When he met the media following his Vancouver Canucks’ elimination in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers, Patrik Allvin famously stated he wasn’t happy because the team hadn’t won anything.
Fast forward five months, and the Canucks – like all National Hockey League teams (except poor old Buffalo) are unbeaten. So does the Canucks’ general manager allow himself to be optimistic about the team he has assembled heading into the new season that starts on Wednesday night?
“I’m not sure about that,” Allvin said with a wry laugh on Monday at Rogers Arena. “What I do like is the internal drive here. The front office, the coaching staff, the players, we always want to push each other and we always want to get better. That’s a healthy sign in an organization.”
Allvin spent the summer months addressing a perceived weakness of his hockey club and added significant scoring help on the wings in Jake DeBrusk, Daniel Sprong, and Danton Heinen. Kiefer Sherwood adds a different element in terms of speed and an ability to irk opponents.
So there is a strong belief that the Canucks can ice a lineup with depth through the forward ranks that should stack up favourably to most other teams in the league.
But improving on a 50-win, 109-point regular season won’t be easy, and Allvin knows it. And he’s not hiding from it.
“Nothing is going to change for us. We have a lot of things to prove here every day,” he says. “The mindset we kind of created last year – that next game mentality – that’s how we want to continue to build here. We just need to find a way to get better every game. We know it’s going to be harder. It’s never going to be any easier. So we’ve got to learn and we’re going to continue to push forward.”
Allvin’s Canucks are guided by Rick Tocchet – the reigning NHL Coach of the Year – and are led on ice by captain Quinn Hughes – last year’s Norris Trophy winner – along with three other All-Stars in JT Miller, Elias Pettersson, and Brock Boeser. At some point, the group will be joined by another All-Star in standout netminder Thatcher Demko.
But in the absence of the Vezina runner-up, the Canucks head into the new season with Arturs Silovs and Kevin Lankinen sharing the net. The two combined for 21 NHL regular season starts last year and together are making $1.725M against the salary cap.
Goaltending – if it doesn’t hold up its end of the bargain – can be the great undoing, even for well-constructed teams like the Canucks appear to be. For his part, Allvin believes the Silovs/Lankinen tandem can provide the netminding the Canucks will need to be competitive until Demko gets the green light to return to the crease
“I’m very confident,” Allvin says of the duo despite the fact neither has been a full-time starter in the NHL. “Kevin has come in here with a great attitude and he’s an experienced goalie. His work ethic is pushing Silovs and I think Silovs has responded really well. I’m very comfortable with those guys carrying the load here.”
With Sunday’s trade offloading the bulk of Tucker Poolman’s contract, Allvin has set himself up to begin the new season without dipping into long-term injury reserve. That will provide the Canucks cap flexibility moving forward and will allow the team’s management group to explore ways to improve the club as the season progresses and needs arise.
And perhaps more than anything, that is the real reason Canucks fans should be optimistic about the outlook for this year’s team. Management showed last season it was willing to get aggressive to make improvements to an already strong roster.
And if Patrik Allvin can use the money the Canucks will accrue daily by being under the league’s salary cap threshold, maybe, just maybe, the GM will be able to manoeuvre to a point that will allow him to smile when all is said and done at season’s end.
For now though, he knows his job is far from done.
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