Vancouver Canucks close out dismal regular season

For long-suffering Vancouver Canucks fans, the team’s brutal regular season finally comes to an end Thursday.

It’s been a rollercoaster of a season given the firing of former head coach Bruce Boudreau and the trading of former captain Bo Horvat, but it’s had its positives with a number of players having successful campaigns, including Elias Pettersson who reached the 100-point mark this week.

EP40 HITS ! pic.twitter.com/KgPHnLwpJu

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) April 12, 2023

But any positives are being outweighed by the team’s angry fanbase which, according to Sportsnet 650 Host Mike Halford, have a right to be angry right now as the team misses the playoffs, again.

“For Canucks fans it’s way too many years of having done that. There’s a Groundhog Day effect of this death march where it’s the same thing over and over again and eventually, it either goes to heights of frustration or heights of apathy… either way, it’s not good for a fanbase,” explained Halford.

It’s been a rollercoaster of a season for the Vancouver Canucks, given the firing of former head coach Bruce Boudreau and the trading of former captain Bo Horvat, but it’s had its positives with a number of players having successful campaigns, including Elias Pettersson who reached the 100-point mark this week. (Courtesy Twitter/@Canucks)

He thinks there are definitely fans out there who have climbed off the bandwagon and have given up on this team.

“It’s hard putting a lot of time and effort and emotion and all the things into a team that perennially doesn’t win, is constantly changing the direction that they want to go in. A lot of people will question the direction period and this year, in particular. People sometimes get upset but then when they realize how upset they’re getting over a professional sports franchise, that’s when the apathy starts to set in. It’s a lot of losing.”

With the Senators winning, the Canucks cannot finish higher than 11th worse, meaning they’ll have a slim shot at winning the Bedard sweepstakes regardless of what happens in these final 3 games

— Satiar Shah (@SatiarShah) April 11, 2023

Halford says after consistently missing the post-season for the better part of a decade, fans are exhausted. But what could help turn things around is if they see improvements on the ice.

“There has to be a lot of faith in what they’ve got currently,” said Halford, referring to the likes of Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, Thatcher Demko, and J.T. Miller. “They can build around this. But it takes so much to build around the three or four guys and your timing needs to be right. Guys have to improve internally and get better every year coming back.”

Halford says another positive takeaway is having Rick Tocchet behind the bench.

“I think he’s the kind of coach who’s going to demand a lot and if they don’t give it, then they’ll find someone else to come play. There are reasons to be hopeful, but it’s going to take a lot to get there.”

“Is that an apology? … He just said I didn’t mean any disrespect… He pulled a Will Ferrell in Talladega Knights.”

@BikNizzar investigates Bo Horvat calling out Vancouver Canucks fans.

— Sportsnet 650 (@Sportsnet650) April 10, 2023

Earlier this year, Canucks President Jim Rutherford held a very blunt news conference where he said the Canucks needed “major surgery,” and suggested it could be a contender in the next couple of years.

“He’s right that if it’s going to go right, it has to happen in two to three years because that’s when you’re going to have Pettersson and Hughes, in particular, take that next step to be the leaders of the team. This is the time to do it. J.T. Miller doesn’t get any younger and… Demko is a big one too,” Halford said.

“Goalies tend to break down the more they play and the older they get. But, they’re really far behind hitting the gas and [going]. You talk about being a [Stanley] Cup contender in two to three years, they’re not a playoff contender right now. They’re far out of that and that’s a problem. You want to see more growth in the lead-up and it’s flatlined.”

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Halford says the dynamic around the team’s coaching staff has changed for the better and that should help push the team into the playoffs.

“It’s totally different from when Boudreau was here. There actually seems to be a connection between management in the front office and the coaching staff. [Tocchet] will be like a taskmaster and I think that’s a good thing. I also think if he draws a line in the sand and says, ‘You either meet it or you don’t,’ then management can respond by saying, ‘We’re backing our head coach and we’ll make changes.'”

Halford says it should be an interesting summer as team brass tries to improve the line-up. “The last thing they can do is get off to another slow start when they’re supposed to be on the trajectory upward.”

Thursday’s game will also be the final call from the booth for regional broadcasts for John Garrett.

Tune in to Sportsnet 650 Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. to hear Mike Halford on Halford & Brough In The Morning.