Welcome Matt: Canucks' fortunes won't change until ownership does

I am often asked what it will take for the Vancouver Canucks to win a Stanley Cup.

My stock answer is: it depends who buys the team and when.

The Canucks are barely a week into preseason, and they are already besieged by negative headlines.

The owner’s children accused him in court of abuse, allegations he denies, and the club is now being asked to explain why Rachel Doerrie is no longer in its employ, just eight months after she was hired, just weeks after she moved to Vancouver, and just days after head coach Bruce Boudreau was singing her praises.

Not sure we’ve heard the last of Doerrie or her brief tenure with the Canucks.

Nor have we heard the last of Boudreau’s future. The coach is entering the final year of his contract, management has asked him to change his ways, improve the zone exits, practice habits, and incorporate more data.

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• Rachel Doerrie gone from Canucks after just eight months on the job

Alas, management did little to improve his defensive personnel. That’s a dynamic worth watching.

As is the captain, Bo Horvat. He’s also without contract beyond this year.

The Canucks decided to take care of J.T. Miller, the alpha male in the dressing room and the juxtaposition to Horvat’s diplomacy, rather than their longest-serving player.

Here’s the thing, all these issues that surround the Canucks on a yearly basis, the common denominator is ownership.

There’s a new front office here. New president of hockey ops. New GM. New head coach.

And yet before the season even starts, people are wondering what the heck is going on at Canucks Sports and Entertainment.

Won’t change unless ownership is committed to new ways. Or unless the change is ownership itself.