Canucks: A win is a win, but the storm clouds of change continue to build

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You never criticize a victory.

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It doesn’t matter if the effort was a Picasso or a bad attempt to stay on the lines of painting by numbers, take the dots and brushes and move on. That’s what the Vancouver Canucks did on Monday in Montreal and could do on Wednesday in Ottawa.

However, the credo that winning solves everything and losing exposes the ugly things applies to the struggling NHL club that occupies the basement of the Pacific Division. An uncommon victory is not going to overlook a season gone by, a clamor for radical change and ownership throwing a wide net in consideration of the hockey operations department’s alterations.

That’s what two wins in the last eight road games do, two wins in the previous 11 outings, finding traction in every offensive category imaginable and a loss of consumer confidence. And when it affects the bottom line with disgruntled season ticket subscribers and the corporate community, it eventually leads to action.

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Meanwhile, the only certainty is the uncertainty with which road owner you may choose to travel with. Patience and the status quo can be a virtue, but it can also paralyze any organization that is unwilling to tackle issues. In that sense, we offer the following questions:

What will that pyramid of power look like? Will there be a president of hockey operations? Will the property find that crucial combination of business knowledge, hockey experience, and confidence in the delegation to guide the department?

Will the property go the old school way and pull a known candidate off the carousel to serve as general manager or will it elect a current assistant general manager or promote from within? And will he have the hammer to retain or replace the coach?

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There is genuine interest in taking over here in some way and widespread disgust on the part of former players who have seen the product go down.

Former Canucks winger Geoff Courtnall spoke candidly with Francesco Aquilini in the offseason about helping to reshape the franchise. But his strong supportive approach to understanding what drives players might have intimidated some, and whether that contributed to not being offered a position is open for debate.

Later, Henrik and Daniel Sedin were named special advisers to general manager Jim Benning and their level of interest in higher roles remains uncertain. What is certain is that former club forwards Garry Valk and Jannik Hansen recently expressed their dissatisfaction with the team’s direction and performance.

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That didn’t come as a surprise to Courtnall, who spoke Tuesday about where the Canucks are, where they need to go and what Aquilini is thinking. He has always invested and engaged in the now and rebuilding is not in his vocabulary.

“No one feels this more than the ownership group,” Courtnall said. “They want to win and they practically told them that this year the team would be good, and they are not. I’m sure (Aquilini) is upset. He wears the team on his sleeve and has given them the money to pay these guys, and put everything in place to launch a great product.

“They have great pieces, but they don’t have everything. Whether it’s confidence or whatever, they’ve played hard the last three games. But when you don’t think you’re going to win, you won’t. And that starts at the top, ”Courtnall said.

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The end result is always a priority for Aquilini Investment Group. Spending up to your salary cap in a world plagued by COVID-19, despite considerable income losses from your properties, including income from Rogers Arena, commercial real estate, restaurants, wineries, and fruit farms, speaks of a devotion to improve hockey product.

“These have been two unfortunate years for all of us,” added Courtnall. “All kinds of companies are struggling, whether to bring goods to oil and gas and there are many difficulties. They (AIG) are a strong group, they will figure it out. It is a priority for them and I am sure they are frustrated and talking a lot about what they are going to do.

“It’s going to take time. They haven’t made any knee-jerk decisions and that’s when franchises make mistakes. “

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As for the product on ice, what worries Courtnall is the collective unwillingness to turn close matches into victory. The Canucks look good enough to compete, but they are 4-6-2 in 1-goal scores.

“They have had an advantage in the third period and then all kinds of mistakes are mental mistakes that cost you the game,” he emphasized. “(Thatcher) Demko was amazing in the third period (Monday) and the players have to push themselves and compete harder and be smarter as a unit.”

Is that a training or execution problem?

Head coach Travis Green has tried to reach out to Elias Pettersson at every performance and personal level to overcome the puck fight and the fight to score. He scored a one-half power play goal on Monday, but has been relegated to the third row to complete his game, trigger the transition and gain time and opportunities in the offensive zone.

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“There is a lot of talent on that team, but a lot of pieces are missing, especially in the back (defense),” added Courtnall. But the game has changed. It is not so easy to make exchanges (dollar entry, dollar exit). You have to enter the season with the right guys.

“I just want the team to win, that’s all that matters to me.”

The concept that the Canucks are Aquilini’s toy because he always dreamed of owning an NHL team, and his own arena, doesn’t sit well with Courtnall.

“It is a business for them,” he said. “And success is winning and they take it very seriously. There are many of us who have played here and we have passion for the team. It is much better than the record when it comes to skill, but all teams are much better now on average than they were five years ago. There are no easy games. “

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As for Pettersson’s strategy to move him down the lineup and hopefully improve his game just as strongly, Courtnall understands why he can relate.

“They put me on the third line many times when I wasn’t scoring,” he recalled. “Get more out of yourself because the game is about confidence and it’s 90% mental. When you’re confident, the shots you make that shouldn’t go in, go in. And when I press the stick, those who should enter, do not enter. “

Which brings us to this. The franchise has reached a fork in the organizational road and must make a decision.

Aquilini expected his club to be in the playoffs. And if he wasn’t in that position by Christmas, it’s no exaggeration to suggest he was going to blow something up.

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