“I think people have to realize how long rebuilds take. You look at some of the teams that have been through it and we look at them now how good they are, but there were a lot of tough years.” -Jim Rutherford
Fan frustration with the Vancouver Canucks came to a head Saturday night in their home opener.
After losing five straight road games to start the season, the Canucks crashed and burned at home, losing 5-1 to the Buffalo Sabers. Fans responded with a chorus of boos, while some went so far as to throw jerseys on the ice in protest. It may seem extreme this early in the season, but it wasn’t just about the first six games – it’s been building for years.
After the game, Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford was asked about the possibility of a rebuild and his answer sounded all too familiar.
“Well, I think people need to realize how long rebuilds take,” Rutherford said. “You look at some of the teams that have been there and we look at them now how good they are, but there have been a lot of tough years.
“I mean, we could very well be in a rebuild in the direction we’re going, but ideally we’d like to transition this team on the fly.”
Canucks fans have been hearing about “on the fly” retooling for years. The Canucks have never once embarked on a true rebuild in the past decade under former general manager Jim Benning, who traded more draft picks than he acquired, including including two first-round picks in consecutive years to close out his tenure.
Frankly, fans don’t want to hear how tough or time-consuming rebuilds are — on-the-fly retooling has led to as many ‘rough years’ as a rebuild, with the Canucks missing the playoffs in six of the past seven seasons. The difference is that a team that has rebuilt itself properly will have a solid pool of prospects and hope for the future after these difficult years, while the Canucks seem stuck in the same pit of mediocrity in which they started. , with no perspective aid on the horizon.
The other problem with Rutherford’s comments is that he is wrong. Rebuilds shouldn’t take a lot of time.
Look at the team that ruined the Canucks’ home opener. After years of confusing efforts to rebuild, the Sabers hired new management in 2020, then signaled a full-scale rebuild by trading Jack Eichel last November. Less than a year later, they have a young and exciting team that could qualify for the playoffs this season.
The Los Angeles Kings began a rebuild in early 2019 when they traded Jake Muzzin to the Toronto Maple Leafs, then traded more veterans in 2020. They kept core veterans like Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty and Jonathan Quick, but supplemented them with arguably the best prospect pool in the NHL, built from the draft picks they acquired in trades. Last season, just three years into their rebuild, the Kings were back in the playoffs.
Then there are the New York Rangers, who officially announced their rebuild with a letter to their fans in early 2018. There were a few tough times along the way, but they made it to the Conference Finals. de l’Est last season, just four years after their reconstruction began. Now they are a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
That’s what fans expect from the Canucks: a real Stanley Cup conquest. But Rutherford and general manager Patrik Allvin’s plan seems exactly the same as that of the previous management group: sneak into the playoffs and hope for the best. Instead of a new direction, they continued on the same tack and soon ran aground.
A full teardown rebuild may not be necessary at this point, but the Canucks definitely need some course correction. Continuing on this path will lead to years that are much more difficult than any reconstruction.
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