VANCOUVER — Rick Tocchet has begun the painstaking work of transforming the beleaguered Vancouver Canucks — a process that he says won't be speedy.
"I think the group is trying to work hard," the head coach said after leading his team through a lengthy practice Thursday. "The coaching staff, I wish we had more time.”
The Canucks have gone 3-5-1 since Vancouver fired former head coach Bruce Boudreau and placed Tocchet behind the bench on Jan. 22. The club lingers near the bottom of the NHL standings with a 21-30-4 record on the season.
Lessons the revamped coaching staff — including Tocchet, new assistant coach Adam Foote and new defensive development coach Sergei Gonchar — are teaching have started to filter into the Canucks' in-game play, but there are many steps still to go, said Elias Pettersson.
"He's trying to build an identity for us and we’ve just got to take it day by day, try to build it and find what works for us," said the star centre, who's been elevated to one of the team's four assistant captains under Tocchet.
"It's not like he’s asking for everybody to change their style of play. It's just the way he wants us to defend, to be more aggressive, or to defend all over the ice. So hopefully, we'll learn faster.”
Defence continues to be an issue for the Canucks.
The team has averaged 4.06 goals-against per game this season, the second most in the league behind only the Anaheim Ducks (4.13), and given up at least five goals in 26 of 55 games, including four of its last five outings.
Bad habits persist throughout the lineup, Tocchet said, like guys spinning away from checks instead of trying to go through their opponents, and until the team learns how to "embrace the pain," little will change.
Many of the lessons the newly minted coach is trying to impact usually come in training camp and pre-season play, and making changes "on the fly" midseason is difficult, he said.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do, I’m going to be quite frank. That’s not an indictment of anybody, it’s just the way it is," he said.
“I know people want results and I’m worried about the other stuff. The results will come if we do that stuff. We’re not going to win hockey games if we forget about the process. You just can’t.”
One trait Tocchet wanted to see more of from his team on Thursday was chatter on the ice. Talking to your linemates can make a big difference, said the former NHL forward.
“Hockey’s a fast sport. And if I can tell my buddy ‘I got him,’ that half second can be the difference between a goal," the coach said.
"You can’t be quiet on the ice. Because if you talk and trust your partner, you’re going to get that extra half second. Half a second in the NHL, people might not realize it, but it’s huge in hockey.”
During his three and a half weeks with the Canucks, Tocchet has been frank in assessing his players, telling reporters when he believes an athlete has had a bad night and detailing what he wants the group to work on, from defensive markings to fitness.
He's also noted the positive play of some players, including Phillip Di Giuseppe, a 29-year-old forward who spent much of this season with the American Hockey League's Abbotsford Canucks.
Players who come up from the minors are often more likely to buy in to a new coach's system "because they're desperate," Tocchet said.
It's a quality he wants to see more of from the rest of his group.
“Even our leadership group, they’ve got to make each other accountable," he said. "When they’re going five-on-five against each other, I want to see them go best on best. I want (Pettersson) and (J.T. Miller) to go at it in a good way to challenge themselves. Good players want that.”
One player who's still looking to impress the new coaching staff is forward Jack Studnicka. The 23-year-old centre has played just three games under Tocchet after being sidelined by an illness over the all-star break.
Proving himself is nothing new to Studnicka, who's on his third coach of the season after being dealt to Vancouver by the Boston Bruins in October.
“It’s a challenge, for sure. But that’s our job, to show up and just kind of focus on ourselves," Studnicka said. "And hopefully, the right people see you doing the right things. It’s definitely been a lot of change for myself this year, a lot of change, a lot of turnover. But I’m having fun with it.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 16, 2023.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
