‘We have to make players more accountable’: Canucks president Jim Rutherford addresses team’s struggles
Vancouver Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford appeared on Canucks Central with Sportsnet 650 radio hosts Dan Riccio and Satiar Shah on Monday to speak about his team’s 3–6–3 start to the 2022–23 regular season.
Rutherford didn’t mince words about his dissatisfaction with what he’s seen from his team dating back to the start of training camp.
“We have to make players more accountable. We’ll have to take the necessary steps to get players’ attention,” Rutherford said. “We’ve tried to make changes in the off-season, a priority of ours is the right side of our defense, we need to make it younger. We took a step forward there when we were finally able to get Ethan Bear.
“If we were playing in a real strong structure, it would make it easier for our defense to play,” Rutherford continued. “It wouldn’t matter who was on our defense. Right now, we don’t have that strong structure.”
The Canucks dropped Saturday’s game against the Nashville Predators 4–3 in a shootout after leading 3–0 in the second period, marking the fifth time in 12 games this season the team has squandered a multi-goal lead before eventually losing.
Rutherford likened his reaction to the loss with the angry messages sent by Canucks fans into the Sportsnet 650 radio text line.
“I feel the same way as those texts that you referred to, how those people feel,” Rutherford said. “At this point, I would have expected better. I didn’t like our training camp, and we continued into the early part of the season the same way.
“There’s a lot of things that have to happen, but in order for us to become a better team, we have to play with a stronger system and really be more accountable for some of the things that some of the players are struggling with,” Rutherford continued. “When you’re winning at home, 3–0 in your own building, and you have the goaltender that we have and the players that we have, we should not lose that game.”
Asked directly whether the Canucks have the right personnel behind the bench and on the ice to play with better structure, Rutherford didn’t expressly give head coach Bruce Boudreau a vote of confidence.
The Canucks hired Boudreau as head coach on Dec. 5, 2021, four days before Rutherford joined the organization. Boudreau’s deal with the Canucks is set to expire at the end of the 2022–23 season; Rutherford did not sign him to a contract extension this past summer.
“I do believe that the style that the team played that had success in the second half of last season was a loose style and was more on the offensive side,” Rutherford said. “Our goaltender played great in the second half and really helped win a lot of those games or bail us out in wide-open games.
“I don’t believe that that’s the style of play you can sustain over a long period of time if you want to contend for a playoff spot.”
The final question Rutherford fielded pertained to the contract status of Canucks captain Bo Horvat, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent next July.
Horvat, 27, has 10 goals and 14 points in 12 games with the Canucks this season. He’s under contract for this season at a $5.5 million cap hit.
It’s also worth noting Horvat’s contract does not carry any trade or movement protection.
“There hasn’t been any movement [on contract talks]. Our priority is to keep Bo,” Rutherford said. “We recognize what he can do for us. I’m very proud of him, I give him a lot of credit. He could lose his focus here and be thinking about what’s going to happen with his contract and whatnot, but he’s come in ready to play and he’s played terrific for us.
“I hope that keeps going, I hope we can sign him. If we can’t sign him, the better we play, the better return we’re gonna get for him,” Rutherford said. “Ideally, we can find a way to keep Bo in Vancouver.”