Words cannot express the feeling I have now that the Canucks have signed their new Head Coach…seriously, I have no words, but I’ll give it a go. I really thought Dan Bylsma was the man they wanted but all the verbal hints and body language suggested Willie Desjardins was the man all along. The Canucks hired their main target which is the fantasy football equivalent of the best feeling ever, but also they’re smart people and knew the market.
Once the Canucks let former coach John Tortorella walk, Trevor Linden said he was going to sign a GM and then find his coach in due time. He hinted that he would wait until the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the AHL Playoffs ended before he started his search. A man of his word he kept everyone waiting for the answer to
the coach question and upon the end of the Calder Cup Championship, he started his interviews.
Dan Bylsma, Scott Arniel, Marc Crawford and maybe even the coach from Netflix were interviewed and wouldn’t you know it, good ol’ Trev just waited his turn until Mr. Desjardins interviewed in Pittsburgh before he went after him; those prairie boys are too polite with their manners and their wheat? I dunno. But leave it to Captain Canuck to get his guy: Willie Desjardins signed on the dotted line for 4 years.
From everything we have heard, Desjardins is THE guy for the job. He has won the Calder Cup, he was named coach of the year in 2013 in the AHL and his mom is a freakin’ scout for the Texas Stars in Medicine Hat. This guy IS hockey! If one person knows hockey guys, it’s Trevor Linden. he played for awhile if you remember, pretty good too! Linden will get to learn along side his rookie GM, his rookie coach and he himself is a first year Prez.
Mistakes will be made, lessons will be learned but the Canucks will grow from top to bottom which can only be beneficial for a team that needs to see growth again. Willie Desjardins will get to help pick his assistants and when the time comes to start putting all his experience to use, he will be more than ready to prove his worth. Desjardins is a career coach and if he indeed is the right guy for the job, Canucks fans everywhere will see the results on the ice.
He says he wants to attack, play more offensive and put goals in the net. It might just be what the doctor ordered for Henrik and Daniel Sedin who have seen a decline in numbers (Henrik and Daniel) since their back to back scoring titles. It might even keep Ryan Kesler in the fold and bring in some talent to ultimately flank Kes with guns on either wing.
This is the new Canuck way, it may not be exciting at the podium but hopefully the wins will get the media asking why these moves weren’t made sooner. Time will tell.
Follow me on twitter @hankthetank10 and @always90four
Photo courtesy of vancouversun.com
