Lowly Vancouver Canucks hire Bruce Boudreau to replace Travis Green as coach amid major management shake-up
The Vancouver Canucks fired coach Travis Inexperienced and common supervisor Jim Benning on Sunday, the crew introduced, signaling a wave of change throughout the ailing franchise.
With the crew caught in final place within the Pacific Division, Bruce Boudreau was employed to switch Inexperienced. Boudreau is the twentieth coach for the Canucks.
Assistant GM John Weisbrod and assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner have been additionally dismissed.
“To start with, I want to sincerely thank Jim, John, Travis and Nolan for his or her ardour and dedication to the group and our group,” mentioned Canucks chairman Francesco Aquilini in an announcement. “We’re grateful for all the pieces you will have executed for the Canucks throughout your tenure and we want you each success sooner or later.
“These are powerful selections, however we believed we’d have a aggressive group this yr, so I am extraordinarily dissatisfied with the crew’s efficiency thus far. I am making these adjustments as a result of we wish to construct a crew that’s” combating championships and it is time new management acquired us there. “
Scott Walker, 49, has been named Boudreau’s assistant coach. Walker performed 4 seasons on the appropriate wing for the Canucks from 1994 to ’98. He beforehand coached the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League and served because the Storm’s President of Hockey Operations.
Stan Smyl will function Vancouver’s interim GM, whereas Ryan Johnson will function the GM’s interim assistant.
The shock comes a day after a discouraging house loss, with followers expressing their displeasure with “Hearth Benning” chants. 58-year-old Benning was identified for some stable draft picks and questionable free agent signings in his eight seasons as GM.
Inexperienced was promoted to Vancouver’s bench on April 26, 2017 after teaching the membership’s American Hockey League subsidiary, the Utica Comets. Regardless of a powerful run within the 2020 NHL playoff bubble, he was sacked after 289 video games, ending on a file 125-132-32.
Vancouver made the postseason solely as soon as in Inexperienced’s tenure, in the course of the pandemic-curtailed 2019-20 season, however that run was promising. The Canucks reached the second spherical in Edmonton, Alberta that summer season and finally fell in opposition to the Vegas Golden Knights.
This season has been a disastrous one for Vancouver because the Canucks set the second worst file within the Western Convention at 8-15-2.
Final month, Inexperienced dismissed questions on being within the sizzling seat amid the rising refrain of indignant followers calling for change.
“I do not hearken to the noise,” Inexperienced informed reporters. “I am simply frightened about teaching the crew. I perceive when individuals get upset. However … it would not have an effect on me.”
Shortly after Inexperienced made these feedback, Benning met with the media and he didn’t give Inexperienced a vote of confidence.
“We take a look at all the pieces,” mentioned Benning on the time. “We’re looking for options to our issues, and Travis and his workers work arduous. Dropping burdens them simply because it burdens us all. That is one thing I did not count on to occur after the strikes we made this summer season. But it surely occurs and we have now to cope with it. “
After a collection of headlines about his future, Inexperienced agreed to a contract extension with the Canucks on Might 21, extending his contract for 2 extra years. However the Canucks have had a number of issues this season, probably the most obvious of which is their lack of star energy, and Inexperienced simply hasn’t been capable of finding the correct mix.
Star middle Elias Pettersson, who signed a three-year $ 22 million deal in October, was nearly invisible with simply 4 targets in his first 25 video games. Brock Boeser led Vancouver on factors final season however has solely scored 10 factors in 22 video games thus far. Captain Bo Horvat additionally struggled and solely scored 13 factors.
On the finish of November, even Canucks gamers weren’t hiding their frustrations anymore. After a 4-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, which marked Vancouver’s seventh loss in eight video games, JT Miller was requested if everybody within the locker room would nonetheless be up for it.
“I do not know,” Miller mentioned, sparking one other flurry of criticism in opposition to the Canucks’ poor efficiency.
Coincidentally, it was one other 4-1 loss to the Penguins – Saturday on house ice – that appears to have been the final nail in Inexperienced’s coffin. Due to this fact, the stress to vary issues rapidly underneath Boudreau and the brand new workers will likely be nice.
This Canucks alternative will mark Boudreau’s fourth place as an NHL coach, after serving with the Washington Capitals, Anaheim Geese and Minnesota Wild. He labored as an analyst for the NHL Community that season.
Boudreau was fired from The Wild in February 2020 after a 27-23-7 begin to the 2019-20 season. In whole, Boudreau has skilled 984 NHL video games with a file of 567-302-115.
Boudreau will likely be behind the bench on Monday night time when Vancouver hosts the Los Angeles Kings.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
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