While the results of this season are obviously disappointing for the Vancouver Canucks -- disappointing enough to cost GM Mike Gillis his job -- this isnt necessarily a team in a terrible position. [url=https://www.nbachinajerseys.us/]Cheap NBA Jerseys Authentic[/url] . In fact, with a few improvemen

While the results of this season are obviously disappointing for the Vancouver Canucks -- disappointing enough to cost GM Mike Gillis his job -- this isnt necessarily a team in a terrible position. Cheap NBA Jerseys Authentic . In fact, with a few improvements, this could very well be a decent team over the next few seasons. I will go into more detail when digging into the Canucks Off-Season Game Plan, which will be coming earlier this year since they are part of the non-playoff contingent, there are some reasons to think this is a favourable situation for President of Hockey Operations Trevor Linden and whomever he selects to be the new general manager. This isnt to say everything is just fine, but there are teams in far worse situations than the Canucks. A look at some of the positives: Despite this season going off the rails, the Canucks ranked ninth in Fenwick Close, a measure of puck possession. Among the top dozen teams in that metric, only the Canucks and New Jersey Devils (who are an impossibly terrible 0-11 in shootouts) are not in playoff position. So why is that a positive? The Canucks arent going to the postseason, in large part, because theyve been terribly unlucky around the net. Their 7.2% even-strength shooting percentage is ranked 25th in the league this year after it was middle of the pack -- 15th (8.0%) and 14th (7.8%) -- in the previous two seasons. Its very difficult for a team to stray too far from the average over a longer period of time and while this doesnt mean the Canucks can just assume that they will score more next season, its pretty easy to forecast better luck for this group. As low as the team shooting percentage is at 5-on-5, having the likes of Alexandre Burrows, Chris Higgins, Ryan Kesler and both Sedins, their big minute forwards, all under 8.0% makes it likely that there will be some recovery towards more typical production, particularly because the Canucks top forwards still had strong seasons in terms of puck possession and as long as they are controlling play, the odds are in their favour that more pucks will end up in the oppositions net. Add a bona fide scorer to the mix and the odds of recovery would be even better. The Canucks have a solid group of defencemen. The top four of Dan Hamhuis, Kevin Bieksa, Alexander Edler and Jason Garrison is more than capable of anchoring a playoff team. Garrisons possession numbers took a dive this year but, on the whole, this group isnt a primary issue. Even better, they have relatively economical options Chris Tanev and Ryan Stanton to round out the top six. Tanev is also a viable candidate to move into the top four if one of those named above is convinced to waive a no-trade clause in order to upgrade elsewhere. There was a lot of talk around the trade deadline about Edler being available and, while it must be with the understanding that Edler was the unluckiest of Canucks blueliners this past season in terms of percentages going awry, he would be a top pair defenceman for quite a few teams and, since those arent made available often, he ought to bring a significant return. Also, as I noted on Twitter, the Canucks were on a 106-point pace through the first half of the season, but as January rolled around, they had some overlapping injuries. At some point, it was either Edler, Burrows, Roberto Luongo and/or Henrik Sedin missing time and they didnt have the depth to make up for those absences. That lack of depth brings us to some of the concerns that the new management will need to address. One, their core is older. Among the top six forwards in average ice time, 28-year-old Mike Santorelli, an unrestricted free agent coming off shoulder surgery, is the only one that wont be 30 by the time next season starts. On defence, Edler (27) and Tanev (24) are younger, but Garrison turns 30 in November and Bieksa and Hamhuis are already beyond. This doesnt mean that the moment a player hits 30, that they cease to have value, but age makes professional athletes a declining asset at a certain point and, by age 30, the vast majority are declining assets and most of Vancouvers core is in that neighbourhood now. Their goaltending situation, not-so-long-ago enviably deep, is decidedly suspect. 26-year-old Eddie Lack has had an okay rookie season, though if he had played well in January (1-5-2, 2.95 GAA, .908 SV%), that might have prevented, or at least slowed, the teams fade from contention and then his first couple weeks following the Luongo trade (.882 SV% in 8 GP) were a little rough as well but, on the whole, Lack has given the Canucks more than they had any right to expect from him coming into the season. Lack has played well enough to have a shot at competing for the starting job next year, with a veteran added to the mix to provide stability. There are free agents ranging in experience (Ryan Miller, Jaroslav Halak, Jonas Hiller, Brian Elliott, Ray Emery, Thomas Greiss) or a trade option like James Reimer that could upgrade the position from its suddenly subpar standing and an above-average possession team with stable goaltending is most of the way towards the playoffs. There is also the matter of Ryan Kesler reportedly asking out of Vancouver prior to the trade deadline. If that holds true, then there would be at least one blockbuster move to take care of this summer, but Kesler recently indicated that he intends to return to Vancouver next season. Even if they are capable of returning to the playoffs in short order, and thats possible, the Canucks need to beef up their young talent throughout the organization so that, even if the Canucks arent necessarily Cup-bound in the next couple years, that they have enough to be competitive as the core moves on. Young roster wingers Nicklas Jensen and Zack Kassian still have some potential to explore but may not ultimately be top-six performers. Bo Horvat and Brendan Gaunce, first rounders the past two seasons, could provide solid two-way play when they are deemed ready to play, but the Canucks need more. These are the challenges that come with the job for anyone running a hockey team and, given the Canucks above-average core, they have some easier issues to deal with than some other non-playoff clubs that dont have that foundation in place. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Cheap Nike Basketball Jerseys . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Wholesale NBA Jerseys . -- On any given day here at his companys Silicon Valley headquarters, Vivek Ranadive is ready to compete against any employee who wants to challenge him to any contest. https://www.nbachinajerseys.us/ . The biggest collapse in franchise history was a long time ago, and he was too busy trying to make sure it didnt happen again.6am Bar ClosingsYour partner just left you for your best friend and took the cat. You lost your job. Your folks are getting a divorce. You drive a 93 Hyundai Elantra. You like Coldplays new album. Life could not get much worse. This is what it feels like when your teams season ends prematurely. This is how we feel in Montreal, and our new Mayor, Denis Coderre, has pushed through legislation that will allow some bars to call last call at 5:45am. Bars will close at 6am. Corderre wanted David Desharnais benched or traded or lynched in November, so Im not sure why hes allowed to make laws, but either way three extra hours of drinking do not bode well for a city of broken hearts already adept at drowning its sorrows until the wee hours.Reliving the PastIn the quiet aftermath of a series lost, one can be driven to madness through contemplation and consideration of responsibility and complicity. Im not talking about the players, or management, or coaching staff. Im talking about each fan, individually, wrapped in the curious superstitions of sport; adults who believe their habits and regiments supernaturally affect those of their team. For example, during game two of the Bruins-Habs series I had a cocktail with a woman who has no interest in hockey but may have interest in me. Did my shunning of the 1st period adversely affect the balance of the Habs universe? The other day, in anticipation of seeing my mother, I very discreetly and almost unnoticeably trimmed my beard. Did I bring on some bad juju? Ive watched the last two games on CBC. Had I watched RDS, would Price be okay? Would the Habs be up two games? Would Henrik Lundqvist be mortal? Well never know…No Nos AmoursAt no time is it more apparent that the Expos are gone than right after the Habs disappoint. And this summer, the cut runs a little deeper, a little more steeped in vinegar and salt, after a weekend in April of Expos nostalgia and games at the Big O. Sure it was just the Blue Jays and Mets, but it was as close to Major League Baseball as weve seen on the Island of Montreal in a decade. The tricolore hats were everywhere, and not just on Brooklynites in town for Osheaga. Larry Walker, Marquis Grissom, Felipe Alou, and the 94 team spent the weekend. We were reminded of what once was, and for a moment gleaned hope that it could be again. But then the playoffs started, and we forgot all about it. Now on the precipice of an abrupt end to the postseason, what are we to do? Cheer for the Blue Jays? That kind of talk will get you kicked out of the bar at 4:45. NBA Jerseys Store. TouristsTheres a brief respite in the Montreal calendar in May and June. Its right after the students have left to their parents basements in Mississauga, a convoy of minivans heading west, Ikea skeletons ominously freckling the McGill ghetto, and the arrival of tourists. Its a peaceful time. A time for quiet contemplation, for being able to find a seat at Starbucks, for going through alleys looking for a new couch. But then the tourists settle in. Unwanted aliens in your favourite haunts, fratish bachelor party weekends, and F1 fans, who make Bruins fans look quaint. That late spring void is best when filled with Habs reverie, double overtimes, Boston-hate, and large crowds in early evening bars yelling at Glenn Healy. We had that for a while this spring. Not long enough.ResponsibilityEverything is forgotten during a Habs playoff run. Debts are excused. Infidelities are forgiven. Commitments are eschewed. As Montrealers we are focused on the mirth and minutiae of Les Glorieux. We live in the echoing resonance of Ginette Renos final notes. We are oblivious to all else. But, in the absence of that distraction, we are left to tend to the discard and detritus that is our lives. Have I filed my taxes? How long has that stain been on my pants? Have I paid my rent? Did Aunt Wreatha pass away? Are these evenmy pants? Was it Mothers Day recently? When the last time I showered? Did laundry? Ate a vegetable? The humbling truth of reality sets in, and it can be early August before weve trimmed our playoff beards, made amends for our indiscretions, and recovered from our revelry.Im still hopeful for a miracle. AsBarDowns Twitter feed noted, I am a glass half-full type of guy. Game three in New York could very well be where a legend is born, where a Humboldt, Saskatchewan native becomes this generations Ken Dryden, or Steve Penney, or Patrick Roy. And maybe Carey Prices knee recovers, and all of this worry, this fretting over what might have been returns to the hope of what just might be. And maybe spring stretches out a few more weeks. Until then there is only Dustin Tokarski and prayer. Or Peter Budaj. Frankly, I dont care who it is as long as they hold off summer just a little bit longer. ' ' '