Vancouver Canucks | Drift team

In the summer of 2020, the Vancouver Canucks are the “Flavor of the Month.” Their return to the playoffs, after “only” four years of misery, to rebuilding teams proved that there is a fast road to success.

For Canadian general manager Mark Bergevin, the Canucks were a role model. “I see what’s happening in Vancouver. Young people picked up in the chase. That’s where the core of the team has to come from, for sure. We see it in Vancouver. That’s the progress the Montreal Canadiens are making right now.”

Thirty months later, what happened to the Canucks?

Bruised team. torn. adrift. The club is closer to last place than the Canadian. The general feeling among fans is that we’ve wasted a golden generation, and we’ll be back in the cellar for another decade.

whose fault is it?

Certainly not recruits. They found Bo Horvat (200 goals), Brock Boozer (130 goals), elite defender (Queen Hughes), their first choice goalkeeper (Thatcher Dimko) as well as the group’s top scorer in 2017, Elias Peterson. Plus Jared McCann, who was traded very early on, who now stars with the Seattle Kraken. Five of his players have more points this season than Canada’s top scorer, Nick Suzuki.

To paraphrase Ding and Dong, the Canucks are bad.

Talented spoiler.

Unfortunately, the club leaders are not up to it. I have rarely seen such a dysfunctional management team. Well, maybe the Montreal effect, in the snowflake period. Well…on reflection, no. Canucks worse.

You know when they say a team is only as strong as its weakest link? Well, in Vancouver, the weakest link is the management team.

The president of hockey operations, Jim Rutherford, himself recently set the cottage on fire, and has publicly announced that he has met several candidates for the head coaching position. the problem ? The head coach in place, Bruce Boudreau, was still in place. The poor guy, who had rolled his humps in professional hockey for 48 years, agonized with gout for more than a week, before he was finally fired on Sunday.

big class.

Let’s say we’re far from the “most beautiful class in history” that Joel Bouchard had with the Anaheim Ducks school club. The management’s modus operandi caused uneasiness in the locker room. “The guys fell,” said defender Tyler Myers. These are not easy times, a lot of work is going on … ”

In fact, there is a lot going on. So much so that if Réjean Tremblay had put together all of the following plots in one season Throw a promisewould have been accused of exaggeration.

The Canucks have had three head coaches in 13 months. All three are on their payroll. The three are earning more than two million hits this season. Slow motion applause.

Canucks management is also under fire from the Players Association, which is investigating its management of a hand injury sustained by Tanner Pearson, in a game against the Canadian. Pearson has had three surgeries. It didn’t go as planned. He will miss the rest of the season. “This situation has been mishandled,” young defender Quinn Hughes told local media. His announcement unleashed a storm on the coast of British Columbia.

What’s Next ?

Off-ice storylines involving members of the organization make headlines. In September, four of his children sued team owner Francesco Aquilini for physical and psychological abuse – allegations he denies. In November, the club and its assistant general manager, Émilie Castongway, were the target of a discrimination complaint filed by a former employee of hockey operations. “I feel broken. I’m tired of hiding,” Rachel Dowery wrote on Twitter. “The allegations of Mr.^I Emily Castonguay defended Dowry’s mistake.

The Canucks captains also just awarded a seven-year contract to one of the team’s best players, JT Miller, who scored 99 points last season. No one will argue with his hockey skills. But does it have a good effect on the youth of the organization? I doubt.

During a late game, goalkeeper Colin D’Elia was awaiting instructions from Bruce Boudreau to return to the bench, to be replaced by an extra striker. Miller grew impatient. He yelled first at Delia, before returning behind the net with the puck, and hitting the horizontal bar with his stick, to force Delia out of her semi-circle. A humiliating scene. for Delia. for Boudreau. About the organization. A move that backfires.

By doing so, Miller arouses among his colleagues the fear of making a mistake. Nobody wants to be the next player Miller makes fun of on national television. So Canucks players can tend to play a bit more nervous. Miller’s reaction: “I don’t understand why people talk about it.”

its a problem.

It will take the Canucks years to recover from the past five months. Already, Captain Bo Horvat, who will become a free agent in the summer, has announced his desire to leave the organization. When your team captain openly wants a change of scenery, it doesn’t send a good message to other NHL hockey players. Think of players who don’t have non-trade clauses. Do you think they will allow moving to Vancouver in the short term?

me too.

Now imagine free agents.

Well crafted Canucks. They have many talented young people. However, talent is only one component of success. For a team to be successful, it must also offer high quality training and a work environment. This is where the Canucks fail.

To other teams, now, not to repeat the same mistakes.