The Vancouver Canucks went into this season with a lot of optimism.
After parting ways with head coach Travis Green in the middle of last season, the team went out and hired Bruce Boudreau. Under Boudreau, the Canuck s went 32-15-10, giving fans hope that this season was going to be a good one.
Unfortunately for the Canucks and their fans, that has not been the case. As of this writing (Tuesday, January 10), the team is sixth in the Pacific Division and 26th in the NHL with a record of 17-19-2 and 37 points.
For starters, this team has a lot of trouble keeping the puck out of their net. The Canucks are 30th in the league in goals allowed, as they have given up 152 goals in 39 games (3.90 goals against per game).
It does not help that their starter, Thatcher Demko, went out with a lower-body injury back in early December and is expected to miss six weeks. Even when he was healthy, Demko, 27, was not great as he was 3-10-2 with a 3.93 goals-against average and a .883 save percentage in 15 games.
The team’s other two netminders, Collin Delia and Spencer Martin, have also struggled this season. Delia is 3-1 with a 3.14 goals-against average, and a .902 save percentage, while Martin is 11-8-0-1 with a 3.67 goals-against average, and a .881 save percentage.
Not surprisingly, the Canucks have the worst penalty kill in the league. The team has killed off just 68.1 percent of the penalties they have taken so far.
What is also alarming is that it looks like the Canucks are going to trade away one of their best players, Bo Horvat, at the deadline. Horvat leads the team with 29 goals and is second on the club with 44 points.
The reason why the Canucks will probably trade Horvat is that they made an error by giving a seven-year extension to J.T. Miller. Yes, Miller has 35 points, but he is starting to become a distraction both on and off the ice.
On the ice, he is not a good defensive player. He is -14, and if you watch him closely, you really do not see him backcheck.
Off the ice, he does not seem to take a lot of responsibility. The great Canucks Army blog pointed out as an example that after being on the ice for 14 goals against and being outscored 8-3 at 5-on-5, Miller said the following to reporters:
“I haven’t been on for a lot against.”
To make himself look even worse, he even tried to say that he was playing the game the right way.
“I’d like to say that my lack of production is a compliment to me not cheating the game and playing the right way,” Miller went on to state.
In an article on NHLRumors.com, they wrote about how Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Canucks have held several team meetings this season, none of which have really led to anything. Friedman believes that all of the stories and drama, most of them self-inflicted, have worn this group down.
Lastly, it appears that there is some disconnect between Boudreau and the team’s management. Boudreau wants to win every game, while Rutherford does not appear to be happy that he inherited a coach that he did not want as Boudreau was hired before Rutherford was.
There is a lot wrong with this franchise, folks. As such, it is going to take a lot for this organization to get back to working order.
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Self inflicted?? This article is exactly what is wrong with the canucks today. Seems like the media love to grab onto a team. Make stuff up, report false claims and run with it. Also doesnt help that JR and Allvin are a joke either. They 2 are part of this problem. Who would want to stay in that market with crap writers like Drance, Patterson etc making stuff up as they go along and only ever reporting the negative stuff and never anything positive. Thanks for joining the toxic reporting group of the Vancouver Canucks loser.