5 things we learned from Foote's first Vancouver Canucks press conference
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The Vancouver Canucks are entering a new era as Adam Foote was introduced as the team’s head coach on Thursday.
Foote has spent the last few seasons with the club as an assistant, so there is a level of familiarity there. Still, this will be his first time leading an NHL club, and he’ll surely bring some of his own ideas to the table.
He answered questions for about 20 minutes today alongside GM Patrik Allvin. His answers provided some clues as to what Canucks fans can expect from the team under its new leadership.
1. Foote believes in a Pettersson rebound
Getting Elias Pettersson back to form is near the top of this team’s list of priorities. The 26-year-old scored just 45 points in 64 games this past season, far below his usual standard.
While Pettersson can still be traded before July 1 when his no-movement clause kicks in, it sounds like Foote is banking on a rebound instead.
“Petey and I had some pretty good discussions this year,” said Foote. “I really think he wants it. I really think he knows what he has to do, and he’s going to dial it in. He’s got a great group around him, supporting him, being a team for him. I’m going to make sure I have that conversation with him, and we continue that relationship, and I support him.”
“I think with Petey, for him moving forward, that support will really get him to a good place. We’re going to make sure he understands that we’re there for him. We’ll do whatever it takes and have a great relationship.”
Foote’s answer suggests that the Canucks are willing to do everything they can to help the struggling star get back on track.
2. What the Canucks plan is for assistant coaches
Foote’s lack of professional head coaching experience means the staff around him will receive a lot of attention. Ideally, the Canucks can find a group to support Foote which includes coaches with previous NHL experience.
“I would like experience, but I want the best,” said Foote. “If I and our staff believes that the guy that we want is the best and the best for our situation and works with me well, that’s who I want to go with, whether he’s got five years, three years, or 15.”
“In the perfect world, yeah, we want an experienced coach with us, and that will be the ideal thing, but I’m confident enough in who we choose, and we’ve got a few guys in mind, it’ll be a great fit.”
Both Allvin and Foote suggested the Canucks will hire two more coaches.
“We need an offensive guy and we need a defensive guy, so that’s what we’re going to do,” said Foote.
3. How Foote wants the Canucks to play
Foote’s style is expected to be similar to Tocchet’s. The Canucks want to play defence-first hockey and they have the personnel to do so with a strong defence group.
“There are a lot of great things that Rick instilled, from cultures, how we play, systems, how we defend, and on and on and on,” said Foote.
The concern with continuing Tocchet’s style is that the Canucks often struggled to score last season. That lack of offence became a serious issue, and it’s not one that Foote is blind to.
“We’ll address all those things. It’s early in the process and we’re going to have discussions with our coaches… you always want to get better and that’s what we’ll work on,” continued Foote.
The addition of a capable, experienced, offensive-minded assistant coach should help in this area.
“We’ve got lots of ideas how to make that offence better,” said Foote.
4. This hire wasn’t only about Quinn Hughes
It’s no secret that Quinn Hughes and Foote have a lot of mutual respect for each other. The strong relationship surely helped Foote get the job, but from what was said today, that wasn’t the only factor.
Both Foote and Allvin said they didn’t have any contact with Hughes during the hiring process.
“Quinn and I didn’t have a discussion in the process, which was a very, very good idea not to. I just had a great talk with him this morning, and we had some laughs, and we’re excited to move forward,” said Foote.
“I haven’t even spoken to Quinn in this process either,” said Allvin. “It’s not about one player, it’s about the team here. We want to build and continue to grow as a team, and Quinn is a big part of it.”
“Obviously, the trust, the relationship Adam has with Quinn, is important for us to get off to a good start and continue to develop, but Quinn was not involved in this process.”
5. Foote wants to move on from last year quickly
It’s clear the Canucks view last year as fluky and disappointing and want to get back to being contenders quickly.
The season was filled with negative storylines, from the feud between Pettersson and J.T. Miller to the numerous injuries that affected star players.
“We’re going to turn the page, I’m my own person, learned a lot from a lot of great hockey people on my journey. We have ideas, we’re going to apply them, get the game plan going here and move on,” said Foote.
“We want to win hockey games, we want to be a team that can compete every night. We’re going to compete, be hard to play against, and we want to win. That’s what we’re going to focus on.”