The Vancouver Canucks have, for the most part, configured their roster for next season. Now, they have to focus on extending their head coach Travis Green.
Simply put, the Vancouver Canucks wouldn’t be the team they are today if it wasn’t for head coach, Travis Green. The bench boss of Canada’s west coast hockey club got the support of his players during the team’s 50th season and he managed to guide the Canucks to their first playoffs appearance in five years.
Not only that, but Green’s unique coaching style was enough to help Vancouver’s young guns overcome the Minnesota Wild, dethrone the defending Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues, and survive going toe-to-toe with the Vegas Golden Knights for seven straight contests.
No matter which way you slice it, that’s a hell of a resume for a coach taking his first stab at coaching NHL playoff hockey. He got the underdog Canucks within one game of the Western Conference Finals. Not many people would have predicted such an impressive feat.
Now, Green is about to enter the final year of his 4-year contract with the Canucks. Vancouver has Green behind the bench for 2021 and as long as the season doesn’t turn out to be a complete dumpster fire, it should be a top priority for Jim Benning to ink him to a new deal with Vancouver. In fact, according to TSN insider Rick Dhaliwal, it is probably wise a deal gets done sooner rather than later.
"“If this guy hits the free agent market, there will be a lot of teams after him, a lot of teams after him. People noticed. People noticed what Green did. If he gets to free agency, they are going to lose him. [The] bottom line, they will lose him. Don’t play hardball with the guy.”"
Not only did Green put the Canucks back on the NHL’s radar, but he also put himself under the microscope of other NHL franchises. And as a greener NHL coach with no playoff experience up until this year, the 49-year-old did a really good job proving he has what it takes to be a top NHL coach.
Of course, there is still time between now and the end of Green’s four-year deal to come up with something new, but it’s best that the Canucks don’t take too long. Green has the entire locker room behind his decision making and if it’s broke, don’t fix it. Benning needs to do what is best here and that’s to pay the man what he deserves.