Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet is clearly annoyed with the Russian winger. He scratched him two video games in a row, even together with his drained staff taking part in again to again.
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The truth that Canucks coach Rick Tocchet selected to scratch Andrei Kuzmenko not as soon as, however twice together with his staff in a battle towards their very own fatigue, despatched a terrific, large message.
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On the tail finish of the Tocchet post-game scrum following Saturday’s 4-3 loss in San Jose, there was a query requested by an area reporter that wasn’t shared on the Canucks’ social media channels.
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San Jose Hockey Now’s Nikita Sokolov tried to ask Tocchet about Kuzmenko being scratched for the second recreation in a row and whether or not he felt the winger had responded how he needed. However the head coach didn’t wish to get into it.
“We’ll take care of that later. I’m centered on the sport. We’ll speak about that later. Thanks,” Tocchet responded tersely.
It’s a delicate level for the coach. Truthful sufficient. Every week in the past, he made it clear, he felt that Kuzmenko, who signed a two-year, $11-million deal late final season, hadn’t been working arduous sufficient.
Canucks Report
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Kuzmenko labored out arduous this summer time. He got here into camp in one of the best form of his life.
However he’s solely acquired three targets. And within the coach’s eyes, the ahead hasn’t been taking part in with the identical spark.
There’s little question the Canucks want Kuzmenko to get again to what he was. His centreman, Elias Pettersson, certainly would really like it.
They had been such a dynamic duo final season.
It’s outstanding that the Canucks are the best scoring staff within the league and Kuzmenko has been solely a minor issue on the rating sheet.
Good tempo however look ahead to the Kings
Even with the loss Saturday, the Canucks stay in a terrific spot.
Nonetheless, be careful for these Kings. The chatter is concentrated on the defending champions Vegas Golden Nights, however the Los Angeles Kings are developing quick.
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Would Marty McSorely have been solely fined in at present’s NHL?
You needed to giggle when information landed that Jacob Trouba, who hit Trent Frederic over the pinnacle together with his stick — as harmful a factor you are able to do deliberately in hockey — was solely going to be fined.
In contrast to Donald Brashear again in 2000, Frederic didn’t get knocked out by the blow.
However there’s not a lot else separating what Trouba did Saturday and what McSorely did 20 years in the past.
Each had been acts of outrageous, utterly pointless violence.
McSorely was shortly and swiftly banned from the NHL, by no means to return. (Although his ban was technically known as off after a 12 months.) And that was a league that also positioned excessive worth on pugilism and allowed bruising, low-skill defenders to stifle the efforts of its most expert abilities
However on this weird period of the NHL, the place the sport is a lot quicker, a recreation that values talent and constructive play, it’s a lot much less heavy on violent acts.
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If Frederic had been knocked out by the swing of the stick, would the Division of Participant Security have come down more durable? Is that’s actually the place issues are actually: Solely punishing in case of damage? Dangerous acts don’t matter if nobody will get damage?
It should be famous the truth that the McSorely assault was so stunning, and Brashear crashing limply to the ice so horrifying, it drew eyes from all over the place. The torrent of media protection was fairly probably probably the most intense its ever been.
As many have identified, we shouldn’t be stunned how little the NHL needs to maneuver on unhealthy behaviour after they put the man who based a clothes line known as Violent Gents in control of supplementary self-discipline.
@risingaction.bsky.social
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