Tag: Vancouver Canucks

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Matthew Barnaby chimes in on the coaching situations in Vancouver and Ottawa.

Craig Melvin/Getty

Over the last several days we have seen a number of coaches around the National Hockey League get their walking papers after their respective teams failed to make the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs.

At this time of year the question is always who will be the next domino to fall, and although we don’t know the answer to that, it sounds like there are at least 2 coaches who should be feeling pretty safe. On Sunday, former NHL enforcer Matthew Barnaby took to social media and, unprompted, shared his thoughts on the coaching situation currently in Vancouver.

The Canucks of course famously made a mid-season coaching change when they brought in Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet and relieved Bruce Boudreau of his head coaching duties, and Barnaby believes that Tocchet will turn that team around in short order.

“Coaches can make a team or break a team at any level,” said Barnaby on Sunday. “Trust me there are some bad ones. A great one is Rick Tocchet. He is going to change the culture and turn the Canucks into a winner”

Barnaby was asked about a number of other coaches around the league but thus far has only chosen to respond to one of those, a question about DJ Smith’s future in Ottawa. When it comes to Smith, Barnaby wasn’t as confident as he was with Tocchet, but he did suggest that the Sens head coach deserves another season behind the bench.

“I would keep status quo one more year,” admitted Barnaby.

As a former NHL player that played for several teams and under several coaches, and as a former assistant coach in the Ontario Hockey League, Barnaby likely has a pretty good idea of what he is talking about here.

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Bo Horvat apologizes for inflammatory Vancouver comments.

New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat got himself into a little hot water over the weekend when he made some public comments about his former team that were pretty inflammatory in their nature.

After the Islanders picked up a much needed win in their hunt for a playoff spot on Saturday night, Horvat participated in a post-game interview in front of the fans at UBS Arena and it was then that he made the comments. Horvat took what seemed like an entirely unprompted shot at his former team and their fans after he was asked what came off as a relatively run of the mill question during a post game interview.

Question: How does this rank for you in playoff pushes, the excitement of this building and the fans’ involvement over the last couple of games?

“It’s been unbelievable,” answered Horvat before then taking an unprompted shot at the Canucks and their fans. “It’s a lot better than Vancouver I’ll tell you that for free.”

Horvat’s comments drew widespread attention and likely cost him more than a few fans in the city of Vancouver, and on Monday morning he addressed the issue when speaking with the media. Horvat claimed that he got a little caught up in the excitement of the moment and stressed that the comments came off worse than he intended, before apologizing for the comments altogether.

“I wasn’t obviously expecting that,” said Horvat when asked about the reaction to his comments this weekend. “It was kind of a heat of the moment thing. I didn’t mean any disrespect to the fans of Vancouver or my teammates or city of Vancouver at all. It wasn’t directed at them at all. The (Islanders) fans were all excited, and I was excited to be in a playoff push. It was just kind of one of those things where my emotions got the best of me. I was just really happy to be there to be honest with you. It might have come out the wrong way to a lot of people so I apologize for that. I’m just excited to be in the position right now, to be in a playoff push, to be right there. I really enjoyed my time in Vancouver, I’m not trying to disrespect them at all. I’m sorry if it offended anybody but l’m really happy to be in this position right now. I’m really happy to be here, and I just wanted to express that. It maybe, like I said, came out the wrong way to a lot of people.”

There’s no telling if Horvat’s apology will undo any of the damage those comments made to how he is perceived in the Vancouver market.

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Bo Horvat takes a brutal shot at the Vancouver Canucks and their fans.

The fans of the Vancouver Canucks may not be looking at their Bo Horvat jerseys with the same fondness that they once did after these comments from their former captain.

On Saturday night, Horvat took a shot at his former team and their fans after he was asked what was a relatively run of the mill question during a post game interview.

Question: How does this rank for you in playoff pushes, the excitement of this building and the fans’ involvement over the last couple of games?

“It’s been unbelievable,” answered Horvat before then taking an unprompted shot at the Canucks and their fans. “It’s a lot better than Vancouver I’ll tell you that for free.”

The fact that the comments about Vancouver came without any provocation made them seem somewhat mean-spirited on the part of Horvat, but perhaps, if you’re looking to give him the benefit of the doubt, with how poorly the season went for the Canucks he is just very happy to be in a new organization.

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Canucks hint at big changes coming to Rogers Arena

Sportsnet

The Vancouver Canucks have called Rogers Arena (originally called General Motors Place) since the 1995-96 NHL season. And despite several upgrades having been made in the venue’s near three decade existence, there are aspects that show its age. The original faded maroon seats especially clash with the blue and green uniform scheme, while the scoreboard (which was the biggest in the NHL upon introduction in 2007, replacing the original) is now growing obsolete by comparison to newer buildings and models. 

While there hasn’t been any talk regarding a new scoreboard for the venue, there have been discussions in regards to new seats. Earlier this season, Canucks president of business operations Michael Doyle hinted that replacements were on the way.

“I think one of the most popular questions on social media is [about] our seats, and I can tell you that we do have plans for the seats,” said Doyle. “I won’t tell you what colour, but yes, we do have plans for the seats soon.”

Former team COO Jeff Stipec stated over five years ago now that it was time for an upgrade with regards to the faded seats:

“We’re coming up to the life of those seats and I think when we do change them, they’ll be more aligned with the brand and the colours of the organization,” said Stipec. “I can’t see us bringing in the crimson red seats as a new buy. I think it would be in the blue and green just to match the team.”

Canucks fans, what color would you like to see the new seats at Rogers Arena be? 

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Canucks deliver bad news on Filip Hronek

The Hockey News

The rebuilding Vancouver Canucks brought aboard a key asset at this year’s NHL Trade Deadline, acquiring offensive minded defenseman Filip Hronek from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a conditional first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. 

And while he’ll be under contract for another season after the current one ends, Canucks fans will have to wait until the fall to see him suit up for them again. It was announced earlier today that Hronek won’t play again for the remainder of the regular season and will be focusing on strengthening his shoulder in order to be ready for the start of next season.

In 64 games played this season split between Detroit and Vancouver, Hronek has tallied a career high 39 points (nine goals, 30 assists).