We are getting close to the peak of the off-season… but not quite there yet. Hopefully everyone has some nice summer plans going to actually get outside and enjoy their lives.
A few Canucks notes:
- The Canucks signed Daniel Sprong to a 1 year, $975k contract a few days ago. Sprong will provide some solid depth scoring for the Canucks, but also has a contract that’s buriable if he struggles in Tocchet’s system. Sprong has scored well the past few years, but hasn’t been trusted as his defensive game has some big warts to it. It’s something he knows, it’s something Tocc and the coaching staff know – and talked to him about. That convo helped convince Sprong to sign in Vancouver.
“I talked to Vancouver and spoke to coach Toc and we had a really good conversation on the phone,” Sprong said. “We’ve known each other when I got drafted by Pittsburgh and I played under him when he was an assistant coach. We had a really good talk, and I felt really happy after that call, and the decision was a no-brainer after that.
“I think sometimes my defensive game can be a little bit of a weakness, and it’s the coach’s trust in certain situations that affects my ice time. And that’s something we talked about, and we’re going to work on in Van, to gain the trust and be reliable in those situations, and I’m working on it over the summer to work on those details.
“It’s not just for myself; it’s for my team as well, and for the guys that I’m playing with… Those are all things we talked about, and I know what I can bring to the team and what the opportunities are by getting the trust and doing things the way they want.”
Sprong is also close with Pettersson and DeBrusk, so it should help his transition into the team be a bit more fluid. Either which way, he’s excited to be joining the team, and hopes this year will lead to more in the future.
“I’m hoping Vancouver is not a one-year thing. That’s something with the talks we had, it’s somewhere that I could see myself being here long term and that’s really what excited me… I wanted to put myself in a situation where I can be happy and be in a situation where an opportunity is and be a part of a good team and an opportunity for me to be somewhere long term. With the team they have, it’s a great core group. You have a top three defenceman on the back end with Hughes and a top five goalie in Demko… Pettersson, Miller; Boeser had a great year last year, and when I spoke to the head coach, we talked about those things and the opportunity. That’s really what excited me.”
- The Canucks have released their schedule for next year, and by their own standards it’s pretty light on the travel. They’re going to rack up the 14th most miles in the NHL next season, which is comparatively light when they’re normally ranking in the top 5.
- Tocchet had a good chat with Drance at the Athletic about the post-playoff defeat, how he’s tackling the off-season, and what he’s doing to step up the team's game next year. If you want to read it, the link is here: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5653774/2024/07/24/canucks-rick-tocchet-jack-adams/
A couple good quotes from the article…
On him prepping for next year:
If I’m asking the players, how are you going to do better to handle pressure and be connected going into next year, then I have to be the same way.
I can’t just come back with the same playbook and the same style of coaching. I have to figure out how to get better too.
On opening up the offense:
We want to give the guys a little bit more rope. Then there’s the question, are we mature enough to handle it? Our team has bought into this stuff, so I want to freshen up the ideas that I give them. I think if we do that, we’re going to get a bit more creative as a team.
So I have to give them a bit more rope and a bit more freshness. That’s something I’ve got to do. And I think every coach has to do that every year.
On DeBrusk with Petey:
Obviously we need to get Pettersson some people to play with. The guy needs some people to play with, and we understand that.
Now Pettersson has to do some stuff himself, that’s a different conversation, and he needs to sharpen his game in certain spots. In terms of finding players that can fit with him, though, DeBrusk is that player.
I would be lying to you if I said I wasn’t interested in seeing what DeBrusk-Miller-Boeser could do as a line too. A north-south guy that’s fast as hell and can stretch the zone, that’s exactly the type of guy that you want Miller to have too. So is that Heinen or Sherwood or Nils Höglander if he improves his game?
That said, I have to get Pettersson a winger of DeBrusk’s calibre.
Let's all go touch some grass, and leave the politics and conspiracy theories to the other thread.
Quotes from Canucks Army and the Athletic.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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