Feb 19, 2016; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Vancouver Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins watches from his bench against the Calgary Flames during the third period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary Flames won 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 19, 2016; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Vancouver Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins watches from his bench against the Calgary Flames during the third period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary Flames won 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports /
No matter what the Vancouver Canucks say, the coaching controversy is far from over.
Is it just me or do the Vancouver Canucks have two legitimate candidates to bring in as new coaches this offseason? Sure, Willie Desjardins is in full control of the ship this season. That ship is a sinking one, solely saved by the influx of youth serving as the silver lining.
Just look at the standings. No silver lining to be found there.
By the end of the weekend, the Canucks could be in the bottom five of the league standings. Do I foresee the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames passing the Canucks by the end of the coming week?
But regardless of this season’s ultimate outcome — whether it be the youth or the points (the lack thereof) in the standings — in view of the season to come, Desjardins is definitely not a logical sure-shot to be Vancouver’s bench boss.
Apparently not in Trevor Linden’s opinion. The President of Hockey Operations of the Canucks assured his staff and his fans that the entire Desjardins coaching crew will be back next season. Here is his quote from Ben Kuzma of The Province.
“We expected to be very young this year — which we are — and we’ve handed Willie a real challenge with several rookies on any give night and I think he has performed well. I’m not making any excuses, but there’s no reason for us to consider a change. The rookies have made steps. Nothing is perfect.” (Trevor Linden, The Province)
But what about Travis Green? Has he not done enough yet to earn himself a promotion of sorts? Who in the recent history of the Canucks organization has led the AHL farm team to the Calder Cup Finals? Who is feeding Vancouver with players like Mike Zalewski and Brendan Gaunce?
And what about good ol’ Marc Crawford? Has his wonderful stint in the Swiss Elite League not put him on the short-list for an NHL coaching gig? Who wants Willie Desjardins when one can have Marc Crawford instead?
So here it is, the Canucklehead Lament, presenting the potential for a change behind the bench for the Vancouver Canucks. Whatever the management says, logic says otherwise.
Travis Green is the current coach of the AHL Utica Comets, hailed by some to be the “next one” in coaching for the Vancouver Canucks. He led the Utica Comets to the Calder Cup playoffs last year and is leading the farm team back to the playoffs this year. The Comets are sixth in the Eastern Conference this year.
Though some may say that this is not a great feat, considering that two former first-round picks were traded out this season from his lineup this year, Green is fighting an uphill battle and managing to bull through despite a slow start. Hunter Shinkaruk and Nicklas Jensen had combined for 51 points in combined 72 games played this season for Green before getting traded away to the Calgary Flames and the New York Rangers, respectively.
Shinkaruk and Jensen are not the only ones. The Comets lost their captain to the Vancouver Canucks in the form of defenceman Alex Biega midway through the season. They lost one of the best netminders of the AHL in Jacob Markstrom to the Canucks to start the year, and Richard Bachman, Markstrom’s replacement, has been sub-par. Bachman is putting up .900 save percentage nights.
If that isn’t great coaching, I don’t know what is.
The crisis here is that Green’s three-year contract is ending this summer. I would wager that some NHL teams are looking at him and salivating at the chance. The Minnesota Wild, perhaps, after firing Mike Yeo a couple of weeks ago.
The case for Green does not end here. With the youth movement in full swing, AHL products are going to trickle through to the Canucks sooner rather than later. Brendan Gaunce is a prime example, and so is Biega. Next year that list could expand to accommodate Alex Grenier and Andrey Pedan.
Case Against Travis Green
The only knock on Green, though, is the lack of experience. Willie Desjardins also has junior experience and experience coaching overseas in Japan. I am sure that his experience will aid when Nikita Tryamkin makes the transition to the NHL.
Remember, Anton Rodin and Philip Larsen are both set to join the Canucks next year, too.
And with the lack of experience, wonder if hiring Green is a bit of a slap in the face for guys like Dan Hamhuis, Ryan Miller, and Alex Burrows.
Say what you want about Marc Crawford — he has never had a losing year in the six years as the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks from 1999 to 2006. More recently speaking, his 125-47-22 record in his past three years as the head coach of the Zurich Lions in the Swiss Elite League should tell you that he is ready to return to the NHL.
Well, he is. I wouldn’t put his name on here otherwise. Let’s get right to the point.
History and Experience
Well, it was Crawford who planted the young Sedins in the Canucks organization when they came in for the 2000-2001 NHL season. Look where the Sedins are now. But there is more.
Also just wrapping up his season in Zurich, Auston Matthews is coming over to North America. Who says Crawford can’t wait until the NHL Draft is over and goes along as a package with Matthews to stay with his star player?
Who says that can’t be the Canucks?
Sportsnet’s Joe Pack has a great piece about Marc Crawford and his NHL experience with young elite talent. On his list are Matthews, the Sedins, Peter Forsberg, Anze Kopitar, and Jamie Benn. Brock Boeser would certainly love to be on that list. The young Canucks lineup would love to take a shot at the honours, too.Steals like
Steals like Ben Hutton and Boeser don’t happen every day. Let’s get Crawford to nurture these players properly.
The Timing of it All
Before anything, here is a tweet from TSN1040’s segment with Crawford.
Is it too much to ask or could the Canucks ask Crawford to take a “hometown discount” of sorts to return to the Canucks organization in the form of staying in the AHL for just one year?
We looked at how Travis Green could be coveted. Instead of flipping Willie Desjardins for Crawford, how about flipping Green for Crawford? This allows the Canucks to stay true to their commitment to stay with Willie for at least one more year while allowing Crawford to adjust to the NHL again. You know, the NHL has changed a lot since Crawford last coached in North America.
Add to the win-win situation the fact that the Comets could benefit from a coach like Crawford prospects-wise. Players who are set to be with the Comets next year — guys like Jordan Subban, Cole Cassels, maybe Jared McCann, and maybe Thatcher Demko — will greatly benefit from it. Especially in the case of Subban and McCann — wonder what McCann could be under Crawford’s special tutelage.
And then Crawford could come up to the NHL in 2017-18 alongside Subban and McCann, joining Boeser, Demko, and many others. Certainly sounds like a plan that is a win-win for everyone involved. Green gets his promotion to the NHL, Willie stays the full length of his three-year contract, Crawford gets time to adjust to the NHL, and the Canucks reap dividends with their youth.
Next: Case for WILLIE DESJARDINS
Apr 25, 2015; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Vancouver Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins on his bench against the Calgary Flames during the third period in game six of the first round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary Flames won 7-4. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports /
Case for Willie Desjardins
And of course, real good Willie Desjardins is still here, in the second year of his three-year contract. Unless the Canucks extend him, I expect that the 2016-17 season will be the last one for Willie in Vancouver, perhaps the last one in the NHL for him.
Let’s read more about what Trevor Linden had to say. This, again, is from Province Sports.
Linden on how Desjardins relates to his players: “We’ve seen improvement and that speaks to the staff and the older players and some mentoring there. I like the fact he connects well with the players and he understands them and respects them. And these are tough circumstances. Our group for the most part has played hard and he gets the most out of them.” Linden on how Desjardins has handled criticism: “In Vancouver, it’s tough. You’re scrutinized in everything you do and people want to place blame wherever they can. He’s done a good job and work hard. He’s got the fire and wants to win.”
With that in mind, here is what I say.
Just let it be.
Let the man have his wish, to work four lines of youth and to give Sedins some fatigue-less nights. The youth movement, as rough and tumble as this season has been, happened. Sure, Bo Horvat and Jared McCann are having their slumps and Jake Virtanen needed a whipping from the World Juniors to get his play to where it is now — but otherwise the team’s transition to becoming the Medicine Hat Tigers a young team has been seamless.
After all, it is just one more season. To end his tenure with a terrible finish to the season marred by injuries to his captain, second-best centreman, three of the top-four defencemen, and his starting netminder… that is a nightmare way to get fired. And of course, Linden has already committed to him for the coming season. Just let it be.
You know, playing four lines means that Jake Virtanen gets the same minutes as, let’s say, Emerson Etem. But it will also mean that Brendan Gaunce gets some 12 minutes of ice time on any given night. Like a juniors team that wants to develop all of its players, the Canucks could use Willie’s distribution of ice time to transition the youth into the NHL.Why not?
Why not? The city has survived one year of it already?
Willie Desjardins was on the hot seat for Vancouver as the team plummeted. Now that the falling has stalled, Trevor Linden has assured the city that the real good bench boss will be seeing out the last year of his three-year contract as the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks.
Sure, losing Travis Green is not the ideal situation, but with the commitment to Willie and the contract expiring for Green, unless Green passes an immediate jump to the NHL for the sake of the Canucks, he will be gone to start 2016-17.
I am with good ol’ Crawford on this one. What a story it will be to have Marc Crawford return behind the benches for Vancouver? Could he be the charm to bring Auston Matthews here? Who knows. Even if Matthews ends up in the hands of a Pacific Division rival, Crawford will have some answers for the teenage phenom.
Let Crawford work with Utica, let him transition to the NHL, and let him have his heart warmed with the return to his former club. Teams like Minnesota could be on the lookout for him, but — in Crow I Trust that he will forgo a hasty throw into the NHL to work with the young when promised to succeed Desjardins as the next head coach of the Vancouver Canucks.
And that was this week’s edition of the Canucklehead Lament, a call for the return of Crawford to his nest here in Vancouver.
