Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened
Photo by Bob Frid – USA TODAY Sports
During the 2022/23 NHL season, following a home loss to the Minnesota Wild, the Vancouver Canucks were booed off the ice by their own fans. Days later, chants of “sell the team” echoed through the arena so loud that they could be heard over television broadcasts. It seemed, after a full decade of mediocre regular season performances, many Canucks fans were ready to throw in the towel. The front office’s refusal to tear down and rebuild left us wondering when, if ever, the team would be back in the playoff picture.
Turns out, it was a lot sooner than we thought.
The recently-concluded 2023/24 campaign, which saw the Canucks finish first in the Pacific division, was their third best in club history. Though it may have ended on a bitter note, as the Canucks were ultimately felled by the Edmonton Oilers in game seven of the second round, fans should by no means consider this season a fluke. Rather, it was a foundation upon which a genuinely impressive hockey team is poised to redefine itself.
Why should you believe this? Well, there’s a couple of reasons.
Foremost is the emergence of head coach Rick Tocchet. In his first full season behind the bench, Tocchet has been a steady and unrelenting presence. His hands-on coaching style, based largely on honesty, responsibility, and accountability, has endeared him to fans and players alike.
“He’s genuine and he wants you to improve and he also wants us to win,” Canucks winger Connor Garland said of Tocchet in a January interview with Sportsnet. “It’s easy to buy in when you have that.”
An expert strategist, Tocchet is never afraid to make drastic changes to his lines or schemes. His decision to reunite the affectionately termed “Lotto Line” — a forward trio of J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, and Brock Boeser — was the source of several dominant victories and provided a substantial midseason boost for the club. Tocchet is the current favourite to win this season’s Jack Adams award.
Equally important to the Canucks’ success have been the moves made by GM Patrick Allvin, who many of us — including me — owe an apology. Last year’s trade for Filip Hronek, initially scorned by much of the fanbase, has proven to be a winner. Hronek was electric this season, finishing fifth on the team in points and eleventh league-wide in plus/minus.
Meanwhile, the trade deadline acquisitions of Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm proved that, for the first time in years, the Canucks are making playoff-minded moves. Zadorov and Lindholm fit the exact archetypes needed for deep postseason runs — the former a gritty, hard-hitting defenseman with surprising touch around the net, the latter an elite two-way centre. Physicality is something the Canucks have historically lacked (2011, anyone?), but it looks like those woes may be finally over.
World-class goaltending, in the form of both Thatcher Demko and, in a surprise twist, 23-year-old Arturs Silovs, should leave Canucks fans feeling giddy. The depth scoring inspires confidence too. Dakota Joshua, Nils Hoglander, and Sam Lafferty all ended the season with career highs in points; Pius Suter potted the lone goal in game six to end the Nashville series; and fan-favourite Connor Garland has arguably been the clutch player of the season, scoring big goals in crucial moments.
Yet, perhaps the biggest reason for this season’s accomplishments? You, the fan.
Last year, the Canucks had the seventh worst home record in the league. This year, they had the fourth best. Rogers Arena has become an absolute nightmare for visiting teams. It’s loud, it’s chaotic, it’s in your face. Even the Green Men, Canucks superfan legends, returned this season after an eight-year hiatus.
As the clocks wound down on game seven, the Canucks faithful watched their team, lying exhausted on the ice, defeated and emotional. And then they did something they never would have done last season.
All at once, they began to cheer.
They cheered as the players picked themselves up. They cheered as the players shook hands with the opposition. They cheered as the players went to their dressing room.
This was the season that Canucks fans fell in love with their team again, and in that moment, their message was clear:
Don’t worry — we’ll be back.
