Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet is not about to relax after leading his team to one of the best seasons in franchise history.
The Jack Adams Award winner has clearly outlined areas for improvement as the Canucks look to improve on their second-round exit.
While Tocchet’s emphasis on structure helped the team improve by leaps and bounds, it also led to scoring issues which eventually proved to be their downfall. While the Canucks did play great defence during the playoffs, some of that success came at the expense of generating offence.
The Canucks rank 10th among playoff teams in goals-per-game with just 2.54. They rank last among all playoff teams with just 20.8 shots per game, a number that would’ve been the worst among all 32 NHL teams during the regular season as well.
Some of those struggles can be attributed to a forward group which could’ve used one or two more impact wingers, but some of it also was due to Tocchet’s rigid defence-first style.
“You look at your team, the players you have– is there something we can do different? Obviously, we didn’t score enough in the playoffs,” said Tocchet during a recent appearance on NHL Network’s The Chirp with Darren Millard podcast.
“We defended well, we kept low-event games but was there a goal here or there? Maybe I have to think, can I open up the system a little bit?”
The team had just four forwards who scored more than 0.5 points per game in the postseason, and one of those players didn’t play in their final elimination game.
Much has been made about how the Canucks need to add scoring wingers to their roster this summer, but perhaps the team can unlock some more offence from within by adjusting their system?
“Is there a way we can be a better rush team? We weren’t a very good rush team, analytics-wise, but we were one of the best defending the rush,” continued the head coach as he pondered changes for next year. “Is there a sweet spot you can find?”
“I give our assistant coaches projects, you look at the top-three rush teams, what are they doing that maybe we can steal from them that can help us, but without sacrificing our defensive game? That, to me, is re-inventing yourself.”
The coaching staff doesn’t have to look far for inspiration. The Edmonton Oilers, one of the best rush teams in the league, play in the same division and knocked the Canucks out of the playoffs.
The Canucks have a massive challenge ahead as they’ll look to repeat their very successful season. The Pacific Division has several young teams burgeoning with talent who will challenge the Canucks for the division crown next season.