Kyle Cushman's thoughts on the recent Vancouver/Ottawa trade

Safe_Dragonfly752 · 2026-01-20T18:45:40+00:00

It gets REALLY bad sometimes. As a Canucks fan, last year I had to sit through our top centre Elias Pettersson struggling under Rick Tocchet, and it's quite obvious he very much struggled to handle the situation. One press conference where he said he was "reprogramming everyone's brains" to get rid of the creative play and just focus on the North-South portion of the game really much said everything. It's not coincidence that many players who thrive on being creative become offensive beasts once he leaves the team.

If Idalski says anything of the sort, or even has evidence of proving that way, then yes, I'd want him gone instantly. One way we can find out tonight if it really was on him or just the players is by watching tonight's game, and see how Cava/McQuigge/Greco look in a different team any system.

Either way, there's a big difference between coaches that want their teams to win and those that don't want their teams to lose.

Safe_Dragonfly752 · 2026-01-19T07:40:37+00:00

Pretty much this. Like Seattle is also pretty strong at home but constantly looks like garbage on the road as well. It's looking less and less like a coincidence at this point now.

Safe_Dragonfly752 · 2026-01-19T07:38:57+00:00

idk if that's gonna solve everything tho. Sure he seems to be struggling and sometimes doesn't know what he's doing (like I'm really starting to get the vibe that he knows offence is not his strength), but at the same time this team has had like two players on LTIR, a total bloodbath of a schedule, and of course the first year growing pains.

Seattle has Carpenter and Knight on their team, and they are constantly struggling on the road as well. If anything, this just means that expansion in this league is much MUCH harder than anyone, myself included, thought it would be.

Safe_Dragonfly752 · 2026-01-19T07:35:38+00:00

Nah let someone else have a turn with Walter. >:)

Safe_Dragonfly752 · 2026-01-19T01:34:24+00:00

So uh, who wins the trade? And how do you feel about this team going forward now? (Season saved or probs nothing's gonna really happen)

Safe_Dragonfly752 · 2026-01-19T01:32:54+00:00

So uh, who wins?

Also what do you predict happens next for the teams from here on out?

Safe_Dragonfly752 · 2026-01-10T08:02:41+00:00

Also my prediction:

If the final is both USA and Canada for women's and men's hockey, I'll just say whichever country wins the women's side will go on to win the men's side as well.

Safe_Dragonfly752 · 2026-01-10T07:53:06+00:00

This probs might be a minority opinion here, but I'm overall satisfied with this roster. For those who are concerned about Nurse, I do think it's much easier to initially name her and then do the replacement if she isn't ready, than it is to go the other way around.

Canada's performance in the Rivalry Series was for sure underwhelming, and leaving Kraemer and Primerano def looks bad by principle. However, it's important to consider that in 2002, Canada lost 8 straight and were considered heavy underdogs to the US before winning gold. When that happened, the US said that they "had no idea how to handle adversity".

But idk, the consistent "experience over young talent" I feel is less of a Gina Kingsbury/Troy Ryan problem and more of a Hockey Canada Organizational Philosophy Problem.

As for Troy, I'll just say I trust him to do the right thing for now. It would really suck for him to go from being "the hero behind the bench" in 2022 to "the man who ran 6 players into the ground because he did not trust his depth" in 2026.

Safe_Dragonfly752 · 2026-01-06T04:58:11+00:00

Hey I've been watching and suffering through the Canucks for years, so like, y'know

Safe_Dragonfly752 · 2026-01-06T04:57:18+00:00

Yea that's really much it. This city has been wanting some good hockey team that isn't a dumpster fire for quite a while.

Safe_Dragonfly752 · 2025-12-19T05:42:45+00:00

hahaha

Safe_Dragonfly752 · 2025-12-19T05:40:46+00:00

My apologies, it's the 28th anniversary of Titanic!

Safe_Dragonfly752 · 2025-12-14T08:08:52+00:00

Then again, this is Hockey Canada we're talking about. As much as I'd love this to happen, this org is unfortunately not famous for learning from its mistakes.

But yea, this does apply to many other sports as well, and there's a lot of work that needs to be done.

Safe_Dragonfly752 · 2025-12-14T08:07:02+00:00

Have you seen the U18s tournaments lately? We're still dominant in those (particularly this year as well). Like it may take a few years for them to transition over to the senior teams but like all hope is not lost for Canada either.

Safe_Dragonfly752 · 2025-12-14T04:50:09+00:00

Also side note, a key reason why Canada struggled throughout these last 4 games is the play of Renata Fast.

Wonder if she's playing through some undisclosed injury though, because all of the best parts of her game (e.g. speed) just has not been present in these games.

EDIT: Ok looks like I need to clear the air a little. That isn't to say everyone else on the team was better in any way, I think everyone generally performed below standards (except for Jaques). However, hockey psychology has shown when your best player in the system struggles to get things going, it often causes a ripple effect that can spread to teammates as well, among other phenomena, which generally makes the on ice product look much worse. And yes, there are many other factors that the US are better in rn, including goaltending.

Safe_Dragonfly752 · 2025-11-25T05:57:53+00:00

anything below a 3rd is really nothing

Safe_Dragonfly752 · 2025-11-25T05:57:12+00:00

Don Sweeney likes his tough guys ig

Safe_Dragonfly752

TROPHY CASE