Desjardins fired: 4 takeaways from Canucks president Linden's presser
Vancouver Canucks president Trevor Linden met with the media Monday afternoon after the club announced the firing of head coach Willie Desjardins in the morning.
Below are some of the more significant takeaways from the press conference.
Owning it
"(General manager) Jim (Benning) and I sit up here every bit as responsible," Linden said about the disappointing season the Canucks had, finishing second last in the league with 69 points, and the decision to let the coaching staff go.
Vancouver ranked 29th in goals per game (2.2), 24th in goals against (2.9), 29th on the power play (14.1 percent), and 28th on the penalty kill (76.7 percent). It was bad, any way you want to look at it.
Youth movement
Citing Troy Stecher and Nikita Tryamkin as examples of young players who were able to make the team and stick, Benning said the same approach will be used next season.
"When I look at where we are today, I'm a lot more optimistic than I've ever been. Our young players are good and prospect pool is deep" -TL
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) April 10, 2017
"We're three years into this, we're encouraged, but it takes time to develop young players and build a new young core," Linden added.
Vancouver did well at the deadline to acquire Jonathan Dahlen and Nikolay Goldobin for veterans Alex Burrows and Jannik Hansen, but the team still needs to get younger.
The Canucks ranked 17th in the NHL on opening night of the season with an average age of 27.6 (which has come down), according to The Athletic's James Mirtle.
Brock Boeser, drafted 23rd overall in 2015, had an impressive late-season cameo, scoring four goals in nine games. He'll be on the team next season.
Goaltender Thatcher Demko, selected 36th overall in 2014, has a .911 save percentage in his first season in the AHL. He's 21, and goalies take time, but there's promise here.
Unfortunately, sixth overall pick in 2014 Jake Virtanen did not have as much success in the AHL. He has nine goals and 18 points in 62 games.
Defenseman Olli Juolevi, drafted fifth overall last year, had another strong season in the OHL, with 10 goals and 42 points in 58 games.
Last August, ESPN ranked the Canucks' system the 13th-best in the NHL (Insider content), up from 15th, mentioning Juolevi, Demko, and Boeser as top-flight talent.
Oh, and there's also Bo Horvat, who at 22 next month has become both the present and future of the club. He led the team in scoring, the first time a non-Sedin did since 2005-06, when Markus Naslund paced the club with 79 points.
Miller time ... still?
Seemingly at odds with the youth movement is the desire to bring back free-agent goaltender Ryan Miller, who will turn 37 in July.
Benning confirmed he's spoken with Miller's agent, and that Miller will speak to his family before making a decision.
"We'd love to have him back," Benning said.
Miller had a .914 save percentage in 54 starts in his third season in Vancouver. Backup Jacob Markstrom, 27, signed through 2019-20, finished at .910 in 26 games (23 starts).
This is where it gets tricky for the Canucks. They clearly have a desire to put a competitive - in their terms, at least - team on the ice while the Sedin twins are still in Vancouver, but the Swedes don't fit into the youth movement either. They'll be 37 in September and are signed through next season.
"Our future is the kids and when they get up and play, that's a lot of fun," Linden said. "We're encouraged about what the future looks like."
If that's truly the case, it's time to make the difficult decision to try to trade the twins.
2017 Draft
Benning said the Canucks won't draft by positional need, which is obviously the right play. Vancouver has the second-best odds to land the first overall pick, presumed to be either forward Nolan Patrick or forward Nico Hischier.
Vancouver has six picks in the coming draft:
| Round | Picks |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 1* |
| 3 | 1 |
| 4 | 2 (Conditional from SJ) |
| 5 | 0 |
| 6 | 0 |
| 7 | 1 |
* Vancouver's owed a second-round pick in either 2017 or 2018 from the Blue Jackets as compensation for head coach John Tortorella.
The condition on the pick from the San Jose Sharks, acquired in the Hansen deal, is a big one. It becomes a first-round selection should San Jose win the Stanley Cup.
Go Sharks, in other words, if you're a Canucks supporter.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)