Tocchet's structure has Canucks' head coach in Jack Adams conversation
The Vancouver Canucks are off to their best start in franchise history. So much has gone right for the team thus far, offering a nice contrast to last season’s first few games.
One of the biggest differences between this season and last is the man behind the bench. Rick Tocchet was hired midway through last year to take over a struggling team that was dealing with all sorts of issues. After only about 10 months of work, he has put on a masterclass in turning around an organization.
It’s not only the fact that the Canucks are winning so many games; it’s the fashion in which they’re doing so. The team looks disciplined, structured, and well-coached. All of this early season hype has launched Tocchet’s name into the early Jack Adams Award discussion for coach of the year.
The Canucks have put four new words up in their dressing room: command, compete, energy, and invest. Tocchet explained to the media recently that he and the coaching staff came up with the values for “what we want to bring” during the summer.
“I felt we needed some pillars for our team, and we’ve got a couple of other things that are going to be going up,” he explained.
The change in energy and investment around the organization has been palpable, and the results are showing on the ice.
At five-on-five, the Canucks rank in the top 10 for shots allowed per 60 minutes and first in goals allowed per 60 minutes. The renewed commitment to making life difficult for their opponents has changed the team.
Doing the Jake Gyllenhaal Nightcrawler nod at Mark Friedman's defensive effort here to stifle Dylan Holloway off the entry: #Canucks pic.twitter.com/6vAVWm912i
— Cody Severtson (@CodySevertson) November 7, 2023
Tocchet is now considered to be among the top three favourites to win the Jack Adams Award according to theĀ consensus odds from sportsbooks.
If Tocchet does win the award, he will become the third Canucks coach to reach this accomplishment. The other two are Pat Quinn and Alain Vigneault, who won in 1991-92 and 2006-07, respectively.
While the Canucks will almost surely not be able to sustain this win pace for the rest of the season, that’s not what’s going to win Tocchet the Jack Adams Award. Even if they eventually fall back down to earth, as long as the Canucks can continue to play within their structure and show this new team identity, Tocchet will keep his name in the discussion.