Vancouver Canucks head coach Adam Foote finally had enough after Monday night’s 4-3 loss to the New York Islanders at Rogers Arena.
Despite his team being dead last in the NHL standings, Foote usually had a tendency to protect his team after a defeat but that wasn’t the case after the Canucks 11th straight loss.
In his post-game media session, Foote called out his veteran players for their lack of composure when things start going sideways.
“There’s a lot of positives. The veterans have been doing a great job leading, but getting to the second period tonight, our veterans are the ones who feel defeated first. We get off our game and we get frustrated and we overcomplicate it – slamming the gate – and things like that,” he said. “It’s something we have to get out of our culture. Our culture is not going to be that anymore. It’s something we’ve got to stop.”
The coach then followed up with examples from the game noting a seven-minute stretch in the second period in which the Islanders scored a pair of goals.
“I’ve been watching this for too long. We’ve got to stop burning ourselves by getting frustrated. We’ve got to stay within the plan. You know it’s our vets – they have to hang in there.”
Foote says this issue has been “lingering” all year long and has really surfaced during the recent losing streak. Asked if this is a byproduct of the winless drought, Foote didn’t hesitate to double down on his initial comments.
“You could say that’s what it is. Maybe this year, where we got it out of them for the most part, but it’s always been there. It’s been going on here for a few years. Even without this season — even with guys that aren’t here anymore — when it didn’t go their way, they over-created or frustration came into play.
“Whether it was bad changes or slamming the gate, the other teams are pretty bright. They can see that and you give them the juice. You give them the energy and it all snowballs,” he explained.
In fact, it’s something Foote and former head coach Rick Tocchet identified prior to being hired by the organization.
“When I came here and watched 10 games before I took the job with Rick, we could see it as clear as day and we worked on it for a long time. We almost got it out completely but it’s still there. We cannot give the other team energy because we get frustrated. We get off a little, get pissy and slightly defeated. We can’t do that to ourselves because the league is too good.
“They then take advantage of it and we claw back — which I’ll give our guys credit for — but we cannot go rogue or get the defeated feeling and be frustrated. If they want to win and be more consistent, they’ve got to get it out and it starts with our vets.”
The fact of the matter is that a lack of strong leadership was identified as an issue at the end of last season. It was well-known that certain members of the organization believed that the leadership group of the team wasn’t strong enough yet the only move Canucks management made in the off-season was to trade for Evander Kane.
The front office trusted the group they had moving forward despite being told that the leadership dynamic had to change.
Now adversity – as in a 11-game winless streak – is revealing character.
As we mentioned in a previous column, these are uncharted waters for even most of the veterans. How they react and conduct themselves the remainder of the season will have a huge bearing on their future in Vancouver.
Monday night, Foote put those veterans on notice.
Although he didn’t come out and say it, the consequences are pretty clear: Either change or you won’t be part of what the Canucks are trying to build.
Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob “the Moj” Marjanovich writes about the B.C. sporting scene for Black Press Media. This column is brought to you in part by:
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