Deck the halls? I’m more than a little concerned with Vancouver Canucks players decking each other these days. But let’s put all the drama aside for a moment. 
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It’s time for another CanucksArmy Monday mailbag. And it’s pretty evident you have questions. Many questions. Pointed questions, too, as fans of this team want answers. I’m not sure the Canucks will deliver on the ice, but we do our best each week to come through for our loyal readers. So let’s jump in and try to spread our version of Christmas cheer in the form of answers to your queries:
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The disfunctional family dynamics of this team is evident in their play. How would you fix the issue?
&mdash; ryan little (@moose_little) <a href="https://twitter.com/moose_little/status/1870338208422064547?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Hey, I wish I had the solutions. I hope Rick Tocchet gets a fire extinguisher for Christmas because it’s clear this situation has the potential to ignite into a full-blown blaze. I suppose I’d appeal to the professional pride of the two principals involved. I’d explain that NHL careers are fleeting and chances to win are limited. And that both parties need to recognize that there are pieces in place here that would be the envy of so many other organizations. But I have to imagine that much of that message has already been conveyed. Ultimately, talk is cheap, and it feels like we should be well past the point of hashing things out. These players and this team will be judged by their actions on the ice, and over the past few weeks, both the individuals – and, by extension, the group – have failed miserably. 
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Should Hughes and other members of the leadership have a players only meeting before the Christmas break? 
If there are issues in the room or guys are having a hard time getting mentally prepared for games, should not the leadership seek to lead the charge for a change?
&mdash; Josh Haggstrom (@JoshHaggstrom) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshHaggstrom/status/1870316201097764947?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Sure. But they can all talk until they’re blue in the face. It feels like the time for talk was a while back. This team is trending in the wrong direction right now. And the simple solution is for its key players to act like adults and to play better. If they think a players only meeting can help, sure, go for it. But the Christmas break starts at around 9 pm tonight, so if they’re going to get together to hash out their differences, it has to happen this morning.
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Why can’t we have nice things Jeff?
&mdash; BLan (@BLanVancity) <a href="https://twitter.com/BLanVancity/status/1870320225813770697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2024</a></blockquote>
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You can. And you do. Through all of the distractions these days, don’t lose sight of the fact that Quinn Hughes is a Vancouver Canuck. In a season full of them, I thought Saturday against Ottawa was among his best games. Beyond the goal and the pair of primary assists, his command of that contest on just about every shift was incredible. He willed the club back from another sluggish start. He leads the team with 40 points. He is on pace for 96 points on the season, which would eclipse his point total from last year’s Norris-winning season. The guy brings it every single night. In an age of excessive ticket prices, Quinn Hughes is worth the price of admission almost every single night. He is that good.
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PP should be top 5 in the league. They finally shook up the power play a little bit. But its still not where it should be. This needs to be solved and how do they solve it?
&mdash; Alan Robinson (@AlanJ_Robinson) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlanJ_Robinson/status/1870440958229381152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The simple solution is to put more pucks on net. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Canucks are among the worst teams in the league in shot generation with the man advantage. They are 28th in both shot attempts and actual shots on goal per 60 and 27th in expected goals/60 on the power play. So it’s not just zone entries and setting up (although those seem to be issues, too, far too often), but once established in zone, they simply don’t do enough to get pucks on net. Somebody tell the coach.
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Do you think Yogi is doing an adequate job taking over for Mike Yeo, or are they missing Yeo&#39;s experience behind the bench for the offensive side of the game?
&mdash; Steven McIntyre (@SDMcIntyre824) <a href="https://twitter.com/SDMcIntyre824/status/1870313334933008856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Interesting timing for this one given Mike Yeo was on the opposing bench on Saturday night. One of the toughest things for any observer or analyst to accurately assess is the job assistant coaches do in a given season. We’re not on the bench during games. We’re not in meetings during the day. Rick Tocchet clearly trusts Yogi Svejkovsky. He promoted him from skills coach. He defers to him often during practices. He’s a familiar voice for the players who have worked with him for years now. My sense is that Svejkovsky is doing everything that is asked of him before and during games. Mike Yeo has moved on. The Ottawa Senators are on a roll, and I’m sure Saturday’s result felt good for Travis Green, Mike Yeo and Nolan Baumgartner. 
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Having a hard time understanding deployment decisions. Why would Sherwood not return with EP40 and Debrusk as soon as Miller returned? Why is the Blueger, Garland, Joshua line not an automatic after last season? And don’t get me started on PP1.
&mdash; <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:xvmrkziqol4h26eoufp3tsed?ref_src=embed">Don’t PaNuck (@dontpanuck.bsky.social)</a> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:xvmrkziqol4h26eoufp3tsed/post/3ldrycl2sbk2i?ref_src=embed">2024-12-21T03:43:29.526Z</a></blockquote>
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Kiefer Sherwood has been one of the best Canucks this season. But so has Conor Garland. So when Rick Tocchet had all of his forwards back and in the line-up together, he elected to put Garland with Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk. Garland drives play. He and Pettersson had success together earlier in the season. He’s earned his ice time this season with his hustle and consistency. So, I had no issues with Garland getting that opportunity. It’s just too bad that at a time when Pettersson has gone cold, Garland has as well for the first time all season. 
Sherwood had a nice run of games with Pettersson and DeBrusk three weeks ago, but that trio fizzled during the club’s most recent Eastern road trip. So Tocchet went away from them, which made perfect sense in the moment. Sherwood can be used in a pinch to give just about any line a boost, but he&#8217;s not the long-term answer as a top-six forward. 
As for the idea that Blueger-Garland-Joshua should be automatic, that seems somewhat misguided. Joshua isn’t anywhere close to the level he was at last season. Until he scored against Vegas, Blueger had gone a month without a goal. And Garland has moved beyond being a third liner on this team. Last year was great. But last year was also last year. I have no issue if the Canucks try to rekindle the magic that trio had for a long stretch last season, but maybe – like so many other things with this team a year ago – it was a perfect storm of success rather than any long-term solution.
<h2>PRESENTED BY GREAT CLIPS</h2>
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Jeff Paterson's weekly Vancouver Canucks mailbag.

Deck the halls? I’m more than a little concerned with Vancouver Canucks players decking each other these days. But let’s put all the drama aside for a moment. 
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2111" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="329"></div>
&nbsp;

It’s time for another CanucksArmy Monday mailbag. And it’s pretty evident you have questions. Many questions. Pointed questions, too, as fans of this team want answers. I’m not sure the Canucks will deliver on the ice, but we do our best each week to come through for our loyal readers. So let’s jump in and try to spread our version of Christmas cheer in the form of answers to your queries:

https://twitter.com/moose_little/status/1870338208422064547

Hey, I wish I had the solutions. I hope Rick Tocchet gets a fire extinguisher for Christmas because it’s clear this situation has the potential to ignite into a full-blown blaze. I suppose I’d appeal to the professional pride of the two principals involved. I’d explain that NHL careers are fleeting and chances to win are limited. And that both parties need to recognize that there are pieces in place here that would be the envy of so many other organizations. But I have to imagine that much of that message has already been conveyed. Ultimately, talk is cheap, and it feels like we should be well past the point of hashing things out. These players and this team will be judged by their actions on the ice, and over the past few weeks, both the individuals – and, by extension, the group – have failed miserably. 

https://twitter.com/JoshHaggstrom/status/1870316201097764947

Sure. But they can all talk until they’re blue in the face. It feels like the time for talk was a while back. This team is trending in the wrong direction right now. And the simple solution is for its key players to act like adults and to play better. If they think a players only meeting can help, sure, go for it. But the Christmas break starts at around 9 pm tonight, so if they’re going to get together to hash out their differences, it has to happen this morning.

https://twitter.com/BLanVancity/status/1870320225813770697

You can. And you do. Through all of the distractions these days, don’t lose sight of the fact that Quinn Hughes is a Vancouver Canuck. In a season full of them, I thought Saturday against Ottawa was among his best games. Beyond the goal and the pair of primary assists, his command of that contest on just about every shift was incredible. He willed the club back from another sluggish start. He leads the team with 40 points. He is on pace for 96 points on the season, which would eclipse his point total from last year’s Norris-winning season. The guy brings it every single night. In an age of excessive ticket prices, Quinn Hughes is worth the price of admission almost every single night. He is that good.

https://twitter.com/AlanJ_Robinson/status/1870440958229381152

The simple solution is to put more pucks on net. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Canucks are among the worst teams in the league in shot generation with the man advantage. They are 28th in both shot attempts and actual shots on goal per 60 and 27th in expected goals/60 on the power play. So it’s not just zone entries and setting up (although those seem to be issues, too, far too often), but once established in zone, they simply don’t do enough to get pucks on net. Somebody tell the coach.

https://twitter.com/SDMcIntyre824/status/1870313334933008856

Interesting timing for this one given Mike Yeo was on the opposing bench on Saturday night. One of the toughest things for any observer or analyst to accurately assess is the job assistant coaches do in a given season. We’re not on the bench during games. We’re not in meetings during the day. Rick Tocchet clearly trusts Yogi Svejkovsky. He promoted him from skills coach. He defers to him often during practices. He’s a familiar voice for the players who have worked with him for years now. My sense is that Svejkovsky is doing everything that is asked of him before and during games. Mike Yeo has moved on. The Ottawa Senators are on a roll, and I’m sure Saturday’s result felt good for Travis Green, Mike Yeo and Nolan Baumgartner. 

https://bsky.app/profile/dontpanuck.bsky.social/post/3ldrycl2sbk2i

Kiefer Sherwood has been one of the best Canucks this season. But so has Conor Garland. So when Rick Tocchet had all of his forwards back and in the line-up together, he elected to put Garland with Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk. Garland drives play. He and Pettersson had success together earlier in the season. He’s earned his ice time this season with his hustle and consistency. So, I had no issues with Garland getting that opportunity. It’s just too bad that at a time when Pettersson has gone cold, Garland has as well for the first time all season. 

Sherwood had a nice run of games with Pettersson and DeBrusk three weeks ago, but that trio fizzled during the club’s most recent Eastern road trip. So Tocchet went away from them, which made perfect sense in the moment. Sherwood can be used in a pinch to give just about any line a boost, but he's not the long-term answer as a top-six forward. 

As for the idea that Blueger-Garland-Joshua should be automatic, that seems somewhat misguided. Joshua isn’t anywhere close to the level he was at last season. Until he scored against Vegas, Blueger had gone a month without a goal. And Garland has moved beyond being a third liner on this team. Last year was great. But last year was also last year. I have no issue if the Canucks try to rekindle the magic that trio had for a long stretch last season, but maybe – like so many other things with this team a year ago – it was a perfect storm of success rather than any long-term solution.
<h2>PRESENTED BY GREAT CLIPS</h2>
<img class="size-full wp-image-161242 alignnone" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2099/02/54669-002-GC-Logo-727x404-CA3.jpg" alt="" width="727" height="404" />

<a href="https://www.greatclips.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Great Clips</a>, the world’s largest hair salon brand, is a 100% franchised company with more than 150 hair salons across Canada that are owned and operated by Canadians. Great Clips prides itself on making it easy for customers to get a great haircut at a great price at a time and place that’s convenient for them. They’ve also made it easy for customers to make Great Clips their hair salon of choice with services like <a href="https://www.greatclips.com/online-check-in" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Online Check-In</a> and <a href="https://www.greatclips.com/clip-notes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Clip Notes®</a>. From bobs and layers to kids’ haircuts, bald fades and more, Great Clips has a look that’s great for you.

JPat’s Monday Canucks Mailbag: Questions about power plays… on and off the ice

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