Thomas Vanek has been used to playing big minutes his entire career. He was used to playing between 16-18 minutes. Then he came to the Vancouver Canucks, where suddenly his minutes have dropped dramatically in head coach Travis Green’s rewards-based system. Now he’s averaging 13:33 worth of time with some days getting quite a bit more and others, quite a bit less, but Vanek just finds himself working harder to make sure he gets his minutes, according to Ben Kuzma of The Province.
The scribe writes that Green’s system in which he rewards players who are playing well and penalizes them when they make mistakes is working in Vancouver as Green’s style is being compared to that of legendary New York Islanders’ coach Al Arbour. And it’s that style of coaching that has Green’s Canucks boasting a 6-3-1 start.
As for Vanek, his numbers have fluctuated a lot, which has a lot to do with his success or lack thereof. Kuzma wrote that Vanek has always been that player where you get a mixed bag from and that shows. The 33-year-old wing, however, did score his fourth goal of the season for Vancouver Thursday in their 6-2 win over the Washington Capitals, but still only got 11:48 of ice time.
“The best coaches I’ve had, it goes two ways,” Vanek said. “You need the trust from him and he needs the trust from you. The biggest thing is honesty. Greener has done a real good job of that and we’re winning, so the message is sent well. But talk to any player. You want to be around that 15- or 16-minute mark. Right now, that’s not happening so you just try to make the most of what you get.”
- Philadelphia Flyers’ general manager Ron Hextall announced that defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere is out for the game with an upper-body injury after sustaining a big hit against the boards from Toronto’s Leo Komarov in the second period. While the hit received no attention from the referees, the general belief is that it will be reviewed by the NHL tomorrow. If Gostisbehere can’t play on Monday, Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi tweets that Samuel Morin will likely be brought in to help the team.
- Andrew Gross of The Record tweets that New Jersey Devils winger Kyle Palmieri is day-to-day with an injured left foot. He will be re-evaluated on Monday. The 26-year-old hasn’t skated since Oct. 22 and may not be able to go on the team’s upcoming road trip. However, Gross tweets that the team will not necessarily call anyone up, because Brian Boyle might be ready soon.