Former Avalanche legend's coaching move has Canucks fans on edge
Photo credit: Arlen Redekop / The Province
Vancouver Canucks fans are on edge following former Colorado Avalanche legend Adam Foote's latest coaching move, which has sparked plenty of debate and speculation about the team's strategy.
Foote, the newly appointed head coach of the Canucks, has made a major change to the team's top power-play unit, offering fans an early look at what to expect as the season kicks off.
Adam Foote's bold coaching move is quickly raising eyebrows among Canucks fans.
Edward Jaxon from Canucks Daily writes that Vancouver's goal this season is clear: return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. To make that a reality, the Canucks will need to improve in several areas, most notably their power play.
Last season, Vancouver ranked 16th in the NHL with a 22.5% power-play conversion rate, scoring 50 goals on 222 opportunities over 82 games. If they hope to compete this year, boosting efficiency on the man advantage will be critical.
During Tuesday's practice, Canucks head coach made a major change to the top power-play unit.
"In a post on social media, Sportsnet 650's Brendan Batchelor shared that Vancouver's first power play until on Tuesday featured captain Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson, Jake DeBrusk, Brock Boeser and Evander Kane, the latter of whom was acquired in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers back in late June." -Jaxon
At 34, Kane has a proven scoring touch, having tallied at least 20 goals in nine of his 16 NHL seasons, and he's expected to provide a boost for the Canucks both on the power play and at even strength.
Here's what Kane said to Izzy Cheung of The Hockey News earlier this week...
"It's definitely cool to be able to put on the Canucks jersey as an NHL player. The excitement has kind of been a slow build since I've gotten traded. And I think it'll start bubbling once the first regular-season game is played." -Kane
It remains to be seen if the top power-play unit will stay the same for the rest of training camp, but it's definitely a bold attempt to shake things up this season in Vancouver.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 27 | 17 ANSWERS Former Avalanche legend's coaching move has Canucks fans on edge Should Evander Kane be on the Canucks' top power-play unit this season? | ||
| yes | 8 | 47.1 % |
| no | 9 | 52.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
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