When You're The NHL's Biggest 'Disaster'

Summary

The Vancouver Canucks have undergone a remarkable transformation over the past year, going from an underperforming team filled with locker room issues to a potential Stanley Cup contender in 2024. Under new head coach Rick Tocchet's leadership, the Canucks have become the top offensive team in the NHL, facilitated by a dynamic rush attack led by Quinn Hughes and an aggressive forecheck system. With elite goaltending from Thatcher Demko and a newfound team chemistry, Vancouver looks poised to make a deep playoff run if they can maintain their high level of play.

Takeaways

• 😀 The Vancouver Canucks have gone from disaster to potential Stanley Cup contender in one year under new coach Rick Tocchet
• 👍 Tocchet's system benefits the Canucks' personnel and has them playing great offense
• ⚡ Quinn Hughes' skating and vision helps the Canucks create offense off the rush
• 🚨 The Canucks have the best offense in the NHL and lead the league in goals for
• 🏒 Their aggressive forecheck creates chaos and leads to turnovers in the offensive zone
• 🥅 Thatcher Demko's stellar goaltending has helped cover any defensive breakdowns
• 🏋️‍♂️ The Canucks are relentless on the forecheck and have teams on their heels
• 🔁 Crisscrossing scissor plays create space for Hughes and others to operate on offense
• 📈 In their last 9 games, the Canucks have only trailed for 53 seconds
• 🏆 After being a joke last year, the Canucks are now serious Stanley Cup contenders

Q & A

Who was named the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks?

Rick Toet was named the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks.

How did the Vancouver Canucks perform in the NHL season prior to Rick Toet's coaching?

Before Rick Toet's coaching, the Vancouver Canucks were considered a complete disaster, with a season marked by internal conflicts among players, dejected superstars, and mismanagement.

What significant turnaround did the Vancouver Canucks achieve under Rick Toet's coaching?

Under Rick Toet's coaching, the Vancouver Canucks experienced a remarkable turnaround, becoming a top contender in the NHL and potentially vying for the Stanley Cup.

What makes the Vancouver Canucks' offense stand out in the NHL?

The Vancouver Canucks' offense stands out due to their leading position in goals scored, excelling in creating offense from the rush and maintaining zone pressure.

How does Quinn Hughes contribute to the Canucks' success?

Quinn Hughes contributes significantly to the Canucks' success with his ability to initiate breakouts, create space, and facilitate offensive plays, making it difficult for opponents to pressure them.

What offensive strategy do the Canucks employ that resembles the Colorado team's approach?

The Canucks employ an aggressive forechecking strategy with a 2-1-2 setup, reminiscent of the Colorado team that won the Stanley Cup, leveraging speed to create chaos and opportunities.

How does the Canucks' shooting percentage off the rush compare to the rest of the league?

The Canucks lead the league with an extraordinary 22% shooting percentage off the rush, significantly higher than the second-best team's 13.3%.

What defensive tactics contribute to the Canucks' offensive success?

The Canucks' defensive tactics include effective backchecking and creating turnovers in all three zones, which facilitates rapid transitions to offense.

What is unique about the Canucks' offensive zone strategy?

The Canucks' offensive zone strategy is characterized by high levels of creativity and motion, including a scissor play that creates space and scoring opportunities, making their attack highly effective.

How has Thatcher Demko's performance impacted the Canucks' success?

Thatcher Demko has significantly impacted the Canucks' success, becoming the fastest goalie in franchise history to reach 25 wins, recording five shutouts, and providing crucial saves during breakdowns.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Canucks' Remarkable Turnaround Under New Coach

The first paragraph provides background on the Vancouver Canucks' struggles last season that led to firing their coach and hiring Rick Tocchet as the new head coach this season. It highlights how in just one year, Tocchet has transformed the team into a Stanley Cup contender atop the NHL standings.

05:00

😲 Canucks' Dangerous Offense Through Rushes and Forechecking

The second paragraph analyzes the Canucks' league-leading offense, crediting their ability to quickly transition from defense to offense and their aggressive forechecking style. It details how their speed and puck support allows them to create many rush chances.

Keywords

💡Rick toet

Rick toet is introduced as the newly hired head coach of the Vancouver Canucks, marking a significant turning point for the team. His leadership and tactical approach are highlighted as central to transforming the Canucks from a struggling franchise into a top contender in the NHL. The script emphasizes his role in revitalizing the team's performance, indicating his strategic impact on their gameplay and overall team dynamics.

💡Stanley Cup Contender

The term 'Stanley Cup Contender' refers to a team that is considered capable of competing for the Stanley Cup, the ultimate championship in the National Hockey League (NHL). Within the context of the video, the Vancouver Canucks' transformation under Coach Rick toet has elevated them to this status, a stark contrast to their previous state as a 'circus disaster.' This change underscores the team's significant improvement and potential to vie for the NHL's highest honor.

💡Quinn Hughes

Quinn Hughes is highlighted as a pivotal player for the Canucks, whose skills on the ice significantly contribute to the team's offensive strategy. His ability to...

Highlights

First significant research finding

Introduction of new theoretical framework

Notable contribution to field

Transcripts

huge news over the weekend it's been a

long time coming one of the strangest

and probably most disrespectful things

we've ever seen in the league that kxs

they let Bruce buau twist in the wind uh

they finally let him go they hired Rick

toet named him the coach on Sunday he's

the 21st head coach in franchise history

almost exactly a year ago the Vancouver

Canucks were a complete disaster after

the first half of the Season that saw

players turn on each other superstars

completely dejected and a total

mismanagement of a beloved coach the

Canucks were a circus that was to be

inherited by Coach Rick toet fast

forward exactly 1 year later and that

same team finds themselves on top of the

NHL I never saw this coming but a lot

has changed both on and off the ice to

make this team a potential Stanley Cup

Contender as this video is being made

the Vancouver connects are on top the

NHL and depending on where you live in

Canada there's an argument that they are

the team to beat coming out of the West

whatever your opinion is on that the

truth remains that this conu team has

become a juggernaut the kucks have been

one of if not the biggest surprise of

the 2024 NHL season what was initially

thought to just be a hot start has fully

turned into a threat that is here to

stay so how did they go from a full-on

circus disaster to potential Stanley Cup

contender in one year Well Rick toet has

invigorated this team but tactically

he's got them playing a system that

benefits their Personnel let's start

with what they do better than anyone

else in the league and that's create

offense the Canucks are the best

offensive team in the NHL as they rank

first in goals 4 and it's because of two

reasons one how they facilitate off the

rush and two how they maintain Zone

pressure the kcks are a team that always

want to keep you on their heels in all

three zones they want to turn defense

into offense quickly and having a weapon

like Quinn Hughes makes it really easy

teams have trouble pressuring the

Canucks on the 4 check or stuff in them

in the neutral zone because they simply

can't keep up with Hughes and how the

Canucks like to spread out when you have

a player like Hughes who can

single-handedly break out the puck with

his legs or Vision it opens up all kinds

of options for the Canucks to attack on

the rush take this play here against the

Oilers as the Canucks look to counter

Hughes doesn't like what he sees so he

curls back instead of forcing a play he

gives his teammates a chance to spread

out and head north the Oilers scramble

to get into their one 122 structure and

Hugh sends a bullet up the middle to

besser and with one pass the Canucks

have an odd man rush in their favor when

Hughes has possession the Canucks have

the green light from toet to spread out

and be ready for a potential stretch

pass or a long flip at the same time

this Canucks team understands when to

stay close and provide support on the

defensive side of the puck for them to

begin on offense watch here as Edington

looks to enter the Zone but look at the

level of support Vancouver has with all

five guys snuffing out the rush Quinn

Hughes steps up to take his man a loose

Puck seemingly finds it way to Edmonton

but because Miller is there for support

a perfect stick lift gives Hughes a lane

and then just fantastic awareness for

Hughes to feel the pressure and give it

back to Miller to start the rush the

other way now enter their Rush game

looking at the numbers they are on a

lucky run in terms of shooting

percentage according to Mike Kelly on

Twitter the Canucks are first in the

league shooting a ridiculous 22% off the

rush the second best team in the league

comes around 133% they may be getting a

lot of Puck luck but their process is

what's allowing them to produce at such

a high clip aside from Quinn Hughes

doing Quin Hughes things to Spring a

rush the entire conu roster is

manufacturing turnovers in all three

zones to create a rush chance here in

the defensive Zone Nashville threatens

with a rush chance of their own but

julson takes a fantastic angle off here

and he's able to close the gap rather

quickly Vancouver once again has the

proper support on the back pressure as

soon as they get possession mckv and Pon

head north and a composed play by Suter

instantly creates a rush chance for

Vancouver where the skill of Alias Pon

can be used effectively then again in

the neutral zone Vancouver continues to

Hound the puck carrier with back

pressure and force a turnover Garland

attacks the middle and will kick this

back out wide to drive the net and even

though the Canucks are outnumbered on

this Rush a perfect passing play leads

to a goal now is that type of play going

to go in every time no the shooting

percentage will likely regress but with

toet and the Canucks like to see is the

process process of backchecking creating

turnovers and then taking that Puck and

attacking instantly off the rush it's

these tiny little details on the

defensive side of the puck that end up

rewarding Vancouver for their work when

you play the game right good things

happen now where the Canucks truly Drive

team's nuts is in the offensive zone

since toet has taken over all four lines

have shown a deep commitment to being

absolutely relentless on their for check

the conu go aggressive with a 212 setup

and when I watched the footage they

remind me a lot of the Colorado team

that won the Stanley Cup a few years ago

a strong for checking team that relies

on their speed to create chaos they also

ran a similar 212 as well like Colorado

the Canucks finished their checks too

but it's the speed of the F1 and F2 that

forces Defenders to make a panic

decision Rick toet has been very

outspoken about wanting all of his

players to for check with this type of

intensity when the first two forwards

can steal a puck or win a battle they

instantly have a dangerous option in the

middle of the ice that can strike of

course the F3 or high guy has to be

responsible and make the proper reads as

to when to dive in as when you run a 212

an Elvis P or tip Puck can lead to an

odd man Rush against but when the

Canucks get possession in the offensive

zone they can absolutely torch teams

with their movement The Meta in the NHL

right now seems to be a 23 offensive

zone pressure with two forwards low and

three skaters High and a constant

movement to create separation however

when you throw a Quinn Hughes in the mix

you become borderline Unstoppable Hughes

has the innate ability to walk the line

and manipulate Wingers at his will

however the Canuck's offensive system

further empowers a player like Hughes

and gives him even more space when they

have the puck near the Blue Line they're

essentially running a scissor play with

the puck carrier having options to

either keep or drop the puck here Hughes

gets the puck at the Blue Line and tries

to make a move but decides to peel back

watch honic and kuseno come in on the

scissor route and kuseno goes in front

of the attacker to provide a tiny pick

while heroni goes behind him for support

here Hughes has options to attack the

given space or drop it this play he

decides to drop it and it creates a

solid scoring chance this type of

movement up high puts teams in a

defensive blender against Montreal it's

the same thing one player swings in

front while heroic swings behind and

because of that this Montreal Winger has

to stop up in case of a drop pass that's

exactly what Hughes wants and he St

steps right in but this isn't only

exclusive to a player like Hughes

veronic here has possession and this

time only one player will crisscross up

high just the option forces the Winger

to actually ease off of fonic in

anticipation of a drop pass that buys

him a tiny bit of space to get the puck

over to Hughes and the end result is a

goal four the Canucks run this scissor

route down low as well here Tampa is

playing man but they will switch to his

Zone when the puck goes low so watch

Hughes crisscross with kusco and he opts

to hold on to the puck instead of

dropping it the threat of Quinn Hughes

causes Tampa to collapse and look at all

that space that is left up high for all

three Vancouver players Hughes circles

the wagon and finds Brock besser in the

most dangerous area of the ice it's this

level of creativity and motion in the

offensive zone that is a big reason why

this team is first in NHL scoring to

give you an idea of how much the Canucks

have teams on their heels with their

offense in their last nine games the

Canucks have tra triled for only 53

seconds their ability to create offense

is a powerful defensive tool but it also

really helps when you have Thatcher demp

going that 131 in1 in his last 15 starts

and he's the fastest goalie in franchise

history to reach 25 wins while recording

five shutouts in the process if the

Canucks have a breakdown he's right

there to save them this team in one

year's time since Rick taka took over

has completely 180d after being

perceived as one of the biggest jokes in

the league from top down Rick toet and

the Canucks are completely

unrecognizable from the team that they

were a year ago for a team that was

filled with supposed locker room cancers

and frustrated Superstars they have come

together and created one of the

deadliest teams in the league the

expectation was to just be competitive

but if they maintain this level of play

they will be serious contenders come

April