Team president Jim Rutherford has a big task ahead to fix the problems ailing the Canucks, on defense and mending the relationship between Vancouver’s two star players
Vancouver Canucks' J.T. Miller talks to Elias Pettersson before the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, in Vancouver, on Jan. 25.Amid the drama engulfing the Vancouver Canucks and their two star players, J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson, the one person who has had responsibility for managing this team crisis on a daily basis has been coach Rick Tocchet.
Lord knows, Tocchet has tried to get through to Pettersson, even working with him one-on-one before practices to help the player rediscover the form that so excited the organization during his first few years in uniform. So far that hasn’t worked. Maybe it’s the burden of the massive contract he signed.
The team’s mediocre season can’t solely be laid at the feet of their feuding stars. Their franchise goaltender, Thatcher Demko, has not been very good since his return late last year from a knee injury suffered during the first round of the 2024 playoffs. Everyone can see that. The fact the Canucks are even sniffing a playoff spot is due largely to the play of “backup” Kevin Lankinen and captain Quinn Hughes.
He acknowledged the team misses Ian Cole and Nikita Zadorov, who said he loved his time in Vancouver and wished he could have stayed. However, he said in published interviews he felt disrespected during the negotiation process, an accusation that mystifies Rutherford. Regardless, Rutherford understands that if the Canucks are “going to get back to being a contending team, we’re going to need to make additions to the defence. Those prices are high by the way.”
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