lindholm on center a texture asking at 650, 650 Dunbar Lumber text message inbox? - Hypothetically yes. - Yeah. - The thing about these things, and this is something that you realize a bit more when you talk to people around the team and I'm not making this specifically about the Canucks, but players also very comfortable doing certain things. - Yeah. - And Pedersen loves playing center. - Yes. - Lindholm also likes playing center, but I mean, JT Miller right now loves playing center. - Yes. - These are your foundational pieces. - Yes. - How much do you want to get them away from the things they want to do? Whereas you're also asking them a sacrifice for the team. There's always that balance between how you're asking players to sacrifice and what to sacrifice, and you have to give them something if they're giving you something, you know? - Yeah. - So within that balance, I think that's where the awkwardness comes in sometimes, where I agree, I love to see it from time to time, but the reason I think they don't do it as much is because each of those guys are more comfortable doing something else, and ultimately, that's not something that they're gonna do unless it's playoffs for a game or situationally or something. - Yeah. - But, yeah. I don't think, like, I would bet Lindholm wants to score more than he has, certainly, to this point. But, you know, he's just much more comfortable playing center. I mean, he did that piece with Harmon Dial. He's talked about it in the media where he's just very comfortable playing through the middle of the ice. He likes being F3. He likes being above the puck. That's where he feels most natural. And when you're switching from playing center to playing the wing, you know, you can get your assignments mixed up at times because you're used to playing one position as much as you are. And sure, these guys are the best in the business at that level, but, you know, that has been known to happen. As for why they haven't tried it more, I would have to imagine one of the reasons too is it just hasn't had a lot of success. You know, they've played 100 minutes together at five on five, and they actually have a negative goal differential. I'm sure they'll give it a chance, again, at some point, or we'll see it situationally in games where a target, maybe looking for a goal, tries to load up his top six or some kind of way. But generally, in the limited amount of time we've seen them play together, it hasn't worked to this point. - No, and that's where, you know, you see people mentioning, "Hey, why not try Lindholm with Miller even?" And the only way that would work, again, is if you put Miller on the wing. - Yeah. - And the coach loves having Miller play center. Miller loves playing center. Again, you see the issue here, right? And has everybody come around to the idea that Miller is just actually good at playing center? - Well, I mean, he is good. I don't think anybody can dispute that. You can dispute how good he is defensively, depending on who you ask. I tend to think he's actually a lot better than some of the analytics kind of tell us about it, especially given role, how the Canucks are trying to play, what he's trying to take away. I think there is a lot of context to what some of those numbers tell you on the metric side, which doesn't paint as rosy of a picture. But I do think he's a lot better defensively, and he's been, I think he's more, like I don't think anybody questions anymore whether JT can or should play center. I think the only question is, in three years, in four years, is he going to have to move to wing at something? - Yeah. - And hey, that's a problem for three or four years out of the road with how he's playing right now. - I feel like we ask, or that question about Miller playing center has been more of a topic here than it has been elsewhere. Like, when ESPN did their rankings for the top centerman in the league, Williams-Peterson was number 10, and Miller finished just outside the top 10 at number 11. - Yeah. - So, you know, you're talking about a team that has two of the top 11 centermen in the entire national. - Yeah, and you can make the case that this year JT's been better. - Yeah. - Now, if you look at it again, the analytical profile right now tells you Patterson is having a better year than JT Miller is. But again, contacts and all those things you have to take into consideration. So it depends on how you view things. I don't view it just through strictly that analytical lens. I think this year, I think objectively, JT Miller has been the better, more impactful hockey player, which is incredible. To me, that's not even necessarily a slide at Patterson. You can take it as a slide at Patterson if you want, but we're talking about JT having the best season of his career. - Yeah. - He's playing as a bonafide number one center. I mean, you can even say he's having a franchise center type of season. - Yeah. You're getting, essentially, you know, we just saw Patterson sign for 11.6 million. Miller's giving you an $11 million season right now. - Right now he is. Yeah. - Now, how many of these years is he going to have? We'll see, right? But I mean, again, I don't even want to worry about that, but with how he's playing, you can make the case that he is a top eight, nine center this year, right? And Patterson's the guy that's maybe on the 10 mark or something, right? But you have two centers going like this. That's why this team is where it's at. As much as Patterson has had his struggles and yes, there have been and he needs to be better. - Struggles are relative to what we expect of him. - Oh, yeah. The standard he has set himself. - Yes. - We know what his best looks like and we also know what it doesn't look like when he's not there. And we've seen a lot of that over the last little bit. Very encouraging. He ain't spuffled. He hope he brings that. But, you know, there's a lot of reasons why the Canucks are where they're at. We've been, you know, speaking lonely about Rick Tockett. And a lot of it also comes down to having two centers play the way Patterson and JT have this year. - Dan Rijo, Satyar Shah. It's Canucks Central. Have more on your Vancouver Canucks next on Sports at 650. To catch up on what happened in Vancouver's force with Halford and Bruff in the morning, be sure to subscribe and download the show on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - Back in on Canucks Central. It's Dan Rijo, Satyar Shah here in the Kintech Studio. Kintech, Canada's favorite orthotics provider, powered by thousands of five-star Google review sore feet. What are you waiting for? We had Jima Carson-Smith from the Canadian press join us in the last hour. Find that available on podcast. And also the round table in the opening segment of the show with Biknazar every Thursday here on Canucks Central. And they joined us via the dispatch plumbing, heating and air conditioning hotline. The first call, the only call. It's Dan Rijo, Satyar Shah here on Canucks Central. And it's hard to dive too much in on Elias Lindholm, but he was sort of the biggest story that came out of the morning skate today, right? Canucks did have a full morning skate. They had the day off yesterday, so they went for what is now the, I guess not the norm to have a full morning skate or the game, yeah, I think it's one of those things now where the science tells them you better have the rest. The science guy, the science guy. He always mentions the science, right? - They called up science sat and I really like you. - No morning skate anymore. - No one morning skate. Do you think the Canucks science guy is Bill Nye? That would be great. - Could you imagine? - Yeah. - He's the one cooking up the new power play formations. - Yes. - Bill Nye, the science guy. - What if you put Tyler Myers in the bumper spot? - Didn't Bill Nye make like a mediocre comeback in the last couple of years? I don't know. - Mediocre poor guy, wasn't it like a legitimate show on Amazon or something? - That's legitimate show, yeah. - Yeah, like a legitimate show. - I was a big Bill Nye guy as a kid, were you? - Yeah. - And popular mechanics for kids. - Really? - Popular mechanics for kids. - I don't watch that. - I don't even know what that is. - What? - Oh, that was like, I had a huge crush on Alicia Cuthbert before she was Deon Finnoff's wife. (laughs) - I see, she was popular mechanics for kids, but I was also a kid at the time when I watched you. - All right, it's dad, Rachel, Satyar Shah. Why did I get off track? I don't know. Elias Lindholm was the big story at Morning Skate today and where the Canucks don't often have Morning Skate anymore, they just get ready for the game. A revelation that he is somewhat injured. And I mentioned this with Gemma for a moment, but I think I'm at the point, Sat, where, yeah, it is a little bit of a sunk cost here on Lindholm, and you may never get what you hoped out of him in another bonafide top six player with scoring potential that adds to your offensive group, knowing that there is some kind of an ailment that he is playing through, that I imagine he will have to play through for as long as the Canucks remain in the playoffs beyond the regular season. I kind of wonder if you just sort of operate in the way that the Canucks have, and that, hey, he's our third line center, and he's gonna help us complete our team identity defensively, and I don't know how much offense we're gonna get out of this player right now. - Yeah, but I would, you know, so I would push back on the designation of, oh, he's only gonna be our third line center, 'cause he's not playing those minutes. He's played 1750, yeah, since coming to Vancouver. That's, you know, that's top six ice time. The only fours that play more than him are Elias Patterson and Brock Besser, and JT Miller, of course. - Yeah. - Like he's fourth amongst forward in ice time. - Yeah. - So he's getting a lot of ice time, so to me, it's like, I get it, and yes, undoubtedly, without question, he has not been worth the cost of acquisition yet. He has not proven the cost of acquisition. - Yeah. - He's been helpful, but he has been nowhere near where you want him to be. But he's playing a sizable role, and I do think in the playoffs, all that matters to me is can he help you win. And that's how I'm going to measure this trade, ultimately. Yes, it hasn't worked out the way we had hoped, ideally, for him to play with Patterson, and then being running mates, and that would have solved a lot of things for you, especially when Joshua comes back, and you could reunite him with Blueger. But you need a shutdown line in the playoffs. Like, he can provide that. - Yeah. - I think him and McKay have, they showed a lot of potential the other night together, and also in terms of some of the chances they generated, but they were really good on the forecheck, they were really good in terms of putting pressure on the opposition, playing smart defensively. And that's a duo to me in the postseason, if you don't put McKay have back with either Miller or Patterson, I can really give you something. So to me, yes, all the criticism is fair, but can he help you win in the playoffs? - Mm-hmm. The difference between Linholm, Patterson and Miller in their ice time is minimal. It's about 90 seconds, which essentially amounts to power play time. - Yeah. - Right? Miller, so far Linholm's edition to this team, has really only shown up in, I don't wanna say fantasy land, but not on the score sheet so much, right? He's got four goals, three assists, and 20 games. He hasn't scored in 14 games now. He hasn't got a goal. He's got two points in that time. It hasn't shown up on the score sheet, but where has it shown up? Overall, the team since Linholm has come in, they seem to play better defensively. Their shot suppression is among the best in the league. Only Carolina's better, I brought that up yesterday. Penalty kill, raw results have been so, so, but I think in general, it has looked better since Linholm has come in. He's also done that thing that we've talked about for so long. Pushed Miller and Patterson down the pecking order on the PK, so that they're kind of like, what the third or fourth options out there, if the Canucks go to Miller and Patterson, on the PK, and it comes at a time when, hey, they can get on the attack. It's maybe the second unit that's out there for the opposition and the Canucks can maybe create something off of that. It's almost a perfect spot for them. And that's really what I like about what Linholm has done for this team, excuse me. - Yeah, yeah, I had a drink. - Yeah, I know what you mean, and I think having backbone as a team comes down to how you can play down the middle, with your centers, and one of the things that we spoke about before too, and on the PK, you're right, I do think there's a better version of this PK than what we've seen. - Yeah, and I think Linholm can provide a lot of upside to that, and I think he can still get better than what he's shown. But having some spine now, all of a sudden, for the Canucks, they already had some, especially with how Beluga played and Surica play, you know, the fourth line center role, so to speak, and you feel comfortable with it. But you added a player who's over 200 pounds and six foot one, like Linholm's not a small hockey player. - No. - Now down the middle, you have JT, you have Pedersen, you have Linholm, and you have Beluga. That's a real spine, and now you have a big blue line. Yes, on the wings, the Canucks aren't the biggest team, but they have a big blue line, they have good goal attending, and they got a real spine down the middle. Like, that to me is a real foundation you can win with. And we would have all loved to see the Canucks add another winger, of course, and I would have loved to see Linholm, perhaps be a bit more offensive. But yeah, I do think in terms of the foundational pieces you need to win in the postseason, at least to contend and give yourself a shot, I think the Canucks have a lot of those. The other thing I wanted to mention, Miller and Pedersen both under 20 minutes now for the year, on average. You know, that's not nothing. You know, they talked about wanting to play those guys less, especially Miller, they've been able to accomplish that. It's also helped having Linholm in the fold to be able to do that. Now, in the playoffs, I imagine, you know, their numbers maybe tick up again, right? You get them above 20 minutes a night. But the fact that you've been able to keep them under that for most of this season, I think that helps the Canucks in the long run. Sounds like you guys are talking about Nick Dowd when describing Linholm. He's been half the price, that's from Nate. Hey, I mean, again, fair if you want to make that point and it's a sunk cost. It is what it is, what you gave up and you have to get the best, you know, best version of what you can get from him. However, as good as Nick Dowd has been as a third line center, he's playing 15 minutes a game. This is the most he's ever played in his career. Yeah, Linholm is playing almost 18 minutes a game at Vancouver. I'm not sure Dowd would play as many minutes and I do think sometimes those things get overlooked, like how difficult that is and how much trust a coach has to have and how you're utilizing a player. So you can say that, but I think you're asking of Linholm a lot more than what you would have asked from Nick Dowd even when he's not producing. 100%. Linholm, I think he's just got to be a little bit more aggressive offensively. Now, I don't know exactly what the ailment is that is holding him back, but, you know, he's been fine in the face after all. He's been more than fine in the face after all. He's just, okay, he's, okay, so he's moving well. Yeah. That doesn't seem to be the issue. No. I mean, is it a hand issue or something? Like, is it something like that? 'Cause a shot's not there, right? And some of the decision making, you know, doesn't look like a guy confident when it's in with his shot in his hands, is it a hand thing, shoulder thing? I don't know. I mean, I think about the play with Lindgren and not shooting at the empty net. And I'm like, you know, is there something there that the shot is something that is ailing him and maybe a hand thing? But, you know, he has been able to be fine in the draw. So, you know, there's a lot of different ways that you can look at it. He's been over 60% in the face off dot since becoming a Vancouver Canucks. It's, you know, that to me has been his biggest addition. And I know face offs, not every face off has created equal, as even Rick Tockett mentioned. Some really don't matter all that much in the neutral zone and whatever else. But a big face off draw, late in the third period, you know, there's the kinds of ones that you need. So, look, Lindholm can be better, but I think you need to maybe reassess your expectations of the Canucks big trade season acquisition. This text re-sign Lindholm while his value is low. No, I wait, I'm good. Oh my God, I turned off about an hour ago 'cause I can't listen to you talk about Lindholm anymore. I turn you back on to follow the game tonight and you're still talking about him. Pre-game starts at six. We'll still talk about Lindholm 'cause it is a big issue for the team as they continue to progress towards the postseason. I did want to get back to the Dumbbar Lumber text message inbox. G from Abbotsford. I think Quinn should be the quarterback on the power play and have Hronik at the point. Let Quinn roam the zone five on five. He carries it in and skates around the holes and before taking a shot or passing off for a goal, I think that would give the power play the movement. We all want, and that's G from Abbotsford. Quinn is kind of the power play quarterback. He is one of them, the Canucks have two with him and JT Miller. When they've had Hronik as an option on the power play, it hasn't really worked. No, man, I'm good. He doesn't shoot the puck enough. No. For a guy who has a really good shot, he doesn't shoot the puck. He's got a hard shot. Does he have a good shot? It's not as accurate as you would want it to be. I think it's decent. I think his goal scoring rate is down from what you would expect it to be. I think he's a better goal scorer than what he's showing this year. He's piling up the points. One of the best players, five on five, getting a primary assist too. I mean, he's a guy that is doing a lot of things well, but he's not an aggressive shooter. And his shot rate is the same it's been for his entire career. Like he shoots the puck less than twice a game. Yeah. That was just like a 1.6, 1.7 shots a game. I'm sorry, team, that they choose quality over quantity in their shot selection. So if I'm adding a defenseman, I'm adding somebody that's very aggressive. He's not aggressive enough for me. Why take away somebody who's a better shooter? Well, in theory, you'd want to have him on the left half wall, which is what? Where J.T. Miller is best. So because he's a right shot, you want to put him in the one time position. Try to load him up for that. Maybe provide sort of a distraction away from Elias Pedersen. I don't appreciate your text, G, but I don't know if Pronik is the answer for the Canucks power play. You know, we saw them put suitor back the other night and maybe it was to something you alluded to in the opening segment of the show. Buffalo has a diamond, penalty kill unit, and they knew how they would be able to attack it. Not a lot of teams have a full on diamond. So... And getting that left-handed shot in the bumper allows that play from the half wall to happen from J.T. Is it as simple as he's the best left shot option that they've got for the bumper spot and that's why suitor works there? Yeah, yeah, I think so. I mean, they don't have somebody. And I think when you look at Jake Genssel, left-hand shot, they would have loved to add him. Was there somebody along those lines? You know, even to fold it as much as, you know, he would have been in great addition. He's a right-hand shot. Yeah. It's kind of imperfect there, right? So, and the first thing they did was go to suitor and that opened up the back door play and then it opened up the net front play to Brock Besser. And then, you know, they're trying to take all that away and then J.T. attacked. You know, it's like, it's pick your poison. Yes. You know, when the power plays like that, to me, you know, that's what you want it to be like. And I'm not taking away one of the forwards. It's more about handedness. And Heronik's another right-handed shot. Which, it's funny 'cause you know, teams kill to have right-handed shots and the Canucks almost have too many. Yes. You know, and if you didn't have Quinn Hughes on it, then maybe it would be different. But I just don't, I don't see Heronik's spot there. I like what they have going right now. And if they get a, and somebody else texts it in, and it was a good text, actually. And let me see if I can bring it up really quickly. 'Cause I wanna give him credit for the way he phrased things. It was Brandon, and he mentioned that there's supposed to be an elite power play. It shouldn't matter if it's a diamond, square, triangle, hexagon, trapezoidal, whatever shape the PK takes. All the other setups have been horrible, Brandon and Vancouver. And I agree that no matter how teams are playing you, the only switch I wanna see them make is Lindholm and Suter in the bumper spot from time to time. Let's say that play doesn't happen because of how teams are defending you. Then, okay, then Suter's not making the difference. So you can put Lindholm and try something a bit slightly different, but have your players in the same landmarks. 'Cause anything else they've tried has made their PK power play worse. - Yeah. - Like it hasn't gotten better. - No, definitely has not gotten better. Moving Miller off the left half wall hasn't helped the power play. - No, and maybe now, because they were apart for a while, it's like absence makes a hard grow fonder, and maybe now you're more excited to stay there, and you're gonna play with more aggressiveness. Maybe that's some of the method to the madness from-- - Honestly, it felt like the other night, Miller's on the left half wall. It's like reunited, and it feels so good, 'cause he's just like picking apart the sabers, like you wouldn't believe. And, you know, yeah, you'd love to have, a lot of teams would love to have more right shots, right? But the Canucks, some power play units survive with five left shots. The thing about the Canucks power play, and having Miller on the left half wall, because it's his downhill side, his strong side, you don't accomplish, it's where he operates best from, and it's hard to accomplish everything he's able to accomplish when you don't have a left shot in the bumper there. You know, for a lot of teams, that might not matter, right? You just, well, you flip it around, and it'll still work fine. No, it doesn't necessarily work that way. And we've seen it for the Vancouver Canucks, that if you put a right shot there in the bumper, Besser can be a good bumper player, but the power play has to function in a much different way when Miller isn't working off the left half wall, and there's not a left shot working in the bumper. Yeah, and G goes, you know, mentions that it's about freeing Quinn Hughes by doing that. You can have heronic there, it allows Quinn Hughes to roam. I think in theory, that makes sense, but I think in practicality, it leads to more confusion, 'cause if all he's gonna do is roam, it sounds great, but in execution, if you don't have a spot, you have to go back to it all times. Yeah. And then where are you roaming from, ultimately? Are you getting JT out of his spot again? Are you getting a Patterson out of his spot? You're not going that front. You're going into the bumper spot, I suppose, but is that where his shots, like he's a better shooter, but is he the type of guy you want in the bumper spot getting shots off? You take away also his creativity and how well he can make scene passes from the point as well, right? So I get it, I just don't know if that's the best way to go about it. Okay, I wanna answer this question because we've got it a lot. And I'm surprised that we've been asked this question as often as we have. Text it in a few times, even into other shows on the station, Halford & Bruff, to point out that Patterson's new deal doesn't have an O-Trade clause until the 25-26 season. Not saying the Canucks should trade him, but is this not an out for Rutherford and Alveen? That is from Greg. - It is an out, yes. - It is technically, it's like when you were in school and you asked the teacher, can I go to the bathroom? And they were like, yes, you can. May you go to the bathroom? Is the better way to ask this question? - Yes. (laughs) - But yes, technically it's an out Greg, but players aren't allowed to have a no trade clause in their contract until they are eligible for unrestricted free agency. So, Patterson cannot have a no move clause attached to his deal until he is eligible for unrestricted which would be the season after the upcoming season next year. - So age 25-26. - So, it'd be his age 27 season. - Yeah, and that's really the reason, if Patterson wanted or could have a no move clause in his contract for next year, he would have it. - He would, he can't have it though, that's the only reason. - Yeah, and yes, and technically it provides management and out. - Yeah. - Technically it does 'cause they could trade him. - It works the same for Pierre-Luc Dubois. - Yeah. - With the LA Kings, when PKSuban was traded, this was the thing. - Same thing, yeah. They traded him before the no trade clause kicked in. - Yeah, and everybody wondered, like, could this happen, could this happen at the time? I was like, there's no way of trading. - And they did. - The trade is one for one, PKSuban for Shea Weber. - It's like, what, what? - Excuse me, D for D too, right? He's like, what is going on? But yes, it's an out, I don't think it's an out, they're going to be exercising. - Yeah, I would agree with that. - And I think a lot of it, you know, again, like, there was some trade talk with the Canucks and the Carolina Hurricanes. - Yep. - And that in some way helped expedite a deal with Elias Patterson, and some of that probably comes with an assurance of you're not going anywhere, you know? - So, did you hear that there's a rumor of the NHL doing a show with Amazon? Similar to, it's actually with the same group, the same production group that does drive to survive and full swing and all those shows that are on Netflix. So the NHL is rumored to be doing this with Amazon. I think Quinn Hughes was actually asked about it today and I think it's interesting. That they're going to follow like 10 to 12 players, probably down the stretch of the season and into the playoffs and just see how the NHL star player lives his or his life. - So, is it going to be a Canucks? - I mean, we don't know who the 12 players may be, but if there was one Canucks to be on the show, who would you want it to be? - Which Canucks would it be? - I feel like J.T. Miller is the obvious answer. Do you agree, Josh? - Phil D. Giuseppe. - Now I would love that. You just see me and Phil going out for Spros in the morning, you know, walking on the sea wall. - It has to be Zadorov, doesn't it? - Zadorov, right? Like if he's still here next season and that doesn't look like it's going to happen, we'll see, maybe it does. He's the most interesting guy. He's got personality, he's funny, he's quirky. - This season, like the remainder of the season or is it next season? - It would be next season. - Oh, well, I mean, I'm saying if he's here. - Yeah, sure, sure, sure. I don't know why I did that. - I just, sure, sure, sure, sure. - It's like, I feel like it would be Hughes. Yeah, I didn't mean to lecture you up. I feel like it would be Hughes, just based on the brother connection. You know, like they would do Quinn and Jack and Luke. - Do all three brothers? - Yeah. - Do all three brothers? - Because like, they probably-- - Do Jack and Luke live together in Jersey? - I assume so. - But Quinn's a captain of the team. - Yeah. - Is he going to do something like that? - I don't know. - Like that's the thing I wonder about hockey is-- - Hockey players are like, at least guys that are, in the league tend to really dial back their personalities. Like if you're still an active player on a roster, like hockey players, for whatever reason, it's just like, maybe it's their media training, but they just immediately go into their shell. And then as soon as they retire, it's just like, wow, where was this personality? (laughing) - So maybe it's, since Patterson is so willing to do, well, at one moment in his career, seemed very willing to do media things. - Yeah. - What if it's Elias Patterson? Another distraction? - Is Patterson the most interesting man in the world or the opposite? (laughing) - No, we're about to find out. - I think the interesting thing with Patterson is, like I think he's, he's probably the guy with the most interests. - Yes. - Most varied interests, I would say, on the team. But I don't think he's very, he's very private with it. - Yes. - And I think, especially with, to reach his two, sorry, to Josh's point earlier, like, he's been blamed for distractions in the past. And like, hey, what are you doing? What's going on? And he's talked about how he needs to put that stuff away. And you know, not, you know, not be as public with it. But I think if he was willing to actually show his interests, I think people would be fascinated. - Yeah. - I really do. - Like, there's a side of Patterson that, I think people would love to see that he doesn't, that he chooses not to show. - And maybe it's a comfort thing too, maybe in a few years, you know? And you know what, you know what the best thing is for personality to come out? Success. - Yes. - And I mean winning a cup. Like, if you win a cup, then it's like-- - Then you don't care. - Do whatever you want, man. It's like, it's almost kind of care. - I think fans here too would be like, yeah, whatever, man, you want to do a TV show, you want to cup. - You want to cup, do your thing, man. - How is J.T. Miller not the answer? - I don't, I don't think he would want to do it. - Why, he's a family man, you know? - He's golfing? - He doesn't want to do it, I don't think he would want to do it. - He'd say no, J.T. Miller's like no. - Also, how thrilling would that be? Like, oh, I'm at home with my family, taking care of my kids now. (laughing) - Well, I don't know if the NHL wants all their single guys to be profiled on this show. - Yeah. Brock Besser would be funny because he has dogs and stuff, he'd just be funny. - Oh yeah, Besser would be cool. - Besser would be kind of funny, you know? - Besser, Besser would work. - And then Besser and put him on the show, that's from Gord. - Do Connor Garland so that Satt has more hate. - Connor Garland's gonna be traded next year. - Just watching Jaws the entire time. (laughing) - Connor Garland just getting all crafty with how he gets his business done on the ice. All right, 650, 650 on the Dunbar Lumber text message, inbox, you can get more of your comments and questions into the text inbox. - Before we get a couple things, when is Josh will coming back? We'll see, I mean, I think he's been delayed more than people thought. Hopefully we'll see him next week, we'll see what happens. And this one here says, Dan has got the voice of an angel, tell him to sing again. (laughing) - Oh, there was another text, reach please. - No singing ever. - I was trying to avoid that one. - No, no, take it. Sometimes I like to think that I've got a voice, the mixture of Fergie and Jesus. - Fergie, Fergie doing the anthem? - Yeah. (laughing) - Anthem Fergie or like? - Yeah. - What a Fergie. - It's a step brother's reference. Nobody got that? - Yeah, I know how you're gonna get it. - I got it. I think Costa got it too. - Okay, man, and I like that movie. It totally flew over my head. Gil says on Twitter, "PD needs a secret Twitter account "like the Longwood did to show his personality." - Yeah, he has one. Maybe he does. - He has a real one. Maybe he does. - Imagine if he's like a crap poster, you know, one of his accounts. (laughing) - This is Pete, he's a bleep boaster. (laughing) - They're ripping Connex players. - Stan Richeaux and Satyar Sh-- That would be hilarious. - Yes. And no, for those asking Lakerimaki, could he join the team? Yes, he's not gonna play for the team though. In the postseason, unless like they go through, I don't know what, 15 different injuries? It's probably not gonna happen. - DPD did join the Abbotsford Canucks though. Stan Richeaux, Satyar Shaw. You are listening to Connex Central.
