Not all Boudreau's fault, but the Canucks coach still needs to go

Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports

It’s not all Bruce’s fault, and yet he still has to go.

Bruce Boudreau is not responsible for the Vancouver Canucks being a dysfunctional organization with a meddlesome owner.

He’s not responsible for a front office that failed to land John Marino or other defencemen this summer and doubled down on wingers.

But he must bear some responsibility for what happens on the ice, particularly when defending a two-goal lead in the third period.

So for those who want to say that he’s part of the problem right now, that’s fair.

And for those who want him fired — a minority given he still polls quite well with Canucks fans — that’s harsh but defensible.

Canucks lost 5-4 to Vegas last night at Rogers Arena, blowing their seventh multi-goal lead in 19 games. The coach sounds exasperated and out of answers.

this was the quote of the night from #Canucks Boudreau: ‘we practice on defending every day. You guys are up there, you see it, that’s all we…we don’t work on too much offense. We’re scoring enough goals but we work on defending. But obviously it still needs more work’

— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) November 22, 2022

He hasn’t been supported by his superiors either with the media/fans or with player acquisition, and for that Boudreau is a sympathetic figure. Rightfully so.

But the same mistakes keep costing this team.

Too fragile. Too selfish. Too uninterested in the defensive side of the game.

It’s not just their structure or practice habits, it’s their mindset.

You might also like:

Boudreau has coached 76 games with the Canucks and they have 89 points. So if his tenure was a season, they’d need a strong close to make the playoffs.

It’s a terrible look for the Canucks to have three coaches in a year, but if there are hopes of salvaging 2022-23, that’s what they need.