Welcome back to WDYTT, the only hockey column on the internet to have a better start to the season than Elias Pettersson.

Speaking of starting the season, the Vancouver Canucks have finally done so…they just waited an extra seven games longer than they should have.

Hot on the heels of their first wins on the 2022/23 campaign, the Canucks have staved off calls for demolition and deconstruction for now, but the vultures won’t stay circling for long if the turnaround doesn’t continue in full force.

Last week, we heard “Bruce! There it is!” echoing around Rogers Arena for the first time in a while. The week prior, however, there were calls from some corners nearly as loud for Boudreau to be fired and replaced.

A lackluster vote of confidence offered up by POHO Jim Rutherford on HNIC’s After Hours certainly didn’t help matters.

Boudreau is already one of the most popular coaches in Canucks history, but that will only go so far if he’s also at the helm of one of the more disappointing rosters in recent memory.

Whether your preferred metaphor is one of thin ice or a hot seat, Boudreau is on it.

That’s why, this week, we’re asking:

Let it be known in the comment section.

You answered below!

We knew heading into the season that the Canucks’ defense was inadequate. That’s a major part of the problem. Aside from that, the team just isn’t playing well together. The team as a whole lacks structure and discipline.

I haven’t seen the Vancouver Canucks yet, so I couldn’t tell ya. It’s strange we’re letting the Abby Canucks play in the big arena, though.

The curse of Keenan and Messier is strong.

Three atrocious assistant coaches, for a start.

Hockey Bunker:
What is wrong?

Management by committee seems too slow to make the necessary changes when disaster struck.

Great having all those folks helping with planning, but need to be decisive when plans do not go as expected.

Do I have to pick just one? Ok, let’s go to the core of it. Canucks have spent the last eight years with no plan or vision beyond the current season, trading and signing for the present instead of making moves to support the future.

The on-ice product, is a perfect reflection of the dysfunction in the FO and Francesco.

Risky to assume that long time fans are not paying attention. Anyways, to their own peril and let’s see how fast apathy will set in among the long-time fans.

Two words: meddling ownership.

The Canucks are simply a very poorly constructed team. Defensively, the roster is very weak throughout from a personnel perspective and that is reflected in an extremely ineffective PK and the inability to hold on to a lead late in games. The combination of dollars and term tied up in players that are contributing negatively in these areas, AND the lack of prospects on entry level deals that may profile as a remedy, make this a VERY long-term problem. There can be no doubt that Demko was THE significant driver of last year’s late season success in spite of an utterly incompetent defense. The Canucks have the largest collection of #5 through #8 defensemen in the league on their roster and need to stop acquiring more. It’s not helping.

Players are mailing it in.

Plus tons of injuries.

Ownership that can’t get out of it’s own way. Ownership that will invest significant dollars in the ill-fated strategy. Ownership that has no faith in the fan’s intelligence. Ownership that is too sensitive to criticism.

Last year, for about 50 games, the Canucks did all the little things and hard work needed to succeed. This year, they arrived with this swagger like they had achieved something. Which they hadn’t actually achieved anything. So they show up in preseason and float around. Pretending that they can just turn it on when the season starts. Season starts, and these clowns aren’t prepared to play at an NHL level. At this point, they are not even a team. Just a bunch of individuals. This is due to a lack of team bonding by the leaders of this team.

I hope they change nothing. I hope this team stinks up the league. It is what this ownership deserves.

This would be the best for the fans whether they know it or not.

Maybe Allvin has plan to land Bedard or Allen.

“If we stay healthy, the defense is adequate.” Enough said.

A few weeks ago, I would have said that the trade of Miller or Horvat for a high-quality RD would transform a good Canucks team into a contender. I would have been wrong.

The main problems with the Vancouver Canucks are that Rutherford and his team knew that they need several high-quality defencemen and that they didn’t get even one.

Hard to pinpoint one specific issue that stands out above the rest. I would say the main problem is that the team is poorly constructed. Abundance of forwards, but weak on defence. Strong goaltending, but poor prospect pool. Lots of skill and potential, but lacking is size and speed. Left side of defence is strong (sorta), right side is not. To sum it up, the team is imbalanced.

A close second would be a lack of direction, vision, and/or structure. There seems to be no apparent long-term plan, no direction for the organization to strive for, and it seems like that problem is somehow spilling over into the players’ performance. Inconsistent efforts, lack of chemistry, frustration, confusion, and on-ice arguments are all a result from lack of direction, which stems all the way back to upper management.

Don’t know. Stopped watching. (When I was watching, it looked like too much play as individuals and not enough team focus, specifically on defensive coverages. Oh, and a lot of not thinking.)