With the Canucks sitting dead last in the NHL by nearly 10 points, who will be held responsible for their current predicament?
Could the Canucks fire Head Coach Adam Foote? Of course they could, but according to NHL insider Darren Dreger, the Canucks have no interest in firing Foote.
Dreger says that Canucks management is very supportive of Adam Foote right now, and that Foote is in constant dialogue with Patrik Allvin and Jim Rutherford.
With the calamity that is currently the Vancouver Canucks, it is good to know that the head coach and front office are at least in communication and are in sync, especially given the amount of young talent the Canucks currently have and are in the midst of developing.
But as seasons go on, job security amongst head coaches and management is something that seems to be decreasing. Professional sports are becoming more results oriented, and with more time, money, and energy being poured into sports franchises than ever before, team owners want return on their investment.
As far as Adam Foote goes, he inherited an ugly situation, and former Canucks bench boss Rick Tocchet was able to make a swift exit this past offseason, likely in anticipation of what was to come.
With that being said, I think it is agreeable that the current predicament the Canucks find themselves in is not the fault of Head Coach Adam Foote, but instead that of the front office.
As I touched on a while back, the Canucks have lost all of the following players since the end of the 2023-2024 NHL season:
Quinn Hughes
J.T. Miller
Elias Lindholm
Nikita Zadorov
Kiefer Sherwood
Pius Suter
Dakota Joshua
Vasili Podkolzin
Ian Cole
Casey DeSmith
Arturs Silovs
The Canucks have done well more recently in trading Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild and Kiefer Sherwood to the San Jose Sharks, but much of the talent on this list was lost for what has amounted to Filip Chytil, Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor.
These are all fine players, but it is clear that the Canucks do not have the horses to compete in the Western Conference right now, and need a sustained run of quality draft selections, quality player acquisitions and a shift in culture.
Is this management’s last chance?
My belief is that if Canucks management is unable to steer the franchise in the right direction within the next 1-2 seasons, someone else will be given an opportunity to do so.
Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin has only held the position since the 2022 season, and President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford has been with the Canucks since the end of 2021. The duo began their Canucks tenures strong, but with much of the talent from those successes in the rear view mirror, the tide has turned quickly for the organization this season.
So far the front office has done an adequate job of building up their prospect pool, but the Canucks truly need a complete roster overhaul that can allow for the newer and younger players to get reps at the pro level, continue to work with the coaching staff to develop their abilities, and most importantly create a new culture and leadership within the Canucks locker room, something that has alluded them the last year plus.