The Vancouver Canucks press conference on Sunday introducing new head coach Rick Tocchet had something a little bit different.
Having watched coaching changes occur from a media position within the professional sports community starting in 1981, none of the jargon or the transitional coach or manager speak ever comes as a surprise. However, one thing did jump out on Sunday and it wasn’t Canucks President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford’s plans to apologize to outgoing head coach Bruce Boudreau for how the departure situation was handled.
That’s just fine and dandy.
What jumped out big picture was the emphatic messaging delivered by Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin and how he delivered it.
Maybe sick of the club spinning its tires, maybe tired of playing second fiddle to Rutherford and the extent that public perception exists — we’ve tongue-in-cheek referred to him as a ‘figurehead’ — Allvin stepped it up and he did so with somewhat urgent emotion.
“I guess the end result is winning a cup, right?” Allvin responded at one point. “Yeah, and as I said earlier, when you walk into this building, I haven’t seen a (Stanley Cup) banner up here yet. And I believe that the quality of people that we’ve brought in here will make life easier for the players, to feel comfortable every single day they’re walking in here so they can perform. It’s not about me or “Tock” (Tocchet), it’s about the team and this organization. We need to provide the players all the solutions and all the tools to make them better, and if each individual gets better every day, the team will get better.”
Building His Canucks Presence
Allvin emerging or exerting himself and projecting his role in a more public and positive manner will not only help with his image, but will earn him some overdue respect from fans and observers who probably wondered about the club’s power dynamics. Image is everything in Vancouver and the Canucks general manager presenting a strong one will allow for the entire operation to earn respect.
The 1st anniversary of Allvin’s hiring comes up on Wednesday, January 25th.
Potential incoming Alex Lafreniere.
What do Canucks fans think of him?