Do hear that ever growing loud buzzing noise? Those are the whispers regarding the newest potential Canucks head coach getting louder. First it was Dallas Eakins as the front runner until he struck Oil in Edmonton as a great fit for a young core team. Next in the front runner positions are John Stevens who is currently an assistant coach in LA, Lindy Ruff who was fired earlier in the year by Buffalo and former head coach of the NY Rangers the ever colorful John Tortorella.
The most interesting of the three candidates is perhaps John Tortorella not just because of his colorful way of dealing with the media but because former Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault has reportedly signed a 5-year contract with the New York Rangers [rumored to be worth $10 million].
Wouldn’t it be something if these two switch places? I know I am not the only one who would be slightly amused by role reversals. Both cities are hockey markets where the fans and media alike have expectations on the daily basis from both the coach and the team. It is not yet official as to who will be the next coach for the Canucks but the rumors regarding Torts to Vancouver are getting louder with each day that passes. Best of luck in New York AV!
What are your thoughts #CanuckNation about the possibility of Torts coming to the Canucks as head coach? He has Stanley Cup experience[Tampa Bay], and has worked in a hockey mad market[New York] and can more than handle whatever the media tries to throw at him. Perhaps he could be a the trigger to light a fire under this team or perhaps not. Imagine Torts addressing the media…can you picture it? I think he would have tone down his colorful commentary slightly but sometimes the media in this town are crazy and should be called on it.Maybe he will be the next head coach or maybe Gillis and company will go another direction [Stevens or Ruff or perhaps a former player will be added to the mix!]. All that being said the team will hopefully name a coach prior to the draft and free agency madness.
Any of you still watching the Stanley Cup Final? Its a hard match up for me to watch as a Canucks fan..but because I am a fan of the GAME itself I have watched. Currently 3 games done and Boston leads the series 2-1. The first two games both went to overtime [stretching over 10 periods of hockey!]. The third game has been the only one to end in regulation and Boston taking the series lead. Rask is a huge part of the reason why Boston has been so good this post-season and he proved that in game 3 posting his 3rd shutout in the last 7 games. Game 4 will be a series changer if Boston takes the 3-1 series lead OR if Chicago finds their scoring touch and returns to Chicago with a tied series. I will not pick a side in this series but it will be interesting to see how the rest of this series goes as a hockey fan.
In other NHL news, Logan Couture has inked a new 5-year contract worth $30 million [an annual cap hit of $6 million] and Pavel Datsyuk has signed a 3-year contract extension worth $22.5 million[an annual cap hit of $7.5 million]. Rumor has it that LA is preparing to trade back up goalie Jonathan Bernier with Toronto and Philadelphia emerging as the frontrunners in that race. For Philadelphia it would be great to give Bernier a chance as a starter and to push Steve Mason. For Toronto it simply raises more questions regarding their goal-tending situation as it seems no matter how good James Reimer plays it is never good enough. Then again, LA was supposedly going to trade Bernier last year.
The drama never seems to end in the hockey world. By next week’s end the Stanley Cup Final will be over and the draft about the start. Trades pace the NHL draft prior to the start of the craze that is free agency beginning July 5.
I will sign off today, asking you #CanuckNation: who do you think will be the next Canucks head coach? Drop a comment with your choice/reason regarding the coach you’d like to see behind the bench!
As always, until next time, nuck said.
Sarah E.L.
nucksaid 