Here is the reason the Nucks should have kept Hodgson. He knew the organization, grew up in the organization, had 30+ goal potential AND most importantly, because you can never have too much depth in the post season. Injuries happen.
The playoffs are not about who has the best 2 forward lines. The playoffs are about goalies and defense and whose 3rd and 4th line is best. The top two lines always get neutralized, or at least the top line does. You rarely see the first line dominate a series.
Look at Nashville. Barry Trotz is carrying 27 players on the roster. He has total control over injuries, matchup's, and internal competition. Not playing well, have a seat, someone else will step up. Have an injury(Hal Gill), not problem, we have 2 other guys waiting to step up (Ryan Ellis/Jack Hillen). Act like you deserve a spot in the lineup (Colin Wilson/Jordin Tootoo) and you will be sitting watching Bourque play. There is no substitute for depth and chemistry in the playoffs. Vancouver has neither.
- dgutzman
Agree with most of this, but even if we still had Cody the problem is we have a coach who won't use that depth.
AV plays his 5 or 6 guys and when one goes down he just plays the others even more.
Kassian is an ok scorer, maybe not Cody, but he can score. But, when he only gets on the ice for 4 minutes it's pretty hard to score. Ebbett, another guy that can score, but he's in the press box so Weise can get his 2 minutes in the sun.
