Canucks News: Linden to Look at Coaching Options, Desjardins Worried

The Vancouver Canucks are not winning nearly enough hockey games to make a serious playoff push. But the coach is not the issue.

Following a 28th-place finish in the 2015-16 season, Vancouver Canucks fans were convinced their team could push for the playoffs the next year. And they did, to a certain extent, but are now back in the conversation for the first-overall draft pick.

One person that has been hit by a lot of the blame is head coach Willie Desjardins.

He sure deserves criticism after some more than controversial decisions.

I just don’t think he’s the reason for a lack of success.

Looking at Options

Luke Fox (Sportsnet) — Linden: Canucks to look at coaching options at end of season

The future of Willie Desjardins as coach of the Vancouver Canucks has been in doubt at various points during a tumultuous season, and that uncertainty will carry into the off-season.“We’re going to take our time and look at our options at the end of the season,” Canucks president Trevor Linden told a Vancouver sports radio station Tuesday, regarding the head coach (via Pro Hockey Talk). “I’ll have to do a full assessment of our organization, as I always do, and we’ll move forward from that point.”

First, I want to say that we shouldn’t read too much into this. Because there clearly is a right way and a wrong way to interpret this information.

Canucks president Trevor Linden will look into coaching options. Guess what — that’s his job.

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The Canucks brass, led by Linden, is responsible for the club’s success. So, when the success isn’t there, it is Linden’s job to find the reason why.

In the process, he will look at Desjardins’ tenure with the Canucks, he will look at GM Jim Benning‘s work, he will look into the roster and every other aspect that plays into this.

And as much as I hate to see Jayson Megna getting 300 percent of Nikolay Goldobin‘s ice time on some nights, I don’t think Desjardins is the reason for the Canucks’ issues. It isn’t Benning either.

The roster just isn’t good enough.

Canucks management is working on the rebuild, but as long as it isn’t completed — or at least progressed — there isn’t much Desjardins could do.

Desjardins Worried

Kevin Woodley (NHL.com) — Willie Desjardins knows future with Canucks in doubt

Desjardins was asked Wednesday about comments made by Canucks president of hockey operations Trevor Linden the day before, when he said he plans to “look at our options” at coach after this season.“I think it always matters to you; how could it not matter? That’s your job you are looking at,” Desjardins said. “But I can’t control that. I can control what I do with the team, I can control the players, and I feel like the organization always has to look at things, they just have to.”

Doing your job to your best ability and then hearing your boss say he’s considering other options is not a situation one likes to be in. But, since professional sports are a little different from other fields, that is exactly Desjardins’ current position.

But, as Desjardins also explained, it’s part of the business, and the organisation always has to explore their options. Because it’s part of their job.

And as Adam Proteau suggests, Desjardins might not have to worry about his future.

I’m not really sure how many NHL clubs would be willing to give him a shot. But given that Desjardins led the Canucks to a playoff appearance in his first year with the club and didn’t have a good-enough roster the following years, I wouldn’t be surprised to see interest from other organisations.

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Then again, that’s also the reason why he should stay with the Canucks.