Canucks: Does Travis Inexperienced have a respectable shot at operating the Flames bench?

Article content material

Craig Conroy will likely be launched as Calgary Flames normal supervisor Tuesday because the alternative for Brad Treliving, whose contract was expiring and a parting of the methods was inevitable.

Article content material

In a connect-the-dots enterprise, that is both good or dangerous information for former Vancouver Canucks head coach Travis Inexperienced.

Article content material

A rookie GM may benefit from the surface expertise of a veteran head coach to assist flip round a season that went up in Flames with the failure to advance to the Stanley Cup playoffs. Or, he may hold the whole lot in home and look to advertise from inside for familiarity and a consolation zone.

It’s why some consider the teaching pecking order begins from inside.

There’s long-serving Flames assistant coach Ryan Huska, who has paid his dues within the NHL and AHL to run the Calgary bench. There’s affiliate coach Kirk Muller, who has been a head coach in Carolina and assistant in Montreal and St. Louis.

And there’s present AHL affiliate head coach Mike Love, who led the Wranglers to the Western Convention division closing.

Article content material

Article content material

Nevertheless, given the massive membership faltered this season after dropping first-liners Matthew Tkachuk to a commerce — he wasn’t going to signal a long-term extension — and Johnny Gaudreau to free company, no person within the Flames group ought to be snug.

That’s why kicking the tires on Inexperienced, and even Detroit assistant Alex Tanguay, ought to be a part of the method.

Inexperienced is amongst a lot of candidates within the operating to switch the fired Darryl Sutter and he does deliver one thing to the desk. 

He understands the fishbowl existence of working in a Canadian market. He has coached Jacob Markstrom, Chris Tanev, Tyler Toffoli and unrestricted free agent Troy Stecher. And is aware of the way to work with youthful gamers.

He threw Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes into the deep finish of the NHL actuality pool they usually responded with Calder Trophy nominations.

Article content material

Pettersson scored on his first shot in his first sport and received the rookie award in 2019. Inexperienced additionally guided the Canucks to a memorable 2020 second-round playoff run within the Edmonton bubble and Utica Comets to the 2015 Calder Cup closing.

The NHL teaching carousel usually ends in second possibilities, or many extra, and Inexperienced has tried to remain within the image as a result of being out of sight can imply being out of thoughts.

He took on the Spengler Cup problem with Workforce Canada, however went 0-3 within the December occasion and couldn’t muster greater than two targets. The staff dropped two one-goal video games earlier than dropping 3-1 in an occasion quarterfinal, however in a method, Inexperienced was higher for the expertise to work with Hockey Canada and hold his identify on the market.

“It’s disheartening,” he advised reporters of the fast tourney exit. “ our roster, I didn’t assume scoring was going to be an issue and in the end it was. We simply couldn’t rating and that appeared to be the problem each night time.”

Article content material

Inexperienced additionally had his NHL warts.

His dismissal on Dec. 5, 2021, and that of GM Jim Benning, assistant GM John Weisbrod and assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner, was predestined by lacking the playoffs in three of the earlier 4 seasons.

The Canucks had been 8-15-2 when Inexperienced was changed by Bruce Boudreau.

A scarcity of scoring, too many turnovers, poor self-discipline and a traditionally poor penalty kill (64.6 per cent) had been the signposts to sending Inexperienced into the ditch.

The Canucks went on a 3-9-0 slide earlier than Inexperienced was relieved — together with a numbing mid-November highway journey the place they had been bombed 7-1 in Denver, 7-4 in Vegas and 5-1 in Anaheim — to stir up change. It lastly got here Dec. 4 at house in a 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh during which followers booed and jerseys hit the ice in protest.

Article content material

Did Inexperienced instantly overlook the way to coach, or did the proprietor have an issue with techniques or deployment or reaching gamers on skilled and private ranges? That’s laborious to think about.

Inexperienced was requested by this reporter because the partitions had been closing in if he had sufficient gamers he can win with — scorers, playmakers and people who do the robust stuff like blocking photographs, initiating the forecheck and enjoying in site visitors.

“I feel so,” he mentioned. “We haven’t obtained the job executed with sure elements of our sport. Typically, enjoying with urgency is doing somewhat bit much less and enjoying somewhat bit extra direct with the puck.”

Sticking with stagnant penalty-kill pairings didn’t assist and discovering a solution to get by way of to a struggling Pettersson, who had simply six targets in his first 25 video games that season, proved troublesome. The tonic was to be given much more duty. Boudreau put Pettersson on the penalty kill and his season took off.

Article content material

He had a spurt of six factors (5-1) in seven January video games, 14 factors (6-8) in eight February outings and completed with a speedy run of 23 factors (14-9) in 15 video games to shut with a career-high 32 targets and 68 factors.

OVERTIME — Former Canucks GM Dave Nonis will be a part of the Flames in a senior administration place, based on a report Monday by Frank Seravalli of Day by day Faceoff. He attributed sources, who mentioned that “possession was very impressed by Nonis within the interview course of”. Nonis additionally served as GM in Anaheim and Toronto.

[email protected]
twitter.com/@benkuzma

Spring subscription sale: Our in-depth journalism is feasible due to the assist of our subscribers. For a restricted time, you will get full on-line entry to the Vancouver Solar and The Province, together with the Nationwide Put up and 13 different Canadian information websites, for simply $40 for one 12 months or $1 every week for 52 weeks. Assist our journalism by subscribing immediately: The Vancouver Solar.