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

[iceburg]

At the end of the day this management group didn't hire Bruce and never really seemed to be on the same page as him. If you go by JR/Allvin's comments yesterday they had every intention of riding the season out with Bruce but in a lost-cause of a season they still wanted to see progress in certain dimensions (outside of Ws), which they had made clear to Bruce a month ago.

After some period of time they decided they were not seeing any progress in those dimensions and decided to terminate him. There's lots of criticism to be levied at this group for how they went about it but ultimately they didn't hire him and he wasn't showing progress in the areas they wanted, so they brought in their own guy who they are presumably more in sync with. Timing and execution aside, it was the right thing for them to do.

Yeah, but I don’t think you’ll get anyone, or very few, who disagree with you. The criticism and all this drama isn’t about whether or not the decision to terminate should have been made. It is about how not to treat a human being.

 

[Breakers]

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.

Still a part of coaching and why he was fired.

That is drastic improvement once they got rid of his systems.

 

[Buresflyingelbow]

With all this talk you know that hasn’t been mentioned much? How much the Goalies might like the move and how we are tailoring our system around arguably our MVP and best player Demko.

You know the Goalies are going to be happier
With a more defensive system.

 

[Orca Smash]

Theres to much to read here, but dont know if it was posted but seravalli basically said today he was positive they wanted to make the coaching change months ago but ownership would not let them.

Might answer a few questions.

Not sure how happy I am yeo and king are still here. But will see what the new coaches can do.

 

[hlrsr]

Yeah, but I don’t think you’ll get anyone, or very few, who disagree with you. The criticism and all this drama isn’t about whether or not the decision to terminate should have been made. It is about how not to treat a human being.

There absolutely are many who believe Bruce was done dirty here because he's being unfairly maligned by management for a poorly constructed team's lack of success. It's probably more of a casuals opinion, but it's there.

 

[iceburg]

There absolutely are many who believe Bruce was done dirty here because he's being unfairly maligned by management for a poorly constructed team's lack of success. It's probably more of a casuals opinion, but it's there.

Casuals, really? Disrespect is disrespect whether you’re a casual fan or not. Not sure what your angle is here.

 

[hlrsr]

Casuals, really? Disrespect is disrespect whether you’re a casual fan or not. Not sure what your angle is here.

Huh. You said no one has issue with the termination itself but rather the manner it was handled. I'm telling you there certainly are many who believe the firing was itself wrong, in addition to believing the handling was wrong. And that's probably moreso the case amongst casuals from my observation.

 

[RutherPlan]

 

[Ita]

Can someone please tell me why the Canucks targetted Rick Tocchet?
His track records are underwhelming, to say the least.. What did they see in him?

Why not Joel Quenneville if they are not trying to tank?

 

[gringo]

That photo of OEL at practice today was so f***ing beautiful. Let’s go Tocch!
Player Discussion - Oliver Ekman-Larsson

 

[Egghead1999]

With all this talk you know that hasn’t been mentioned much? How much the Goalies might like the move and how we are tailoring our system around arguably our MVP and best player Demko.

You know the Goalies are going to be happier
With a more defensive system.

Good point.
Did his defence system work in AZ? You still need good defensemen. Or, you are believing "he can make chicken salad out of chicken shit"

 

[Buresflyingelbow]

Good point.
Did his defence system work in AZ? You still need good defensemen. Or, you are believing "he can make chicken salad out of chicken shit"

I have no idea? I’m just hoping they aren’t letting in 3-7 goals each game

 

[Vector]

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.

Everything I’ve read and heard about him is that he’s not a strategist. He’s big on managing the players and setting direction. This is why I’ve been saying that his assistant coaches will be very important.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

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.

question? it’s been pretty obvious what JR’s been doing since as early as the end of last season, hasn’t it?

 

[PuckMunchkin]

How the f*** did Tocchet swindle Aqua, JR and Chipmunk into giving him $2.75M/yr on a multi year deal?

Jesus.

Only guy willing to come here with the name recognition they want.

Or they did what they always do in UFA even under Jimbo. Got fixated on 1 guy and did what ever it takes to get him.

Would have been different during the summer.

It is what it is..?

 

[DonnyNucker]

I've been a bit conflicted with my thoughts on the whole situation the last few days. Now that it's done, I think I've figured myself out.

-They had to bring Bruce back based on last season's success. It's a no-win situation if they don't.

-The public comments by management bashing Boudreau were completely unnecessary and served no purpose. I can appreciate their honesty and frustration at the situation, but you need to filter yourself better than that. This is the most egregious thing they did, in my opinion.

-No problem with the team doing their diligence with other coaches this year. That it got public is unfortunate, but even still it's fine if handled appropriately.

-Aquilini is awful, but I think the attacks on him are mostly unwarranted on this specific issue only. He spent money on a President to handle the situation, and JR failed him with the previous comments and also this next part.

-The presser last week was handled poorly by JR. The cat was out of the bag at that point and some honesty and compassion towards Bruce would have gone a long way with the fan base. Another awful job by JR.

-Would have liked some more questions regarding the communication between Bruce/JR at that presser from the media. But ultimately, JR could have done more to help himself.

-The part of all this I'm a bit unsure about still is the role of the media here. For the most part, they are just doing their jobs. There is a frustrated fanbase here and I think the local media found something fans actually cared about and then pushed it really hard. The fans did their part, and then the rest of hockey media piled on and made it even bigger. This is fairly common in media.. but not hockey. Again, not really sure what to think about this part. In this case I think the media blowing it up led to something mostly good. But I know it's the same tactics that get people cancelled or railroaded and I'm not completely okay with that.

-Coach Bruce hasn't done a good job this year. He deserved to be fired. I also think Coach Bruce wanted to coach every game he could and he got to do that. Lots of respect from me for his career, but it was time to go.

-This is where I go back to the media/fan frenzy and why it's a bit insane to me. Other than JR's comments earlier this year and the lack of support at the press conference, the team did almost nothing wrong. They looked for a new coach. Bruce wanted to coach until the end, and he did.

-Bruce the person got put in a tough situation, but his firing was always going to be tough. It just ended up being more public because he was constantly bombarded with the media questions about it. I don't blame the media for that, I blame management mishandling the story.

-Personally, the "Bruce there it is" chants have been lame as hell since the beginning. I don't subscribe to coach worship and it bothers me when the fans are chanting for the coach after EP makes a nice play or Demko makes a nice save. All that being said, it was obvious Bruce really appreciated it the last two nights. Our fanbase can be a bit messy at times - I mean, there was a jersey toss for the first home game - but I think it was great to support Bruce given the situation.

-Overall, what a weird end to the Bruce chapter. We approached circus territory which we haven't had in awhile. I feel exhausted as a fan and am glad that chapter is over.

-I'm excited for the Tocchet era. This team needs an on-ice overhaul and it starts with the coach.

Agree with most of this…

1) the reason JR was vocal in the media was because he couldn’t fire Bruce. Bruce sucked and deserved to be fired. It’s a joke that Aquilini spent all this $ on a management team and wouldn’t let them hire a coach.

2) the crying over Bruce’s dismissal is pretty embarrassing as a life long Canucks fan. Grow up fans and media. This wouldn’t be an issue if it wasn’t leaked and management had autonomy. Poor Bruce is now earning $2 million to eat chips and watch wrestling.


Ownership sucks. But suck it up and let’s try to move on. Not a big fan of the new coaching staff but let’s give them a chance. It’s not easy convincing anyone to work for this franchise. Everyone STFU and let’s see how this plays out. The constant crying and victim mentality of this fanbase is really embarrassing

 

[F A N]

I've been a bit conflicted with my thoughts on the whole situation the last few days. Now that it's done, I think I've figured myself out.

-They had to bring Bruce back based on last season's success. It's a no-win situation if they don't.

-The public comments by management bashing Boudreau were completely unnecessary and served no purpose. I can appreciate their honesty and frustration at the situation, but you need to filter yourself better than that. This is the most egregious thing they did, in my opinion.

-No problem with the team doing their diligence with other coaches this year. That it got public is unfortunate, but even still it's fine if handled appropriately.

-Aquilini is awful, but I think the attacks on him are mostly unwarranted on this specific issue only. He spent money on a President to handle the situation, and JR failed him with the previous comments and also this next part.

-The presser last week was handled poorly by JR. The cat was out of the bag at that point and some honesty and compassion towards Bruce would have gone a long way with the fan base. Another awful job by JR.

-Would have liked some more questions regarding the communication between Bruce/JR at that presser from the media. But ultimately, JR could have done more to help himself.

-The part of all this I'm a bit unsure about still is the role of the media here. For the most part, they are just doing their jobs. There is a frustrated fanbase here and I think the local media found something fans actually cared about and then pushed it really hard. The fans did their part, and then the rest of hockey media piled on and made it even bigger. This is fairly common in media.. but not hockey. Again, not really sure what to think about this part. In this case I think the media blowing it up led to something mostly good. But I know it's the same tactics that get people cancelled or railroaded and I'm not completely okay with that.

-Coach Bruce hasn't done a good job this year. He deserved to be fired. I also think Coach Bruce wanted to coach every game he could and he got to do that. Lots of respect from me for his career, but it was time to go.

-This is where I go back to the media/fan frenzy and why it's a bit insane to me. Other than JR's comments earlier this year and the lack of support at the press conference, the team did almost nothing wrong. They looked for a new coach. Bruce wanted to coach until the end, and he did.

-Bruce the person got put in a tough situation, but his firing was always going to be tough. It just ended up being more public because he was constantly bombarded with the media questions about it. I don't blame the media for that, I blame management mishandling the story.

-Personally, the "Bruce there it is" chants have been lame as hell since the beginning. I don't subscribe to coach worship and it bothers me when the fans are chanting for the coach after EP makes a nice play or Demko makes a nice save. All that being said, it was obvious Bruce really appreciated it the last two nights. Our fanbase can be a bit messy at times - I mean, there was a jersey toss for the first home game - but I think it was great to support Bruce given the situation.

-Overall, what a weird end to the Bruce chapter. We approached circus territory which we haven't had in awhile. I feel exhausted as a fan and am glad that chapter is over.

-I'm excited for the Tocchet era. This team needs an on-ice overhaul and it starts with the coach.

I agree with most of what you said here. I'm kind of old school. When there's criticism, I'm used to the GM taking attention away from the coach and players and a coach taking attention away from the players. I'm not used to a GM/POHO drawing attention to the coach. Gillis didn't rip Torts when he got suspended. Burke didn't rip Keenan publicly when he was still the Canucks head coach and that's probably the most toxic relationship between management and coach in Canucks history.

In the work place, I don't think it's professional to rip your employee publicly or in front of his/her/their subordinates. Rutherford could have been candid about his feelings on the team's defensive structure for example while acknowledging Bruce's good work. Heck, both Allvin and JR seems to think that this is a young team. Allvin even said that we have one of the youngest teams in the league. One would expect a young team to suffer from defensive breakdowns more frequently. Even Tocchet talks about game management from the players.

Like I said in other posts, Aquilini was able to talk to Bruce and JR without the media being able to confirm their hirings weeks in advance. This really is an unprecedented situation. Have you ever heard of a situation where the players were able to say goodbye to the coach mid season after the game when the coach was fired the next morning? Like you said, JR failed Aquilini here.

If it is about timing, management could have given notice to Bruce (which I acknowledge is not the norm). They could have told him that they have decided to make a change and asked him if he wanted to coach the last few games. If not, they could have Yeo as the interim HC. All of this could have communicated to the players privately as well. Instead, Bruce was not officially fired but knew that the decision was made and the response from JR is that Bruce was under contract so why shouldn't he continue to coach?

I defended management in the situation surrounding Doerrie. I defended management in the situation surrounding Pearson. I don't defend management here. And as I said, all of this combined in the same year from supposedly competent management is concerning to me.

I'm not excited about the Tocchet era. But to be fair to him, this current rendition of the Canucks might be the most talented team he has coached in the NHL.

 

[Buresflyingelbow]

I see the vision management has going forward, it’s looking like player development around some of the best of their time and guys that have won.

Daniel, Henrik, Komeserick, Samuelson, Gonchar, Foote, Tocchet, Clark can all teach the game and have all won on various levels. It sounds like we are trying to retool as a plan and that means get younger, providing resources like we can should attract College/CHL free agents as well.

They really just assembled the biggest front office and Coaching staff in the NHL and clearly that was their vision. I think the country club vibe is gone now in the room, if you stick out at this point you’re gone.

 

[Svencouver]

I see the vision management has going forward, it’s looking like player development around some of the best of their time and guys that have won.

Daniel, Henrik, Komeserick, Samuelson, Gonchar, Foote, Tocchet, Clark can all teach the game and have all won on various levels. It sounds like we are trying to retool as a plan and that means get younger, providing resources like we can should attract College/CHL free agents as well.

They really just assembled the biggest front office and Coaching staff in the NHL and clearly that was their vision. I think the country club vibe is gone now in the room, if you stick out at this point you’re gone.

One of the things Gillis did well, and good management groups in general do, was maximizing what they had. Management is more than just acquisitions and dismissals. Moving players in and out and making trades and deals and signings. You need to get value out of every asset you already possess. IMO the most successful franchises in cap league sports are those with the most robust coaching and development programs and with the strongest cultures. Boston, Tampa, Carolina, Pittsburgh. Those are the model.

 

[Diversification]

Everything I’ve read and heard about him is that he’s not a strategist. He’s big on managing the players and setting direction. This is why I’ve been saying that his assistant coaches will be very important.

Then it's a good thing that he's being supported by *checks notes* Jason King (first NHL gig), Mike Yeo (widely reviled former Wild HC), Adam Foote (Kelowna Rockets failed coach) and Sergei Gonchar (via Zoom calls and also available by SMS).

 

[Egghead1999]

Agree with most of this…

1) the reason JR was vocal in the media was because he couldn’t fire Bruce. Bruce sucked and deserved to be fired. It’s a joke that Aquilini spent all this $ on a management team and wouldn’t let them hire a coach.

2) the crying over Bruce’s dismissal is pretty embarrassing as a life long Canucks fan. Grow up fans and media. This wouldn’t be an issue if it wasn’t leaked and management had autonomy. Poor Bruce is now earning $2 million to eat chips and watch wrestling.


Ownership sucks. But suck it up and let’s try to move on. Not a big fan of the new coaching staff but let’s give them a chance. It’s not easy convincing anyone to work for this franchise. Everyone STFU and let’s see how this plays out. The constant crying and victim mentality of this fanbase is really embarrassing

C'mon, did you know when JR started vocal in the media??? it was in the off-season. Bruce did not suck or did not deserve to be fired. He just came off 32-15-10. it was a calculated thing to put pressure on ownership to fire BB and on Bruce not to come back.
Give me a break. He wanted his own guy since the off-season. People know what happened and are not happy about it.

 

[gringo]

C'mon, did you know when JR started vocal in the media??? it was in the off-season. Bruce did not suck or did not deserve to be fired. He just came off 32-15-10. it was a calculated thing to put pressure on ownership to fire BB and on Bruce not to come back.
Give me a break. He wanted his own guy since the off-season. People know what happened and are not happy about it.

All new management teams deserve the right to pick their coach. The owner prevented that from happening since the offseason. The owner meddling is not something to be happy about.

 

[m9]

Agree with most of this…

1) the reason JR was vocal in the media was because he couldn’t fire Bruce. Bruce sucked and deserved to be fired. It’s a joke that Aquilini spent all this $ on a management team and wouldn’t let them hire a coach.

2) the crying over Bruce’s dismissal is pretty embarrassing as a life long Canucks fan. Grow up fans and media. This wouldn’t be an issue if it wasn’t leaked and management had autonomy. Poor Bruce is now earning $2 million to eat chips and watch wrestling.


Ownership sucks. But suck it up and let’s try to move on. Not a big fan of the new coaching staff but let’s give them a chance. It’s not easy convincing anyone to work for this franchise. Everyone STFU and let’s see how this plays out. The constant crying and victim mentality of this fanbase is really embarrassing

Really agree with #2 specifically. How fans/media have handled this is.. something. I'll bite my tongue a bit here to not offend some (well, most) people and just say that I am really in agreement.

I'm not excited about the Tocchet era. But to be fair to him, this current rendition of the Canucks might be the most talented team he has coached in the NHL.

He's been air-dropped into an awful situation. Fans are either going to complain if he wins games (ruining the tank) or complain if he loses games (this guy sucks, you should have just kept bruce!).

 

[TruGr1t]

Getting serious Travis Green vibes from Tocchet regarding how he talks and thinks about the game.

 

[gringo]

He's been air-dropped into an awful situation. Fans are either going to complain if he wins games (ruining the tank) or complain if he loses games (this guy sucks, you should have just kept bruce!).

Ya Well to borrow a line from JR “We all are! [in a tough spot]”