What a difference a year makes.
On Jan. 10, 2023, the Canucks went into Pittsburgh to play the Penguins, having lost four of their previous five games.
Bruce Boudreau was on his last legs as head coach, Brock Boeser had requested a trade and Canuck Nation was clamoring for a tank job to improve the chances of landing Connor Bedard in the NHL Entry Draft.
The Canucks would lose to Pittsburgh that night by a 5-4 margin to drop to 17-20-3.
Fast forward 365 days later.
The Canucks are in Pittsburgh again but under a totally different set of circumstances.
They are coming off their first ever B次元官网网址淣ew York Hat TrickB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� beating the Devils, Rangers and Islanders on the same road trip for the first time ever in team history to improve their record to 27-11-3 and are battling for first place in the overall standings. Boeser has 25 goals, tied for fifth in the league, and head coach Rick Tocchet has his team playing with such structure and poise that people are talking about the Canucks as Stanley Cup contenders.
While many are heaping praise on the likes of Tocchet, Boeser, Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller to name a few, one person who probably warrants a little more recognition is Canucks President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford.
Hiring Tocchet was a tremendous move but RutherfordB次元官网网址檚 job of revamping the teamB次元官网网址檚 blue line is flying under the radar.
When the Canucks played the Penguins last year their defensive corps that night featured Hughes, Tyler Myers, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Ethan Bear, Luke Schenn and Travis Dermott with Kyle Burroughs and Riley Stillman as scratches.
Only Hughes and Myers remain.
The organization has jettisoned everyone else and acquired the likes of Filip Hronek (trade), Ian Cole (free agent), Carson Soucy (free agent), Nikita Zadorov (trade), Noah Juulsen (trade) and Mark Friedman (trade).
ItB次元官网网址檚 been a remarkable transformation actually.
The blueline was identified early during RutherfordB次元官网网址檚 tenure as an area that needed to be improved.
In fact, during an interview on HNICB次元官网网址檚 After Hours on Oct. 22, 2022, Rutherford told Scott Oake and John Garrett B次元官网网址淏次元官网网址tB次元官网网址檚 not that easy. We donB次元官网网址檛 play fantasy hockey; we got a cap to deal with. WeB次元官网网址檝e got contracts that maybe weB次元官网网址檇 like to move that we canB次元官网网址檛 move, your hands kind of get tied a little bit. But weB次元官网网址檙e well aware that thatB次元官网网址檚 an area that we need to improve.B次元官网网址�
Unfortunately for Rutherford and general manager Patrik Allvin, one of those contracts was Ekman-LarssonB次元官网网址檚 but the subsequent buy-out of the 32-year-old Swede during the summer allowed the organization some flexibility to sign Cole and Soucy but the rebuild process actually started last March when the team acquired Hronek from the Islanders in the Bo Horvat deal.
Hronek, benefitting from being paired with Hughes, is putting up ridiculous numbers this season. He scored the first goal in TuesdayB次元官网网址檚 5-2 win against the Islanders in New York to up his season totals to 3-30-33. Hronek is on pace for 66 points, which would shatter his season-high of 38 points with Detroit.
Cole, lured away from Tampa Bay, has provided the team with solid play as the Canucks third defenseman in terms of minutes played, particularly when Soucy was knocked out of the lineup for two months with an ankle injury.
ZadorovB次元官网网址檚 acquisition from Calgary on December 3rd for a couple of draft choices surprised many, and although there have been some bumps in adapting to the Canucks system, he has been a solid depth acquisition.
Then there is the improvement from within.
MyersB次元官网网址� game has been more consistent with a reduction in turnovers. No longer having to go up against the oppositionB次元官网网址檚 top forwards on a regular basis, Myers has played a role that is better suited to his skills.
Juulsen, meanwhile, has been a pleasant surprise for the most part.
Forced into the lineup with SoucyB次元官网网址檚 injury, JuulsenB次元官网网址檚 game has improved to the point where Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet has enough confidence in playing the Abbotsford minor hockey product to give Cole the night off against the Islanders.
And, of course, there is Hughes.
Now in his fifth full season with the Canucks, Hughes has taken his game to another level and is the engine that drives the hockey club.
If you venture onto the Canucks website, you will find plenty of statistical nuggets regarding HughesB次元官网网址� performance but the one that grabbed me was the fact that with an assist against the Rangers, Hughes became the ninth defenseman in NHL history to post 50-plus points through their first 40 games of a season.
Let that resonate for a second.
The ninth defenseman in NHL historyB次元官网网址eah, the University of Michigan product is that special.
There is not much to be said about HughesB次元官网网址� play that hasnB次元官网网址檛 been said.
The new and improved blue line has allowed Tocchet and his staff to manage the workload of Hughes and Hronek, and now with everyone fully healthy, it will allow Tocchet to rotate players in and out of the group during the course of the season.
ItB次元官网网址檚 a good problem to have, yet at the same time, it can be trying when you have to tell someone who is playing well that theyB次元官网网址檙e coming out of the lineup for the night.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 the world I live in right now. WeB次元官网网址檝e got some healthy D. WeB次元官网网址檝e got some decisions to make but we will worry about that later,B次元官网网址� Tocchet told the assembled media after the win in Long Island.
He expanded when questioned on ColeB次元官网网址檚 reaction to sitting out, mentioning that Cole may not have liked the decision but understood it. Tocchet also noted that Cole was in the dressing room fist-pumping teammates prior to the game.
B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 why we acquired a guy like Ian Cole,B次元官网网址� said Tocchet, referring to the team-first attitude displayed by the 34-year-old.
That comment brought me back to something B.C. Lions head coach Rick Campbell mentioned to me at one point this past season. You have to bring in good players, explained Campbell, but you also have to bring in good people. Given what we have seen and heard from this team, it wonB次元官网网址檛 be an issue for the Canucks because they do have good people.
One too many defensemen is a great B次元官网网址榩roblemB次元官网网址� to have B次元官网网址� especially considering where this team was a year ago when it came to its blue line.
OVERTIME
* The win Tuesday night against the Islanders came on the heels of a 6-3 triumph against the Rangers on Monday. Vancouver beat the Devils 6-4 on Saturday to open the New York portion of their seven-game road trip. The B次元官网网址楴ew York Hat TrickB次元官网网址� was the first for the Canucks since the Devils moved to New Jersey in 1982 B次元官网网址� they were previously known as the Colorado Rockies (1976-1982) and the Kansas City Scouts (1974-76) prior to that.
* Hughes probably took some satisfaction in MichiganB次元官网网址檚 34-13 mauling of the Washington Huskies in the NCAA Championship game. Hughes spent two years in Ann Arbor with the Wolverines prior to joining the Canucks organization at the tail end of the 2018-19 season.
* Next up for the Canucks is a trip to Buffalo to face the Sabres on Saturday. Buffalo has been near the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings and is 4-6 in their last 10 games heading into FridayB次元官网网址檚 matchup against Ottawa.
Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob B次元官网网址渢he MojB次元官网网址� Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media.
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