The Utica Comets were bounced from the AHL playoffs last night, losing 6-3 to the Albany Devils and dropping the series 3-1. Now that the Canucks farm team is through with their season, the question of head coach Travis Green’s future comes to the foray.

Assuming everything remains constant, it appears as though Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins will get a chance to right the ship as the club’s head coach next season. He survived a third-last finish and exit meetings, so I can’t imagine anything changing between now and then. Not to mention the vote of confidence he’s received on multiple occasions from Trevor Linden. That helps.

It makes me wonder, though… Does Desjardins deserve another chance at the expense of Vancouver’s ability to hire Green? I put the question to the Canucks Army staff, just to be sure. It’s certainly an interesting hypothetical.

It’s tempting, but I’m content with keeping Willie. The Canucks are full of young kids, many of which just came off their rookie campaigns, and to change the coach on them already might mess with their rhythm as they are just getting the flow of it. I know many have worked with Green as well, but I think it’s better to cater to those already in the NHL.

I don’t think you get rid of Desjardins to keep green, personally. They’ve both been excellent ahl coaches, so it’s not like there’s a big difference in pedigree, and it’s not likely that Travis green immediately makes this team any better.

That said, the most important thing in my mind is that this team is likely to be very bad for at  *least*  3 years, quite possibly a lot more. In a period like that, I think it’s more important to try and maintain a positive environment in any way you can, and having a consistent coach could likely be one way to accomplish that.

Yes.

The thing to remember here is that Green isn’t the first of his kind. There’ve been many AHL coaches with a similar, if not better resume who’ve made it to the NHL and been a complete flop. Do I think that’s the case with Green? No, not in the slightest. But it’s not without precedent. 

Besides, if people hate Desjardins deployments, they’re going to have huge issues with Green. Jordan Subban led all rookie defenceman in the AHL in scoring and was healthy scratched this season. The Comets sat Ashton Sautner and Curtis Valk in an elimination game against the Albany Devils – Valk’s played pretty damn well in brief showing at the AHL level.

If I were a betting man, I’d lean towards placing my money on Green being a successful NHL coach with a bright future. I just don’t think it’s worth cutting ties with Desjardins, who is a good coach in his own right.