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Canucks Notes: Boeser, Pettersson, DeSmith, Myers

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Canucks winger Brock Boeser won’t have his offseason training routine interrupted by the blood clotting issue that kept him out of their second-round Game 7 loss to the Oilers, he said during today’s end-of-season media availability (via Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650). All indications point to him being ready for the beginning of training camp in the fall.

That’s because Boeser’s clot had a clear root cause – a shot he blocked during Game 1 of the Edmonton series, he disclosed. He didn’t notice bruising or pain until roughly a week after the game and went for scans after their Game 6 loss that showed enough clotting to prevent him from suiting up.

While a handful of important Canucks players could be moving on this summer in free agency, Boeser won’t be one of them. He’ll be back in B.C. as he completes the final season of a three-year, $19.95MM extension signed by GM of the Year finalist Patrik Allvin back in July 2022.

Boeser’s resurgence to his early-career form was one of the bigger reasons Vancouver captured its first division title since 2013. He set career-highs across the board with 40 goals and 73 points in 81 games but is an unlikely bet to repeat that production after shooting 5.8% above his career average in the regular season.

Here’s more on the Canucks:

  • Star center Elias Pettersson offered an explanation today for his underwhelming play down the stretch and in the postseason, telling reporters he’s been playing through a knee injury since January (via Thomas Drance of The Athletic). Pettersson, whose point production dropped from 102 last season to 89 this year, won’t require surgery to address the issue but will need to rest and rehab the injury before beginning offseason training. The 2017 fifth-overall pick signed an eight-year, $92.8MM extension shortly before the trade deadline that carries an $11.6MM cap hit beginning next season.
  • The injury to backup Casey DeSmith in Game 3 of the first round against the Predators that forced third-stringer Arturs Silovs into action for Game 4 was a minor groin issue, DeSmith said today (via Batchelor). DeSmith, who had a .911 SV% and 2.02 GAA in two appearances against Nashville after starter Thatcher Demko was injured in Game 1, said the team sat him for precautionary reasons and elected to play Silovs. He was available to play throughout the entire second round, but the younger Silovs remained between the pipes, compiling a .898 SV%, 2.91 GAA and one shutout in the first 10 postseason starts of his career.
  • Pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Tyler Myers said he’d like to return to Vancouver this summer (via Drance). The 34-year-old right-shot defender is coming off a five-year, $30MM contract that was hardly a good value proposition for the team, but the veteran had a decent season in a reduced role this year with 29 points and a +16 rating in 77 games. It was the only time he’d averaged less than 20 minutes per game in his 15-year career. Evolving Hockey projects a Myers extension in Vancouver to come in at $3.5MM per season for two years.

Avalanche Notes: Landeskog, Nichushkin, Lehkonen, Mittelstadt, Ritchie

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Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog isn’t retiring after missing a second straight season with knee injuries, he confirmed to reporters Thursday (via Aarif Deen of Mile High Sports).

It remains to be seen whether Landeskog will be ready for training camp in the fall but he’s planning on returning sometime during the 2024-25 regular season, he said. He’s had no setbacks in his recovery for the last two months while slowly ramping up his on-ice workload (via Deen).

While it’s fortunate news for general manager Chris MacFarland that his captain will likely be back on the ice next season, the lack of a real update today muddies his offseason planning. He can operate under the assumption that Landeskog’s $7MM cap hit can be placed on offseason long-term injured reserve for additional flexibility, but with an in-season return expected, he’ll need to leave enough space under the $87.7MM upper limit to activate Landeskog at some point down the line.

Including the cap hits of Landeskog but not Valeri Nichushkin (more on him in a few paragraphs), the Avalanche have $15.9MM in projected cap space next season, per CapFriendly. That’ll evaporate quickly, though, as they only have 13 roster players signed. They’ll need to fill seven to nine spots with that money, plus leaving $6.125MM to activate Nichushkin once his six-month suspension is lifted. That’s an average of around $1.25MM per unsigned player.

Their core remains intact, though, with their top skater unit of Artturi Lehkonen, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Devon Toews and Cale Makar all signed through next season.

More out of Colorado:

  • Speaking to reporters today, MacFarland called it “plausible” that Nichushkin would suit up for the Avalanche once he exits Stage 3 of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program in November at the earliest (via Deen). Nichushkin does not count against the cap during his suspension, but MacFarland cannot trade, buy out, or terminate the six remaining seasons of his $6.125MM AAV contract. The Russian winger had 53 points in 54 games this season, limited by an earlier stint in the Player Assistance Program.
  • Unfortunately, Landeskog isn’t the only important winger whose status for the beginning of training camp is in doubt. Lehkonen needs offseason shoulder surgery, MacFarland said, and may miss the beginning of preseason activities. His absence isn’t expected to stretch into the regular season, though. The Finnish winger missed nearly half of 2023-24 with a neck injury, but managed 16 goals and 34 points in 45 games when healthy. Trade deadline acquisition Casey Mittelstadt was also dealing with an injury during the postseason, but it won’t require surgery and “isn’t a long-term issue.”
  • The Avs hope to get 2023 first-round pick Calum Ritchie signed to his entry-level contract this summer, MacFarland said. Ritchie, 19, finished sixth in the Ontario Hockey League in points per game with 80 in 50 appearances for the Oshawa Generals. Likely to slot into a middle-six center role long-term, Ritchie is Colorado’s best forward prospect by a wide margin. He would need to return to Oshawa next season if he doesn’t crack the NHL roster, however. His 20th birthday doesn’t fall until after New Year’s Day.

NHL Announces General Manager Of The Year Finalists

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The Canucks’ Patrik Allvin, the Stars’ Jim Nill and the Panthers’ Bill Zito were named finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award today, the NHL announced.

Voting for the GM of the Year award is conducted among the GMs themselves, in addition to a select few NHL executives and media members. Unlike other awards, votes are sent in at the end of the second round of the playoffs, not at the end of the regular season.

None of the nominees are particularly surprising. Allvin earns his nomination after putting together some incredible work in last summer’s free agency period, bringing in depth forwards Teddy Blueger, Dakota Joshua and Pius Suter on one-year deals. All were incredibly impactful value signings, including Suter, who scored the game-winning goal late in the third period of Game 6 against the Predators to give Vancouver its first series win in four years.

He also picked up solid depth defenseman Ian Cole in free agency last summer and swung trades for center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Nikita Zadorov from the Flames throughout the season, both of whom were some of their best playoff performers. Vancouver took the Oilers to Game 7 before bowing out in the second round despite an early injury to Vezina finalist Thatcher Demko.

Nill is gunning to become the second-ever back-to-back winner of the award, joining the Islanders’ Lou Lamoriello. His signing of Matt Duchene to a one-year, $3MM contract was arguably one of the best moves of last summer, as he maintained solid top-six production in the regular season with 65 points in 80 games. He also scored the overtime winner to send the Stars to the Western Conference Final, beginning tonight at home against Edmonton. He also picked up high-end shutdown defenseman Chris Tanev from the Flames ahead of the trade deadline without parting with a first-round pick.

Zito has now earned a nomination for GMOTY in three of his four years at the helm of the Panthers’ hockey ops department, but he’s yet to be crowned the winner. The Panthers won their second division title in the past three years this season, avoiding an expected lull to begin the season without Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour available while recovering from offseason surgeries. His signing of goaltender Anthony Stolarz to back up starter Sergei Bobrovsky remains one of the most under-the-radar moves of last year’s free agency period – Stolarz led qualified netminders with a .925 SV% and 2.03 GAA this season.

The winner will be announced before a Stanley Cup Final game on June 10.

Coaching Notes: Evason, Woodcroft, Bylsma, Leach, McFarland, Keefe, Sturm, Colliton

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While he hasn’t interviewed for the position yet, former Wild coach Dean Evason is becoming a candidate to watch for the Kraken’s vacancy behind the bench. Mike Benton of 93.3 KJR reported last night that Evason was becoming a “dark horse” for the job, which was later seconded by The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta.

Evason was linked to the Senators’ vacancy earlier in the offseason, but that was since filled by Travis Green. Among coaches with NHL experience, he joins ex-Kings coach Todd McLellan among those connected to Seattle.

Pagnotta also confirmed Thursday that the Kraken are discussing a pair of internal promotions: AHL bench boss Dan Bylsma and NHL assistant Jay Leach. In fact, they’re likely the front-runners to replace Dave Hakstol, who was fired shortly after the regular season came to a close. They’ve advanced to the second round of interviews, Pagnotta said, although it doesn’t appear a decision is imminent. Bylsma’s season isn’t over yet as AHL Coachella Valley is still alive in the Calder Cup Playoffs, advancing to the Western Conference Final for the second year in a row. They’re awaiting the winner of the Central Division Final series between Grand Rapids and Milwaukee.

More on the NHL’s coaching carousel over the past 24 hours:

  • The Kraken also let go of assistant coach Paul McFarland when firing Hakstol late last month after he’d served on Hakstol’s staff for the franchise’s first three seasons. He’s landing on his feet, though. He’s expected to become the next head coach of the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen, Jeff Marek of Sportsnet said Wednesday. McFarland has a few seasons of head coaching experience at the major junior level, holding the role for the Ontario Hockey League’s Kingston Frontenacs from 2014-15 to 2016-17 and again in 2020-21, although that season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He replaces longtime WHL coach Steve Hamilton, who won’t be returning after six seasons behind the Hitmen bench.
  • With Sheldon Keefe signing a four-year deal to become the next head coach of the Devils, his previous two-year extension with the Maple Leafs is no longer intact, Pierre LeBrun of TSN reports. As part of Toronto granting permission for him to speak with New Jersey, the Devils canceled his extension and are paying him more money annually on his new deal than he would’ve made on his extension with the Leafs. Thus, Toronto no longer owes Keefe the balance of his extension.
  • After receiving permission to speak to him from the Kings, the Sharks are expected to interview Marco Sturm for their vacancy next week, Pagnotta reports. If San Jose doesn’t end up going with their former top-nine fixture on the wing, Sturm is a strong candidate to rejoin the Kings’ NHL staff as an assistant to Jim Hiller. He would replace the outgoing Trent Yawney, who mutually parted ways with the organization last week.
  • San Jose is also one of the teams keeping tabs on Jeremy Colliton, said Pagnotta. The former Blackhawks head coach has been in the Canucks organization for the past two seasons as the head coach of their AHL affiliate in Abbotsford. He does not have a contract with them for next season, though. He had an 87-92-26 record in parts of four seasons behind the Chicago bench.

Blackhawks Haven’t Ruled Out Bringing Back Patrick Kane

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After his storied tenure with the Blackhawks ended via a trade to the Rangers in 2023, star winger Patrick Kane may have the opportunity to return to Chicago in free agency this summer. The team’s front office will likely hold internal discussions over the next few weeks about re-signing him, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic.

Kane is slated to hit the UFA market this summer after completing the one-year, $2.75MM contract he signed with the Red Wings in November after recovering from hip resurfacing surgery. He would likely be open to a return if offered by general manager Kyle Davidson, Powers said.

A three-time Stanley Cup winner, Kane looked revitalized in Detroit after a difficult, injury-plagued season split between Chicago and New York. The 35-year-old put up 20 goals, 27 assists, 47 points and a -5 rating in 50 contests after returning to play, increasing his points per game average to 0.94 after putting up 0.78 in 2022-23.

Kane’s possession metrics were below average (48.4 CF%, 49.2 xGF% at even strength), but that’s nothing new. He’s been a decisively below-average player defensively ever since his last championship with Chicago in 2015. While the Wings narrowly missed the playoffs, he helped them breach the 90-point mark for the first time since 2016. Their 278 goals for were also their most in a season since advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in 2009.

His return to the form you’d expect from him as he enters his late 30s is impressive, considering the previous track record of players returning from hip resurfacing procedures. The surgery effectively ended the careers of once-top-flight talents Nicklas Bäckström, Ed Jovanovski and Ryan Kesler.

Powers said the strong relationship between Kane and the Blackhawks organization remains intact and that Davidson “made sure Kane’s departure was as smooth as possible” when trading him to the Rangers last season. But if the organization does decide to bring him back, he’d likely end his career there, Powers said. If he intends on playing longer than the team thinks he’d be useful to their rebuild, Powers believes that will likely push Chicago away from re-signing him.

During Kane’s initial 16-year tenure in the Windy City, he scored 446 goals and 779 assists for 1,225 points in 1,161 games. The 2007 first-overall pick ranks second in franchise all-time scoring behind Hall-of-Famer Stan Mikita, although first is likely out of reach for Kane as he trails him by 242 points.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Devils Name Sheldon Keefe Head Coach

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May 23: The Devils officially named Keefe as their next head coach on Thursday. General manager Tom Fitzgerald issued the following statement:

This was an invigorating process for me, having met with many qualified candidates and hearing how attractive this position was to them. Sheldon jumped to the top of my list when he became available, and I was thrilled when he agreed to be a part of what we are building here. He is an excellent communicator, believes in collaboration, and will take what he has learned previously to make this team a Stanley Cup contender. The organization is incredibly excited to welcome Sheldon, his wife, Jackie, and his two boys, Landon and Wyatt to New Jersey.

May 22: In a report from ’Rear Admiral’ of the popular hockey podcast, Spittin Chiclets, and later confirmed by TSN’s Darren Dreger, the New Jersey Devils are set on making Sheldon Keefe their next head coach. Dreger later reported that it would be a four-year deal for Keefe in New Jersey, including the two years remaining on his old contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

For the entirety of his coaching career at the professional level, Keefe as only known life inside the Maple Leafs organization. After a successful stint with the Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League, Keefe was named head coach of Toronto’s AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, at the start of the 2015-16 AHL season. In four and a half years, Keefe coached the Marlies to a 200-89-22-9 record over 320 games, including the team’s only Calder Cup Championship in 2018.

After former head coach Mike Babcock was unceremoniously let go by Toronto partway through the 2019-20 NHL season, Keefe was given the job, keeping his position until only a few weeks ago. In 349 games spent behind the bench for the Maple Leafs, Keefe coached the team to a 212-97-40 record, including a North Division title in his first full year.

Unfortunately, just like the 21 head coaches preceding Keefe in Toronto, he could not coach the team to the Stanley Cup Finals during his tenure, even while boasting one of the best lineups on paper. In 37 postseason games while coaching the Maple Leafs, Keefe could only accrue a .432 win percentage, making it beyond the first round once in five years.

Now moving to New Jersey, Keefe will once again have star-studded talent at his disposal. After an exciting 2022-23 regular season for the franchise, the Devils had a dramatic 31-point drop, finishing well below expectations.

Because of this, the General Manager of the Devils, Tom Fitzgerald, decided to relieve Lindy Ruff of his head coaching duties after 61 games of the 2023-24 season. With interim head coach Travis Green not faring any better in the last 21 games, New Jersey’s front office pursued a bigger fish.

Heading into the 2024-25 NHL season, the Devils already look to be one of the non-playoff teams from this season to make it into next year’s postseason. Possessing top young talent such as Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Luke Hughes, and Simon Nemec, New Jersey also holds top veteran talent such as Timo Meier and Dougie Hamilton. If the Devils can procure a top goaltender this offseason, Keefe should find quite a bit of success with this organization.

Sharks Receive Permission To Interview Marco Sturm For Head Coaching Job

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Current Kings AHL head coach Marco Sturm has been granted permission to interview for the Sharks’ head coaching vacancy, Pierre LeBrun of TSN said Wednesday night.

Sturm becomes the third candidate firmly linked to the San Jose opening, joining former Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill (article) and internal promotion candidate Ryan Warsofsky (article). They remain on the hunt for a replacement after dismissing David Quinn with one year left on his contract last month.

It would be a homecoming of sorts for Sturm, who was drafted 21st overall by the Sharks in 1996. He would become one of the premier young defensive wingers in the league, accumulating 128 goals and 273 points in 553 games with the squad. Just months after the NHL resumed play following the 2004-05 lockout, he was traded to the Bruins as part of the blockbuster deal that sent Joe Thornton to San Jose.

Sturm last played in 2013 after a short stint with Kölner Haie of the Deutsche Eisehockey Liga and began his off-ice career as Germany’s head coach for the 2016 World Championship. He drew significant NHL interest after coaching the Germans to a silver medal at the 2018 Olympics, landing with the Kings as an assistant on John Stevens’ bench. He remained with the club as they fired Stevens for Willie Desjardins early in the 2018-19 season, as well as when they brought in Todd McLellan the following summer.

After four years on the NHL bench, the organization re-assigned him to the AHL’s Ontario Reign for his first crack at being a head coach in the pros. He’s coached the Reign to a 76-55-13 record over the past two seasons, losing to the Coachella Valley Firebirds in this year’s Pacific Division Final.

Free Agent Focus: Winnipeg Jets

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Free agency is now just a bit more than a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We begin our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Jets.

Key Restricted Free Agents

D Ville Heinola – This season didn’t quite go as planned for Heinola.  Hoping to earn a roster spot in training camp, he instead fractured his ankle late in camp, keeping him shelved until January.  Upon his return, he was assigned to AHL Manitoba and while he was quite productive with the Moose, he never got the call.  The best news for Heinola is that he’ll be waiver-eligible next season and it’s hard to see a scenario where he clears waivers.  Accordingly, instead of signing a two-way deal worth the minimum in the NHL with a higher AHL salary, he could simply elect to accept his $874K qualifying offer (even though it’d carry a $70K AHL salary) knowing that he’s highly unlikely to be in the minors next season.

F Cole Perfetti – Perfetti took a step forward offensively this season, notching 19 goals and 19 assists in 71 regular season games, not bad numbers for someone in his sophomore year.  However, he found himself in the press box most nights when it counted the most, ending his campaign on a bit of a low note.  At this point, it’s unlikely that either side would want to work out a long-term agreement; a bridge deal makes much more sense especially with him tailing off toward the end of the year.  That deal should check in somewhere around the $3MM range depending on how many years it goes for.

D Logan Stanley – In 2022-23, Stanley was a frequent healthy scratch and rarely played which led to some wondering if he’d be tendered a qualifying offer with arbitration rights.  Things really didn’t change this year.  The 25-year-old was limited to just 28 games (including playoffs) while averaging less than 14 minutes a night.  The qualifying offer is just $1MM and arbitration eligibility shouldn’t be too much of a concern here but if they see him squarely in seventh defenseman territory, how deep into seven figures do they want to go for that role?  Regardless of what happens, another one-year deal around this price point should be coming his way, either from Winnipeg or somewhere else.

Other RFAs: F David Gustafsson, D Artemi Kniazev, D Simon Lundmark, G Oskari Salminen

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

G Laurent Brossoit – The decision to return to Winnipeg certainly worked out well for Brossoit.  After spending most of 2022-23 in the minors, he was one of the top backups in the league this season, posting a 2.00 GAA along with a .927 SV% in 23 games.  He’s played well enough to earn a fair-sized raise on the $1.75MM he made this year which will price him out of what the Jets can afford.  That said, he has just 140 NHL appearances under his belt which might stop him from getting top-end backup money.  Still, he could push for closer to $3MM and potentially a multi-year deal, a solid outcome for someone who was in the minors not too long ago.

D Dylan DeMelo – The 31-year-old has shown slow but steady improvement throughout his career and is coming off his best performance so far, notching 31 points while averaging nearly 22 minutes a night during the season, both career-bests.  He also finished second in the league in plus/minus, checking in at +46.  Being a right-shot defender will certainly help bolster DeMelo’s market as well.  Four years ago, the four-year, $12MM deal looked a bit risky for someone who had exclusively been on the third pairing.  In the end, it was a bargain and DeMelo is now well-positioned to land another contract that long while adding at least a million per season more to that price tag.

D Brenden Dillon – Dillon isn’t going to hit the scoresheet very often but as far as dependable physical blueliners go, he’s a good one.  He has had that role for the past three years with the Jets, logging around 19 minutes a game while logging some big minutes shorthanded.  It appears that Winnipeg is leaning toward moving on (his leaving opens up a spot for Heinola) but Dillon should have a solid market this summer.  His set-to-expire contract carries a $3.9MM AAV and on a blueline market that isn’t the deepest in July, he should check in around that amount again on another multi-year agreement.

F Sean Monahan – The Jets parted with their first-round pick to bring in Monahan back in February and the fit was nearly seamless as he slotted in on their second line.  After several injury-riddled seasons, the 29-year-old actually led the NHL in games played with 83 which will certainly help his case, as will his 26-goal, 33-point showing.  His market will be an interesting one as there likely will be some teams still wary given Monahan’s injury history.  That likely takes a long-term agreement off the table.  However, he’s among the top few centers available and the market for those players can go up quickly.  A multi-year agreement past the $4MM mark should be achievable and if the demand is fairly high, $5MM or more shouldn’t be impossible to reach.

F Tyler Toffoli – After a breakout year with Calgary last season, it was fair to expect a drop-off in production.  Having said that, while his assists dropped by 17, he only went down by one goal, going from 34 to 33, putting him fourth among UFAs in that department.  His last trip through free agency didn’t go as well as he hoped, resulting in a four-year, $17MM contract that wound up being a team-friendly agreement rather quickly.  Now 32 and having shown he can produce with several teams, he should have a stronger market this time around.  That should give him a chance for another deal around the length of his last one with a price tag that pushes the $6MM mark.

Other UFAs: D Kyle Capobianco, G Collin Delia, F Jeff Malott, D Colin Miller, F Kristian Reichel, D Ashton Sautner, F Jeffrey Viel

Projected Cap Space

The Jets head into the offseason with a little over $13MM in cap space which clearly isn’t enough to bring back everyone.  They can likely afford to keep one of the two defensemen and it seems like DeMelo is their preferred option.  Up front, they might be able to keep one of Monahan or Toffoli but not both and that assumes that Perfetti winds up on a shorter-term contract.  They’ll also likely opt for a low-cost backup behind Connor Hellebuyck whose new seven-year, $59.5MM deal begins in July.  If they keep a forward and a defenseman, re-sign their RFAs, and add a cheaper backup, that might just about be it for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff this summer.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Seth Griffith Signs Two-Year AHL Contract With Bakersfield

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Veteran winger Seth Griffith has long been a productive scorer in the minors which made him highly sought after in free agency which has allowed him to land sizable guaranteed salaries even on a two-way deal.  However, that won’t be a concern this time around as AHL Bakersfield announced that they’ve signed the pending UFA to a two-year AHL agreement.

The 31-year-old had been on an NHL contract with the Oilers for each of the last four seasons.  However, that didn’t result in much action at the top level as Griffith played just once for Edmonton back in 2020-21 after making 79 appearances with four different teams over the previous six years.

Accordingly, rather than look for a two-way offer somewhere without much hope of seeing NHL action, Griffith is sticking around where he’s comfortable while giving Edmonton some extra flexibility on the contract front as they won’t have to have him count against their 50-contract limit.  Of course, Griffith will technically remain an NHL free agent and could sign elsewhere but an agreement like this makes that outcome unlike.  The Oilers will be able to convert him to an NHL deal down the road if they so desire.

This season, Griffith was one of the top point producers in the AHL once again, tallying 15 goals and 48 assists in 68 games for the Condors to lead his team in scoring for the sixth time in his career.  He has 572 points in 619 regular season games at that level and will be adding to those totals for a little while longer.

Rick Tocchet Wins 2024 Jack Adams Award

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While Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet is still understandably down after Vancouver was eliminated earlier this week, he did get some good news on Thursday.  The league announced that he has won this year’s Jack Adams Award, given to “the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success,” as selected by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association.  Tocchet released the following statement on the team’s website:

This really is a team award, and I couldn’t have done any of this without the support of our staff and complete buy-in from the players. I am truly honoured and humbled by this achievement and look forward to getting back to work this summer as we continue to work on improving our hockey team. Vancouver is a passionate hockey market and our fans were a huge part of our success this season.

Tocchet had his first full season behind the Vancouver bench this season after taking over for Bruce Boudreau partway through the 2022-23 campaign.  It was certainly a successful season on the ice for the Canucks as they took home the Pacific Division total with the third-most points (109) in franchise history, following a 50-23-9 effort.  They became one of the stingier teams defensively, going from allowing 3.61 to 2.70 goals per game, good for a tie for fifth-fewest league-wide.

Vancouver also had a fairly successful showing in the playoffs.  In their first playoff appearance since 2019-20 (and second since 2014-15), the Canucks overcame an opening-game injury to Thatcher Demko to get past Nashville in six games in the opening round.  They then took Edmonton to a seventh and deciding contest, ultimately falling 3-2 back on Monday.  Nevertheless, the Canucks winning the division and going two rounds into the playoffs wasn’t necessarily an outcome that many were expecting.

That thought held true in voting as Tocchet took home 82 of 114 first-place votes while landing in the top three on 109 ballots.  That gave him a decisive victory over Nashville’s Andrew Brunette and Winnipeg’s Rick Bowness who finished second and third respectively.

Tocchet becomes the third coach in Canucks history to take home the Jack Adams Award.  The others were Pat Quinn in 1992 and Alain Vigneault back in 2007.

It will be the better part of a week before the next end-of-season award is announced.  The King Clancy Memorial Trophy is next on the list with the winner of that one being revealed on Tuesday.

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