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Canucks: Is Travis Green the right head coach?

By William Akers

EDMONTON, ALBERTA - AUGUST 04: Head Coach Travis Green of the Vancouver Canucks looks on from the bench in Game Two of the Western Conference Qualification Round against the Minnesota Wild prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on August 04, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)
EDMONTON, ALBERTA - AUGUST 04: Head Coach Travis Green of the Vancouver Canucks looks on from the bench in Game Two of the Western Conference Qualification Round against the Minnesota Wild prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on August 04, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images) /
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Despite a poor 23-29-4 record to finish the 2020-21 season, whilst being hailed as Canada’s basement dwellers after finishing 7th in the North Division, it appears that the Vancouver Canucks still strongly believe in head coach Travis Green.

Specifically, current under-fire General Manager Jim Benning, who has been the topic of recent fan outcry, seems to be committed to Green’s expertise for the near future, signing him to a two-year extension shortly after the season ended.

Recently, the Canucks and Benning also officially announced the additions of new assistant coach Brad Shaw, and new assistant/special assignment coach Kyle Gustafson to Green’s staff, thus signalling the continuation of Green’s tenure. Now, despite the organization’s commitment to Green and his staff, important questions still need to be answered.

Is Green really the coach that Vancouver fans can get behind? Is he the one to lead the Canucks back to the postseason and to their first ever Stanley Cup capture? Based on the history that Green holds as a head coach in the NHL, the answer to that is probably not what the organization believes it is.

Since becoming a head coach in 2012 with the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL, Green has endured little sustained success at any level. After a promising first season in the WHL, Green quickly made the jump to the AHL where he led the Utica Comets to two playoff berths and one Calder Cup final appearance in four years. Despite the hope and potential surrounding him after his initial hire with the Canucks, Green has struggled to live up to expectations in Vancouver.

Green has been behind the bench in Vancouver for four seasons after taking over in 2017, and holds an overall regular season record of 125-132-32 during that time. He has led the Canucks to only one playoff appearance, which happened to come during the pandemic-shortened season of 2019-20. The team was eventually eliminated in the second round at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights. Twice, Green has led the Canucks to last place finishes in their division, with minimal progress and promise on the ice throughout his tenure.

The Canucks need a seasoned leader behind the bench to gel their roster, which currently has a mix of wildly young talents and aging overpaid veterans.  An incumbent, inexperienced coach, which Green appears to still be, is not a recipe for success. Whilst Green may still become a great head coach in the NHL down the road, the time to find that out should not be in Vancouver, given the organization’s turbulent times right now.

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What are your thoughts on the team’s future with Green at the helm? Make sure to drop a comment below!

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