Confirmed with Link: New Coaching Staff - Tocchet, Gonchar, + Adam Foote | Boudreau, Cull Fired

[Nomobo]

Will never forget when Tocchet took a puck to the face, went to the ice where they wired his broken jaw shut, then he comes back on the ice and scores two goals, lol.

Jury out on whether he'll work out as a coach, but Scotty Bowman specifically called out Tocchet as single handedly inspiring a culture of leadership and intensity. And Bowman when Bowman talks leadership, I give it some weight.

I remember Tocchet by how much I hated him when he played against us. Guy didn’t give an inch and took on all comers. Be nice if he could instill some of that attitude in the Canucks.

 

[arttk]

It's not wrong to say the coach was "a part of the problem" because this team has systemic issues that they have not corrected. I think in other threads when describing the defense I said it's 80% players and 20% coaching and I stand by that. The majority of the blame falls on the players and/or the people assembling the team.

I also think the part of the story that has gone largely ignored here is that Trent Cull was let go. Most people thought he did a poor job with their AHL team for awhile now, and now he comes up here in charge of the defense and they are absolutely awful. I'm not familiar with Adam Foote's coaching, but I am familiar with him as a player and know he was an excellent defensive defenseman for a long time and I am excited to see what he brings.

I tend to agree with this. I think the only thing is that even though you can say it’s mostly on the players, we really shouldn’t be that bad. It’s not like we grabbed a bunch of AHL guys and told them to pk. Hell the PK is so awful that you would expect better results from AHL players, that’s what you would expect if you told anyone that we have a historically bad PK.
Also the consistency in which we give up odd man rushes has to be on the system.

 

[MS]

Imagine the President of a company knowing more then the fan. Absolutely shocking concept....

Yeah, the context of this clearly wasn’t ‘Nya nya I’m smarter than you!’, it was that because of his position he knew more behind the scenes than fans do.

What got me, was Allvin saying he' been 'concerned about coaching' for the past year. So why in the world didn't they do something in the off-season if they knew then that Bruce wasn't their guy?

Instead they wait until the season is basically in the dumpster before making their move. I suspect Aquilini again. He didn't want to pay for two fired coaches (Green and Boudreau) while paying another guy.

That's the only explanation that makes any sense. Either that, or these guys are completely incompetent.

They very clearly were unable to make the changes they wanted after last season.

The bigger question to me is whether the public questioning of Boudreau was just management being frustrated and running their mouths or whether it was a calculated thing to put pressure on ownership.

So I do think a lot is being made over interviewing and hiring a replacement coach before firing the current coach. That isn't an issue. It happens and will continue to happen. Look no further than across the Rockies when ward was fired and Sutter announced as his replacement at the same time (March 5, 2021).

The issue was it leaked and instead of stepping in management let it fester for a couple of weeks. At that point they needed to relieve the coach of his duties.

Yup. This is the bit that was totally inexcusable and did tremendous amounts of damage to the credibility of the organization, both with the players and the fans.

I’m still struggling to understand why Boudreau wasn’t fired after the road trip and Yeo installed as interim guy for a couple games. It makes zero sense.

LOL
Good analysis in this piece
Remind you of anything?

Travis Yost: Can Rick Tocchet’s system work for Vancouver Canucks? | TSN

New Vancouver bench boss has a history of coaching physical, defensive teams that struggle to score. Time will tell if that system can work in a heightened scoring era, Travis Yost writes.

www.tsn.ca

View attachment 640077

I hate stuff like this. Team with no talent didn’t score, so coach is bad offensive coach!

Arizona was 27th offensively the year before Tocchet and 32nd the year after.

I have no idea what he is or isn’t but this sort of article is so pathetically lazy. You could have time machined Glen Sather in from 1984 and those teams weren’t getting above 20th offensively.

 

[Peen]

Yeah, the context of this clearly wasn’t ‘Nya nya I’m smarter than you!’, it was that because of his position he knew more behind the scenes than fans do.



They very clearly were unable to make the changes they wanted after last season.

The bigger question to me is whether the public questioning of Boudreau was just management being frustrated and running their mouths or whether it was a calculated thing to put pressure on ownership.



Yup. This is the bit that was totally inexcusable and did tremendous amounts of damage to the credibility of the organization, both with the players and the fans.

I’m still struggling to understand why Boudreau wasn’t fired after the road trip and Yeo installed as interim guy for a couple games. It makes zero sense.



I hate stuff like this. Team with no talent didn’t score, so coach is bad offensive coach!

Arizona was 27th offensively the year before Tocchet and 32nd the year after.

I have no idea what he is or isn’t but this sort of article is so pathetically lazy. You could have time machined Glen Sather in from 1984 and those teams weren’t getting above 20th offensively.

 

[Breakers]

I hate stuff like this. Team with no talent didn’t score, so coach is bad offensive coach!

Arizona was 27th offensively the year before Tocchet and 32nd the year after.

I have no idea what he is or isn’t but this sort of article is so pathetically lazy. You could have time machined Glen Sather in from 1984 and those teams weren’t getting above 20th offensively.

LOLOLOL
Tampa made the conference finals after he left

GF= 25th
he gets fired
GF = 7th

you just think it's lazy because you disagree with it

 

[MS]

But why would this be his choice?

So weird.

And if they wanted to fire Bruce a week earlier and he managed to convince them to keep him for 2 more games, and then cried and milked sympathy from the media and fans for the team putting him in such an unfair position … isn’t Bruce kind of the bad guy here?

I can’t even. What a f***ing bizarre two weeks.

 

[MS]

LOLOLOL
Tampa made the conference finals after he left

GF= 25th
he gets fired
GF = 7th

you just think it's lazy because you disagree with it

I don’t agree or disagree with it. I’m hardly a Tocchet fan.

It’s just lazy nonsense that means nothing.

In the TB case, the production of their star players actually went down after Tocchet left but they went up by 28 goals based on big improvement from the bottom 6 and career years from the likes of Dominic Moore and Sean Bergenheim.

None of us have the slightest idea how well Rick Tocchet coaches offense.

 

[me2]

But why would this be his choice?

So weird.

And if they wanted to fire Bruce a week earlier and he managed to convince them to keep him for 2 more games, and then cried and milked sympathy from the media and fans for the team putting him in such an unfair position … isn’t Bruce kind of the bad guy here?

I can’t even. What a f***ing bizarre two weeks.

You sack the guy. Put Yeo in for a few weeks. Appoint the new coach. Clean as possible.

The idea of sacking a coach and letting him coach is just stupid and obviously invites criticism. He might want to keep coaching but you also know it's going to end up in a catastrophic mess and PR hell. You just don't do it.

However, if you foolish enough to try it then you announce you are doing it. "The current coaching staff have asked to stay on until a new head coach is found." At least then you've passed the buck, its still a bad idea though.

 

[Breakers]

I don’t agree or disagree with it. I’m hardly a Tocchet fan.

It’s just lazy nonsense that means nothing.

In the TB case, the production of their star players actually went down after Tocchet left but they went up by 28 goals based on big improvement from the bottom 6 and career years from the likes of Dominic Moore and Sean Bergenheim.

None of us have the slightest idea how well Rick Tocchet coaches offense.

well numbers say otherwise

 

[God]

well numbers say otherwise

the most recent numbers disagree with your point though?

 

[StickShift]

RE: the Russo article. There’s one thing I don’t understand:

How could the players all care about him so much to the point that they are crying—but there were so many nights throughout this season where they were completely lifeless?

It was more than just a bad roster. They just had zero jump so many nights.

 

[me2]

RE: the Russo article. There’s one thing I don’t understand:

How could the players all care about him so much to the point that they are crying—but there were so many nights throughout this season where they were completely lifeless?

It was more than just a bad roster. They just had zero jump so many nights.

I think 7 losses to start broke the team's spirit. Season over and 75 games left to play. The terrible goaltending from Demko and Martin was a downer every night.

 

[God]

RE: the Russo article. There’s one thing I don’t understand:

How could the players all care about him so much to the point that they are crying—but there were so many nights throughout this season where they were completely lifeless?

It was more than just a bad roster. They just had zero jump so many nights.

Because he was a good person. He genuinely cared about them, and they cared about him. Life isn't just about getting results. You can be super successful at anything and still have no personal connection with others.

On the hockey side, they failed, and frankly getting anything out of the group last year was a miracle in itself. OEL-Myers regressed hard, and a team won't be successful with 1 or 2 top 4 defensemen per night and the rest playing like they should be healthy scratches.

 

[sting101]

LOLOLOL
Tampa made the conference finals after he left

GF= 25th
he gets fired
GF = 7th

you just think it's lazy because you disagree with it

The irony is Guy Boucher came in and put a better defensive structure into that team, they added Gagne Purcell and D.Moore who was a very good 3C to support the top group vs Downie playing above his ability Tanguay who was softer than Boeser and not much of a scorer by then and Jeff Halpern who was almost 34 and just like Downie should never have been relied on for more than 3rd or 4th line duties. On D adding Kubina helped a lot. Bergeron and Brewer more for the playoffs.

 

[pitseleh]

I can’t find it now, but I read something recently that suggested Tocchet’s Coyotes teams basically met their expected GSVA while he was there. So that means the No offence, solid defence results were just a reflection of personnel, but also that it’s unlikely he is a defence whisperer.

 

[sting101]

Coaches are not always a complete package when they start. I think it's naive to think he wouldn't evolve as a coach and a human being.

I think more than anything the group they brought in is about finding out who has the DNA to compete and play winning hockey. I welcome that

 

[m9]

RE: the Russo article. There’s one thing I don’t understand:

How could the players all care about him so much to the point that they are crying—but there were so many nights throughout this season where they were completely lifeless?

I think they were crying because now they have to play defense

 

[kanucks25]

I think the sample size and circumstances in Arizona don't really make for good "evidence" one way or another.

Yeah a lot of Yotes fans hated Tocchet but like when is a coach ever popular amongst a fan base? There are a ton of Avs fans that wanted/want Bednar fired and they just won the Cup.

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

I think the sample size and circumstances in Arizona don't really make for good "evidence" one way or another.

Yeah a lot of Yotes fans hated Tocchet but like when is a coach ever popular amongst a fan base? There are a ton of Avs fans that wanted/want Bednar fired and they just won the Cup.

Absolutely, and when Tocchet benches/cuts back ice time/scratches one Canuck player over the other..The armchair coaches will once again be frothing at the mouth.

Happens with every coach.

 

[RebuildinVan]

People bringing this up have no idea how sports work.

Take a look at the AWFUL Coyotes roster and come back to me.

The talent level is literally 1/3 of this current Canucks team.

Well we only have 1/3 of an NHL roster now if you watch them play

 

[Russian_fanatic]

100 point Petey was good while it lasted, also looking forward to Hughes playing at a 25 point pace.

Tocchet needs a certain roster, and he could be successful. The 2011 bruins would thrive under him, but this roster ain't it. I'm so dissappointed.

To blame Boudreau, one of the best regular season coaches and someone who has only missed the playoffs 4 times in 14 seasons before coming here is absurd. Especially when everyone minus Aqua + management knew how bad the defense corp was.

Looking forward for our top scorer having 65 points next season. We might just have the longest rebuild in sports history. If we thought the Keenan/Messier era was bad, the next 5-10 years are going to be brutal.

This franchise needs Brian Burke back so badly. I never imagined myself saying that. Atleast he had structure and a clue.

 

[Russian_fanatic]

For f***ING god sake.

As a fan for the past 30 years.

I hope this team gets shelled the next 3 games(if not the rest of the way). How dirty this franchise did Boudreau is sickening and classless, but I didn't expect Aqualini + Rutherford to know about class.

Boudreau was not the problem, and this is my resignation and final straw as a Canucks fan. If anyone if management sees this, f*** you mother f***ers. How dirty you've done this franchise since 2014 is maddening, aka a f***ing 9 year and f***ing continuing rebuild... . Once again f*** the Canucks and their f***ING MANAGEMENT.

This will be my final post, and I will definetly not be renewing for season tickets. f*** THIS TEAM.

 

[Buresflyingelbow]

For some reason I can’t find the length of the Allvin contract but does it line up with Tocchet at 3 years? I could see another house clean happening once they all expire.

 

[Buresflyingelbow]

Even if you don't actually keep Bruce it doesn't matter. Just tell everyone that he's the coach for the rest of the season. Whenever someone asks, just say that. Then if you end up firing him this weekend you can say "We wanted to keep Bruce, but the team has 2 regulation wins in our last 24 games and we owed it to our players and fans to provide the opportunity for a winning environment the rest of the season."

Everyone would have understood him getting fired based on merit. Instead they botched it and made him a sympathetic figure.

I agree they did but it also looks like they wanted to do it at home as a send off as they were on a roadtrip. They knew and heard the public reactions around them, it’s impossible not to. Maybe they actually did it with good intentions as they know the fans love Bruce and Bruce was able to get some closure from the fans.

Just a thought even though it’s a hypothetical scenario.

 

[Bubbles]

That doesn't make any sense. You resign, you don't get paid your contract.

You get fired, you will still be paid your contract.

People are getting too wrapped on semantics.