Adam Foote discusses changes he wants to see with Vancouver Canucks' power play

Vancouver Canucks head coach Adam Foote is well aware that his team needs to improve in several areas heading into the 2025-26 season.

Foote, who was named as the Canucks head coach following the departure of Rick Tocchet, is plenty familiar with the organization, having served as an assistant for the past three seasons.

The 53-year-old is well aware of what this team can do, as proven by their 2023-24 season in which they won the Pacific Division and took the Edmonton Oilers to Game 7 in the second round. The 2024-25 campaign saw them regress in shocking fashion, however, as they missed the playoffs by six points.

While there were a ton of reasons to point at as to why they struggled, their power play didn’t help. They finished right in the middle of the pack at 22.5 per cent, a disapponting total for a team who features star talents such as Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson. Foote, however, has an idea of what he and his recently named coaching staff can do to turn it around.

“You have to attack. Every time you do too many set plays it slows it down,” Foote explained on Sportsnet 650’s Halford & Brough In the Morning. “For me, I’m a shot guy. When I got a shot from the top coming at me early in the power play, I don’t like it as a defenceman, because now I have to trust my forwards are in the right lane and I can’t be as aggressive.”

Foote also mentioned how recently named assistant coach Brett McLean was able to vastly improve the Minnesota Wild’s power play in the three seasons he spent behind their bench, and sounded very confident that success will continue with the Canucks.

It remains to be seen how Foote’s tenure as the Canucks head coach will go, but it was quite evident in his conversation on the Halford & Brough show that he is very confident he and his coaching staff can get this team headed back in the right direction.

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