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[Report] Canucks fire Willie Desjardins


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4 minutes ago, alfstonker said:

Who knows Alf. It smacked of lack of balls and self preservation.

I am a fan of the Club so I hope they don't live to regret this move. They could easily have given him his last year after all we were heading in the right direction regarding the development of our young players.

You are missing a huge but under the radar factor (from a fan mentality). They need to sell hope and progress after three years of regression.

 

Desjardins did some good things and is a good coach. With a better team that can outscore their defensive shell enough he will likely be a good coach next time around. 

 

The overriding factor though I think is just the placating of fans plus with a few coaches becoming available maybe they got the guy they want.

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23 minutes ago, nucksnavsfan said:

Guys on the radio were talking about how the Aquelini's like big names /celebrity to get attention for the team 

I.e. TO signing Babcock ( bigger level  than what the Canucks could pull off ) but they felt they would be more likely to go will a more ' famous / well known / successful ' coach rather than another rookie like Green 

What guys on the radio?

 

Wadr - we've been down that road before - and got what we deserved in the form of the Tortorella gong-show - perhaps the most embarrassing and public in-fighting episode in franchise history (rivaled only by Keenan) - with inexcusable results in the process.

 

Going down that route again - of ownership selecting a coach - a "star" or whatever...

 

First time tragedy.  Second time farce. 

No thanks.

 

Let Benning do his job.

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No surprises with the WD firing though, as it has been said many times already, he's hardly the main problem.

 

My main interests this summer are:

 

  1. what pick the Canucks end up with in the draft lottery;
  2. the expansion draft; and
  3. what happens at the NHL Entry draft.

After last summer where management insisted on continuing down the "retool" path, I want to see what they end up doing, i.e. more trades, more picks and more focus on prospect development/opportunity.

 

I think the main way this management group will fail this summer is if they don't acknowledge (even implicitly) that the rebuild should have started sooner and also continue bringing in a patchwork of veterans that don't fit into where the team is at.  I fully expect another loss-filled season next year, but I'm fine with it as long as our prospects develop.

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2 hours ago, Neversummer said:

And or retread Crawford

I'd much rather Crawford over Hitchcock.  There's something about Hitchcock, I just can't stand the guy.  If I was a player (and I am an athlete) I don't think that I would respond well to Hitchcock's style of coaching (i.e. always in a bad mood, seems to have a giant chip on his shoulder).  Crow is emotional, which is fine (it's an emotional game) but at least he seems to want rapport with his players (and seemed to get it when he was here last).  Maybe a certain kind of player likes or respects Hitchcock's style, but not me.  GCG!

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8 minutes ago, oldnews said:

You're assuming they were obligated to keep Desjardins, simply because the roster was depleted - and that he did a good job with the youth.

I agree with you - that he did a great job with Baertschi, Horvat, Sbisa, Granlund, etc.   But it's not necessarily about "blame", or holding Desjardins responsble for results.  I suspect that's not really what the decision is about.

 

I'd guess that it's primarily about business - selling hope, selling tickets - to a market that has turned wholesale against a coach. 

Is it the moral high ground to fire that coach?  No. 

 

But at the same time, their AHL coach - one of the best in the business - is also expiring - I suspect - just my take on 'intuition' alone - but I think that also plays a part in the decision.   There are also all kinds of things we simply don't know - ie what the working relationship was between management and the coaching staff down the stretch.  It was a difficult, stressful end to the season.  It's possible that relationship deteriorated as Utica became somewhat more focal - imo for good reason - than the Canuck's lineup.

Regardless - Desjardins imo was good with the youth - but that's not the only thing his job hinged on.

I liked some things about Desjardins - disagreed with a few - but imo this is not a Gerard Gallant type situation where you should be coming out railing against the decision makers as if they're bleeping cowards.

Well in my book a leader/ President of Hockey etc (Linden) should have more knowledge about hockey than the owners OR the fans and it was his job to imprint his opinion/view on those paying for his advice/leadership. There are few, very few coaches imo who could have done better with this roster and injuries than WD did. 

 

If Linden believed he hired the right man to develop these boys he should have stood his ground.

 

Instead he has gone for the easy option - another spin of the wheel and thereby an extension of his gutless presidency. I hope for all our sakes it doesn't backfire on him.

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Willie's choices of player deployment were questionable at best. Big power player minutes were given to Sedins/Edler/some other useless plug, and he had a frequent love for certain players who suck. Megna, Vey come to mind. Playing Sedins in defensive zone faceoffs or late in the game. I for one am glad he is gone, I can recall most games this season questioning Willies calls during games. Then again, im no NHL coach, but it's just my opinion. He had his positives as well.

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3 hours ago, Boeser6 said:

Wow that was quick - I guess there is always a fall guy and reality is 2 finishes in the bottom 3 regardless of your roster isn't a position you have leverage in

 

I really hope they bring in a strong coach now - Like Toronto did - we just cant keep having a revolving door. 

Somebody to pay well and keep on 4 years minimum?  It's what we need, and WD was clearly a transition guy.  Who is, however, at Babcock's level? 

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4 minutes ago, Hutton Wink said:

Willie says his farewells to the Vancouver sports media...

 

 

I honestly wish he'd unleashed a bit more of that in his tenure.

 

And the odd F bomb in press conferences as well.

 

Regardless of who replaces him - they'd better be prepared to deal with some of the most ignorant ingrates in the business.

 

Brian Burke might be the only guy that really dealt with the Vancouver media appropriately.

There is no "Cancucksarmy" here.  There is only an endless battery of weasel insurgency.

 

Not unlike that which got Gallant fired in Florida.

 

Botchford, Paterson, Gallagher, Pass It To Boo,  the BoyScouts - seriously - any coach that comes here better be willing to show some teeth.

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3 minutes ago, oldnews said:

What guys on the radio?

 

Wadr - we've been down that road before - and got what we deserved in the form of the Tortorella gong-show - perhaps the most embarrassing and public in-fighting episode in franchise history (rivaled only by Keenan) - with inexcusable results in the process.

 

Going down that route again - of ownership selecting a coach - a "star" or whatever...

 

First time tragedy.  Second time farce. 

No thanks.

 

Let Benning do his job.

It was Sekeres and Patterson earlier. They weren't necessarily agreeing with the idea just saying that is the m.o. Of this ownership group. Yes their 'choice' of Torterella was a big bust for sure.

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