It was an eventful Friday morning in Vancouver Canucks land. First, Patrik Allvin was fired. Then the players, in heats of four, took to the stage in the Rogers Arena media room to have their final year-end media availability before heading off for the summer.

Thatcher Demko spoke for the first time since undergoing hip surgery that ultimately ended his season back in January. Demko sounded very hopeful that his injury issues will be firmly in the rearview mirror once and for all following this hip surgery.

“We had glimpses coming into this season that there might be some underlying problems that [were] causing some of the issues that I was having…at a certain point, we just realized that I wasn’t really able to stay healthy… This [surgery] is going to address pretty much everything that I’ve dealt with in the past…Some of the nagging stuff I had hopefully dissipates, and we’ve addressed the larger picture.”

Elias Pettersson said that despite everything he’s been through on and off the ice this season and in previous seasons, he isn’t looking for a change of scenery.

“I like it here. This feels like home. I signed here for a reason. We are in a tough spot, none of us are happy with the season… We’ve got good pieces here, so we’re just trying to build it into a good team.”

Pettersson also addressed his struggles and said he plans on changing up his summer training.

“I want to be the best player out there, and it obviously hasn’t gone the way I want the last two seasons and a half. [I’m going to] try to change up my summer training, see what felt good, what didn’t feel good and go from there. I know I have a lot of good hockey in me, and I haven’t shown it, but I’m confident in myself. But I definitely will change up my training with certain things.”

My official position is that the Canucks shouldn’t name a captain ahead of next season. Filip Hronek, who has been namedropped by Rutherford as a shortlist candidate if the Canucks were to name one, didn’t sound very interested in the captaincy when the question was posed to him. But if the Canucks are set on naming a captain this offseason, Brock Boeser certainly sounded like someone capable of filling the role.

Of the first group, which consisted of Hronek, Demko, Elias Pettersson, and Boeser, it was Boeser, who had to navigate questions about the team’s long-term outlook. He did so thoughtfully, at multiple points pausing to really think about what he wanted to say before he said it. Here are a few things that stood out:

Boeser wished nothing but the best for Patrik Allvin, and said that he and his teammates need to take part of the blame. Boeser also talked about the Canucks’ improving culture, and said it’s on him and the other veterans to come to the rink with a positive attitude and be ready to lead by example with their work ethic and commitment to winning habits. Finally, Boeser said that despite the Canucks being in a rebuild, everybody should be working their tails off this offseason to improve for next year.

“Like, nobody should think they had a good year,” was the quote that stood out the most.

Teddy Blueger has sounded (and looked) more and more like a player who wants to be part of the solution in Vancouver, and that continued on Friday. First, Blueger, set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, said he would like to stay with the Canucks. But the part that might be more interesting to fans is what Blueger said afterwards:

“A lot of those things, we were missing this year. I think the exciting thing for the team here is you’ve got a lot of really good young players and a lot of potential. And I think if you grow in the right way, I think the sky’s the limit for this team going forward. But I think as far as, like, championship team, what it takes to win, I think the daily habits, the professionalism, discipline, not just half the time, but every day. You show up to work, you’re diligent, you’re on time, you’re prepared. All those things, I think, at certain parts of the year, were lacking. I think we lacked a little bit of unity for a good chunk of the year as well, where we didn’t fully trust each other… that led to some miscommunications or guys not willing to put themselves on the line for the betterment of the team all the time. I think on a good team, you have a clear identity as a team, you have clear identity as individual players, and each guy is willing to do everything he can to do their job well because they don’t want to let their teammates down. And I think that creates a lot of selflessness, and that kind of stuff is contagious. And I think all those positive things that I mentioned are contagious, and it creates a really positive environment and a lot of success for everyone. And the same way, when things go negative, it’s really, really hard to snap out of it and to get things going in the right direction.”

This certainly lines up with what Jim Rutherford had to say about the Canucks’ room before and after the trade deadline.

We don’t know exactly why, and out of respect for the player, we won’t speculate, but it’s worth noting that Evander Kane wasn’t at Rogers Arena on Friday. Kane is set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer. Nobody asked Rutherford about Kane, and it wouldn’t be a shock if Kane’s day as a Canuck were done.

Need performance without compromise? Check out the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid. Enjoy up to 72 km of electric range on battery alone. Heading farther for an away game? It seamlessly switches to gas for a combined 962 km range. It’s a total power play on the road with a sleek design and sophisticated, tech-loaded interior. Plus, you can recharge easily at home or utilize over 2,000 public charging stations in BC. Experience range, style, and versatility. Visit your local Pacific Toyota dealer during Red Tag Days for limited-time offers.