Löschen » Whilydisppointig for te Vancouocost G Mke Gilis hi

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. 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. Baltimore Ravens Jerseys . With one week left in the regular season, Cornish - voted The Toughest Player To Bring Down - is a leading candidate for the CFLs Most Outstanding Player award. He has rushed for 1,799 yards and could break Willie Burdens club record for rushing yards in a single season with a 98-yard performance against the B. John Brown Jersey . Granlund scored 2:04 into the first period. Max Reinhart, on his first NHL shift of the season, neatly stripped the puck from Zack Smith at the Senators blue-line. As he moved in, his attempted shot deflected into the slot where Granlund buried a shot past Craig Anderson. http://www.cheapravensshoponline.com/You...-Ravens-Jersey/. Lawries batting helmet hit an umpire during his ninth-inning outburst in the Jays 4-3 loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday. The 22-year-old threw his helmet to the ground and it bounced up and hit home plate umpire Bill Miller on the right hip after Lawrie was called out on strikes for the second out. Willie Snead IV Ravens Jersey . -- Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera has a broken bone below his right eye after being struck by a bad-hop grounder, sidelining the star slugger for at least a week with opening day on deck. Hayden Hurst Jersey . Patty Mills had 20 points, Tim Duncan had 11 points and 13 rebounds in limited action, and San Antonio rolled to a 110-82 victory over Milwaukee that kept the Bucks winless in the new year.Charlottesville, VA (SportsNetwork.com) - No. 4 Duke missed 10 of its first 11 looks from behind the arc and trailed by nine points late in the second half. Then the shots started falling. Quinn Cook made three 3-pointers in the final 4:38, Tyus Jones put the game away with a deep 3 with 10 seconds left and the Blue Devils went into Charlottesville and rallied late to stun No. 2 Virginia, 69-63, handing the Cavaliers their first loss of the season. Jones finished with 17 points while Cook and Justise Winslow netted 15 apiece for the Blue Devils (18-3, 5-3 ACC), who were primed to fall three games back in the ACC standings before closing the game on an 11-0 run. They are so darn good, praised Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who picked up win No. 1001. What an amazing setting to celebrate their basketball program, which should be celebrated. I thought our effort was outstanding. We just won a really tough game. Im proud of my guys. Malcolm Brogdon paced Virginia (19-1, 7-1) with 17 points, and Justin Anderson added 11. Im frustrated right now because this game was without our grasp and we couldnt finish it, said Virginia coach Tony Bennett. The Cavaliers were four wins shy of tying a school record for best start, set in 1981. The Ralph Sampson-led Cavaliers went to the Final Four that season. Virginia came in giving up a nation-low 49.1 points per game and looked strong on the defensive end for most of the game before the late collapse. Duke led 26-25 at halftime despite scoring all of its points in the paint or at the free throw line. Andersons sweeping layup early in the second half gave Virginia its first lead since it was 2-0. Jahlil Okafors tip-slam at the other end put Duke back in front, but London Perrantes came right back down for a layup that gave the Cavaliers a lead that they would hold for the next 16-plus minutes. Trailing by 11 near the midpoint of the second half, Tyus Jones finally hit Dukes first 3-ball. The Blue Devils kept pushing and had it down tto two following Matt Jones layup on a nifty feed from Okafor, but Perrantes brought the crowd back to life with a deep triple that sparked a 7-0 run the other way.dddddddddddd Winslow was assessed a flagrant-1 foul for grabbing Andersons leg when the two got tangled under the UVA basket during the surge. Anderson hit the two free throws and Anthony Gill drove in for a layup to stretch the lead back to 56-47. Duke scored eight of the next 10 to get within three at the final media timeout. Out of the break, Brogdons triple and an alley-oop to Anderson from Perrantes straddled a Cook trey and gave the Cavaliers a 63-58 lead. They went scoreless the rest of the way, missing four field goal attempts and a free throw. Matt Jones had Duke within 63-61 with his 3 from the top of the key, Winslow tied it with a layup and Cook forced a timeout with his triple at 1:19. After empty possessions both ways, Tyus Jones showed no nerves with a hand in his face and the game on the line, beating the shot clock with the game- clinching 3. I thought we let them get rhythm shots, said Bennett. We didnt really close out and try to distract the shot. Thats something we have to do. There were just enough of those to hurt us. Okafor, one of the candidates for ACC and National Player of the Year, was held to two points in the first half. Darion Atkins, who netted all nine of his points over the first 20 minutes, and timely double-teams kept Okafor in check early, but he came alive down the stretch and finished with 10 points and nine boards. Game Notes The first half was the only half this season that Duke did not hit a 3-pointer ... Earlier in the week, Duke dismissed guard Rasheed Sulaimon for repeated violations of team rules. It was the first player dismissed under Krzyzewski ... Krzyzewski picked up his 53rd career win against Virginia. He also has 53 wins against Georgia Tech. He has beaten Maryland the most times, 55. 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