Vanek for Captain

[spndnchz]

Ruff on GR this morning:

 

Lindy Ruff anticipates one player having the "C" next year. "Thomas showed a lot of leadership qualities that maybe weren't there before".

[Braedon]

I was once in the room when someone asked Scotty Bowman what being a captain means.

 

1) In charge of the dressing room - I believe he said even the coach should need permission to come in.

2) Liaison to coaches.

3) Communicate with officials.

 

 

 

How often does TV do this? I see Pommer in this role more.

[apuszczalowski]

How often does TV do this? I see Pommer in this role more.

Me too, Vanek just seems like the kind of guy who is too shy to speak up, or just wants to play and keep to himself.

 

As for the playing through Injury AND being the best player, that doesn't necessarily say much about him, could have just been everyone else was pretty bad

[bunomatic]

I'm not against Vanek wearing the C but if Pegula makes Buffalo a true destination over the next season and players start to look to Buffalo as a viable option better leaders than Vanek will be wearing a sabres jersey. Message boards don't pick captains, coaches generally don't pick captains, team mates pick captains and the make up of this team may look a whole lot different at the start of next season. Why put your money on Vanek now?

[nobody]

Down the stretch I saw Vanek talking to a lot of officials. Even in games he didn't have an A on I noticed him do it. Don't recall in the playoffs - though I don't recall seeing any Sabre talking to the officials except for Miller.

[waldo]

Slow week. This string is still alive.

[papazoid]

vanek is not captain material.....he is lazy defensively and never gets in fights or throws his weight around. i say there are two choices:

 

#1- just get it over with now and make Tyler Myers your captain......maybe a year early.....but other than Miller....he is your future and best player.

 

#2- go out get a captain in free agency...like Richards from Dallas.

 

 

btw...Gaustad deserves an "A"

[TheFunPolice]

vanek is not captain material.....he is lazy defensively and never gets in fights or throws his weight around. i say there are two choices:

 

#1- just get it over with now and make Tyler Myers your captain......maybe a year early.....but other than Miller....he is your future and best player.

 

#2- go out get a captain in free agency...like Richards from Dallas.

 

 

btw...Gaustad deserves an "A"

 

HOW DARE YOU!

 

The only reason Vanek doesn't level people is that he has been told to protect the golden mitts! You want him to break his $7 million dollar hands on some guy's thick skull?

 

He could fight (and win almost every one) if he wanted to, but that's why we have goon types on the team.

 

Vanek is a superstar. He deserves the C

[Punch]

How often does TV do this? I see Pommer in this role more.

 

I think that's more a function of being Captain rather than a quality one would look for in choosing one. Vanek would likely step up his interaction with the officials if given the "C".

[BetweenThePipes00]

vanek is not captain material.....he is lazy defensively and never gets in fights or throws his weight around. i say there are two choices:

 

#1- just get it over with now and make Tyler Myers your captain......maybe a year early.....but other than Miller....he is your future and best player.

 

#2- go out get a captain in free agency...like Richards from Dallas.

 

 

btw...Gaustad deserves an "A"

 

I would have no problem if they gave it to Myers, but you are contradicting yourself with the rest of this. Brad Richards had fewer hits than Vanek and has been in three whole NHL fights, none since November of 2007. If those are important to you, how can you say go get him and make him captain? And I know the West is tough, but Dallas has missed the playoffs for four straight years ... what makes him so much a better captain than Vanek? That he won the Cup 7 years ago on a team with Lecavalier and St. Louis and Boyle and Stillman and Khabibulin (who was a rock in the playoffs)? Drury won a Cup with a bunch of Hall of Famers too, but when he came to Buffalo the culture changed and the team got better. Why hasn't that happened in Dallas? Maybe not his fault, but where did he lead them?

 

Just sayin' ... it's easy to nitpick Vanek because we watch every shift. Maybe Richards would be a great captain in Buffalo, but I can nitpick hm to death too. Maybe Vanek is the right guy for THIS team ... maybe he is not. It depends who is back. But it's not like Mark Messier is sitting out there waiting for Darcy to call him.

[drnkirishone]

Fighting does not a captain make. how many fights was Yzerman in? I still maintain that out of the players under contract next year Vanek is the man to wear the C. He lead this team to the playoffs. He added more to his game then just a sniper that camps in front of the net. He backchecks, is solid on his board, become a bit of a playmaker, and seems to have become more vocal with the team.

 

Long term this is Myers team to lead. But until his game rounds out and he becomes comfortable in this league I think Vanek is the captain

[shrader]

Anyone have the time to go team by team and list the number of career fights for each captain?

[BetweenThePipes00]

Anyone have the time to go team by team and list the number of career fights for each captain?

 

No ... but I still might do it.

[MattPie]

Anyone have the time to go team by team and list the number of career fights for each captain?

 

I think Crosby as has one career.

[waldo]

It is a silly string but i am bored so here it is. I cannot believe the number of time MYERS name comes up here????? Has anyone actually taken the time to watch him in his own end, especially when he is under pressure? Do you think he is now or will be next year a first pair defender? IMO. He needs a ton of work. He has to figure out how not to cough up the puck in his own end and who his man is in front of the net before he enters any leadership conversation. That may happen as he gets older and then again it may never happen . You can work on skill sets but there is nothing you can do with the speed at which the electrical impulse crosses the gap between the neural firing mechanism and the receptor.

[LGR4GM]

It is a silly string but i am bored so here it is. I cannot believe the number of time MYERS name comes up here????? Has anyone actually taken the time to watch him in his own end especially when he is under [pressure? Do you think he is now or will be next year a first pair defender? IMO. He needs to figure out how not to cough up the puck in his own end and who his man is in front of the net before he enters any leadership conversation. That may happen as he gets older and then again it may never happen .

yes, he obviously is our best defender. He doesn't cough up the puck as much as your implying and he has gotten much better about knowing who his man in. Every defender coughs up the puck once in awhile and occasionally loses their guy and gets burned but myers is learning every game and I think we saw him mature a lot this year going from terrible to impressive. Maybe not next year but within the next 3 years I expect myers to be either an alternate or the captain of this team... unless gerbe beats him to it or Vanek resigns

[X. Benedict]

It is a silly string but i am bored so here it is. I cannot believe the number of time MYERS name comes up here????? Has anyone actually taken the time to watch him in his own end, especially when he is under pressure? Do you think he is now or will be next year a first pair defender? IMO. He needs a ton of work. He has to figure out how not to cough up the puck in his own end and who his man is in front of the net before he enters any leadership conversation. That may happen as he gets older and then again it may never happen . You can work on skill sets but there is nothing you can do with the speed at which the electrical impulse crosses the gap between the neural firing mechanism and the receptor.

 

He's solidly a first pair - and a pretty good one.

 

Teams are gaming him like Chara. Teams work hard to get the puck behind him and then cheat in on the walls to take his skating, and then his passes away. Sometimes that tactic works...it works against Chara too. Most of the time it won't.

 

He'll make mistakes, all defensemen do....but he's a pain in the ass to play against.

[Braedon]

Anyone have the time to go team by team and list the number of career fights for each captain?

 

Ask and ye shall receive. Note - only NHL fights included:

 

[spndnchz]

Ask and ye shall receive. Note - only NHL fights included:

 

 

these are fights WHEN they were captains or for their career?

[...]

How often does TV do this? I see Pommer in this role more.

 

 

Probably not much until, what, March of this year? You can't communicate with the officials, other than chirp at them, unless you're a captain or an alternate.

 

And the guy with the A or C needs to be out on the ice when communicating with the officials is necessary.

 

Kind of silly to hold this point over TV when he's only been an A for what amounts to a handful of games - and then compare him to an A lifer like Pominville.

[waldo]

He's solidly a first pair - and a pretty good one.

 

Teams are gaming him like Chara. Teams work hard to get the puck behind him and then cheat in on the walls to take his skating, and then his passes away. Sometimes that tactic works...it works against Chara too. Most of the time it won't.

 

He'll make mistakes, all defensemen do....but he's a pain in the ass to play against.

 

I guess we disagree on first pair but thats ok. IMO solid second yes/maybe, first no way.(would other teams like to gamble on his future, absolutely, gambling on potential is what they do)(Will he turn into a Chara , Lindstrom, or Pronger. (Remember Souray was picked above him?)...(my best guess is probably will not turn into a shutdown defensman, few do).(First pair potential,possibly ?) Looks like you see much more in him right now than i do but that is the beauty in the game. Maybe your eye on this one is better. He does have some strong points and great potential, i can agree to that too.

 

Should we both go back to the Philly playoff films and count the give aways, bad decisions , passes and most importantly the time it takes him to make a decision?(Granted that was against a first class forecheck and he is only 22, )But he has a long, long way to go and much to learn.

 

 

All defensemen with a nine foot sticks are difficult to play against so i guess we agree on that point also.I did like the edge that materialized in a couple of the playoff games..

[stepped IN zhitnik]

I guess we disagree on first pair but thats ok. IMO solid second yes/maybe, first no way.(would other teams like to gamble on his future, absolutely, gambling on potential is what they do)(Will he turn into a Chara , Lindstrom,Pronger or Souray...(my best guess is probably not, few do).(First pair potential, ?) Looks like you see much more in him right now than i do but that is the beauty in the game.Maybe your eye is better. He does have some strong points and potential, i can agree to that too.

 

Should we both go back to the Philly playoff films and count the give aways, bad decisions , passes and most importantly the time it takes him to make a decision in slow mo?(Granted that was against a first class forecheck but then again a number of other teams have them too)He has a long way to go.

 

 

All defensemen with nine foot sticks and arms are difficult top play against so i guess we agree on that point.

dude he's 21, do you think he is done learning or something? the things he does are rookie mistakes which have improved immensely all season. the kid has raw talent and a body that will mess people up, and the skates of someone 5"shorter and 40lbs lighter than him. I don't get why people don't believe what pretty much ever hockey analyst is saying, this is the primo defensemen for the next many years

[Braedon]

these are fights WHEN they were captains or for their career?

 

For their career, which is what was asked for. It's certainly possible to tease out the fight card while captain, however it would entail identifying the year they became captain and would take a lot longer than the 15 minutes I chose to confer.

 

 

Probably not much until, what, March of this year? You can't communicate with the officials, other than chirp at them, unless you're a captain or an alternate.

 

And the guy with the A or C needs to be out on the ice when communicating with the officials is necessary.

 

Kind of silly to hold this point over TV when he's only been an A for what amounts to a handful of games - and then compare him to an A lifer like Pominville.

 

That's me, silly :w00t:. TV was made alternate at the end of Feb, giving him 2 months to demonstrate his ability to converse with blue about rule interpretation. Aside from his short 2 month window, I do not recall TV as the squawking, fiery type. Which is probably because he isn't that type of individual.

 

That said, you don't have to be that kind of captain either, as you can lead by being a game changer. Sakic was like that. But do you consider TV to be the game changer ala Sakic? In my mind, you either have to be the fiery captain, or the one leading by example. TV is closer to the example role but I personally don't think he's there yet.

[Weave]

That said, you don't have to be that kind of captain either, as you can lead by being a game changer. Sakic was like that. But do you consider TV to be the game changer ala Sakic? In my mind, you either have to be the fiery captain, or the one leading by example. TV is closer to the example role but I personally don't think he's there yet.

 

You stated the point I've tried to make, and did it better than I. This is why I don't think Vanek would make a very good captain, he's not a firey, rah-rah guy, and he's not a game changer like Sedin or Lidstrom. He's an excellent player, but not a game changer. Not someone looked up to because of his on ice clutch performances. And I don't get the feeling that he's charismatic at all.

 

I suppose he won't hurt as captain. And, as mentioned in the past, maybe it's no big deal. I mean, is the "right" captain important at all? I guess I don't know.

[waldo]

dude he's 21, do you think he is done learning or something? the things he does are rookie mistakes which have improved immensely all season. the kid has raw talent and a body that will mess people up, and the skates of someone 5"shorter and 40lbs lighter than him. I don't get why people don't believe what pretty much ever hockey analyst is saying, this is the primo defensemen for the next many years

 

Not every hockey analyst, dude. Granted he is not done learning , he will get better, he has potential, the key is his hockey sense, the speed at which he makes decisions, the quality and his concentration. At twenty one he is probably thinking about the girl in the first row. Is he a number one defender, some guys here who know hockey say yes.. I do not think so, that it is a given. 2 at best morelike a very good 3. For the right price i package him in a heart beat. Guys with potential fail to meet expectations in this game every day. He was the fifth defenseman picked in the 1st round. pretty good company but not a guarentee. He looked like a 21 year old defenseman this year, especially in the playoffs.Is he a leader,who gives a crap. Thats my opinion after taking the time to actually watch him play his position .I can live with the fact you have a different opinion.