The energy really got drained from the team last year. We finally made a big move trading Bo, it seemed to inject some type of energy, like a weight had lifted from their shoulders. We also added Tochett, Gonchar, and Foote to our staff. All of a sudden, Hughes and Petey were taking leadership strides, Miller was more engaged, and the team started to communicate and click more.

Under Tochett the Canucks went 20-12-0-4. That’s a 100 point pace over 82 games, good enough for the 2nd wildcard spot. This was all with many rotations at defence, and really nothing left to play for. Since then, you could argue we’ve become more defensively sound, with statistically more effective pkers, a rounded out top 4, and a 3C who can win playoffs and lock it down defensively.

9 comments

  1. I don’t really care how yelly Miller gets in the locker room.

    None of that matters if he starts the season the same way he did last year.

  3. Fuck yeah really needed to see this.

    Video never fails to pump me up, got a paper that needs writing and JT Miller screaming at me was just the motivation I needed

  4. Yeah, but don’t forget that the Canucks went 32-15-10 after Boudreau came in the year before and that was a 106 point pace. New coaching bumps aren’t unheard of and we’re going to get the real acid test of how Tocchet does as a coach when he’s got the team from the jump.

  5. Nah, I hope the team crashes and burns, and keeps on doing that until Aquaman is forced to sell it. As much as I like people like Petey and Hughes, eking out a wildcard spot should not be the goal. Winning a round or two should not be the goal. Even getting hot and making it to the Finals should not be the goal. The Cup should be the goal, period. This team has over 50 years of futility in that regard, and there’s no reason to believe it will be different as long as the team is owned by an incompetent meddler like Aquaman.

    You’re also forgetting that the team played the same way when Boudreau first got hired. Winning a bunch of meaningless games down the stretch after crapping the bed to start the year means nothing.

  6. Yes, the team went 20-12-4 with Rick Tocchet, but that was with a far easier schedule than what Bruce Boudreau had to work with. Don’t forget Bruce Boudreau went 32-15-10 when he took over on 2021-2022, and he’s no longer the coach. So I am not getting my hopes up.

  7. They have to have success early. If they dig themselves a hole at the start of the season yet again, they’re absolutely fucked. The issue is they’ve invested too much into a roster that ultimately hasn’t proven much.

  8. I sure hope we get it together. I’m losing interest with each passing season of mediocrity, and I know I’m not alone.

    My big takeaway from this post is that a 100 point pace is only good for second wild card (or it was last year). I knew that, I guess, but it flies in the face of the “weak West” narrative some people espouse. 100 points is a 61% points percentage. You have to be a pretty damn good team to make playoffs in the west. Note that last year, the cutoff for the East ended up being 92 points.

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