VANCOUVER – Ask a reasonable question, get an honest answer. What could possibly go wrong?
In a charged Canadian hockey market like Vancouver, where the fan base is so broad and emotionally engaged there are a dozen sub-species within an eco-system that ranges to extremes, honesty is rarely as uncomplicated as it should be.
Then throw in all the emotional baggage we carry from five decades without a Stanley Cup from the Vancouver Canucks, and even the simplest truth can turn into a radioactive cloud that has some diving for cover and others gleefully running towards the flash.
To everyone’s surprise, the Canucks currently inhabit the summit of the National Hockey League standings for the first time since 2012. On Wednesday, they rallied from a two-goal, third-period deficit and scored a tying goal in the final minute of regulation time to extend their points streak to 8-0-2 despite losing 4-3 in overtime to the St. Louis Blues.
It was the first time since Dec. 28 – last year – that the Canucks had trailed by two goals at any point in a game. That was 11 games ago. The team has two regulation losses since Dec. 5.
The Canucks’ comeback against the Blues was driven by a hat trick from Pius Suter, the free-agent Swiss army knife who had been elevated for the game to left wing on the top line.
And on Thursday, with five Canucks and coach Rick Tocchet headed to the All-Star Game after Vancouver plays the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, the day-after market discussion about the team was dominated by Tocchet’s “criticism” of Elias Pettersson.
Pettersson was cross-checked from behind by Brayden Schenn on the winning goal – should it have been a penalty or did Pettersson fall easily when he should have braced for contact? – after the Canuck had given away the puck.
Asked at his post-game press conference for his assessment of Pettersson, who has 61 points in 48 games and has delayed negotiations on a contract extension that would make him by far the highest-paid Canuck in franchise history, Tocchet said: “I haven’t liked his game the last three or four games. We’ve got to get him going.”
Please elaborate, kind sir.
“I think he’s got to skate,” Tocchet explained. “He’s got to start skating a little bit. I think he’s good with the moves sometimes, but I think when you have speed and make those moves, that’s when he’s at his best. We’ll get him going.”
Ka-boom!
Tocchet has been with the Canucks for a year now. His record is 52-23-9. Tocchet spent the previous season-and-a-half as a plain-spoken studio analyst for NHL broadcasts on TNT in the U.S. Not only does he understand the media, but he has empathy for what we do.
Many times this season, after the formal part of his daily press briefing has ended, Tocchet has chatted with reporters to further explain or discuss systems, his expectations, his players or anything else on anyone’s mind. Through Year 1, Tocchet is the most accommodating, patient, transparent coach the Canucks have placed in front of cameras this century.
Along the way, he has given direct, honest answers when asked about other struggling players, including Nils Hoglander, Dakota Joshua, J.T. Miller, Andrei Kuzmenko and, before Wednesday’s game, the entire line of Pettersson, Miller and Brock Boeser.
But he seemed to reach his limit after Thursday’s practice when a day-after question to him about Pettersson was framed, within the context of market buzz, as the coach blasting his player.
“In the article, I blasted him? That’s you guys,” Tocchet said. “What do you want me to say? Like, Petey’s a big man. You know, he had a tough night skating-wise, I thought. It’s over with. He played 21 minutes. He’s not on the end of the bench, so we’re taking this to a different level. I was on your side as a media guy, right? I get it. But you guys have got to analyze the game, too. You’ve got to understand certain things, too. It’s not: ‘Tocchet has a problem with Pettersson.’ You ask me a question: who was good, who was bad?
“I’ve got to be careful because if you guys are going to ask me questions now on a player. . . I’m going to say ‘no comment’ and let you guys analyze it. So you guys have got to be careful. He’s (Pettersson’s) out there smiling. It’s not a big deal. So maybe it’s a story that we’re winning a lot, and we’re looking for negativity. That’s the way I look at it. Not to blast you guys, I’m just frustrated because. . . over the internet: ‘Tocchet blasts Pettersson.’ I don’t know how I blasted him. I just said he had a tough night.”
By his standards and precedent, Tocchet did not blast Pettersson. But he did blast the media.
We do have a reputation here. Still, given Tocchet’s experience with NHL media, albeit fairly briefly as an analyst but for 35 years as a player or coach in the league, he should not have been surprised by the default reaction to his comments about Pettersson. He’s not that naïve.
Pettersson didn’t sound surprised.
“We play a professional game (and) the coach wants more of me,” he told reporters after practice, “and I’m going to try and do a better job next game.”
Asked about the non-call in overtime, Pettersson said: “If the ref missed it or not, looking back on the clip, I had two turnovers to get them the puck back when we had the puck on the three-on-three. Whether it’s a non-call or not, it’s not up to me (but) I can do a better job before that.”
The outbreak of success this season is responsible for the even rarer outbreak of positivity around a Canucks team that has missed the playoffs in seven of the last eight years. Certainly, Tocchet’s relationship with the media has been positive.
But his dealings with the press are largely irrelevant compared to his relationship with players and those, according to any Canuck we’ve asked (on or off the record), are strong. The trust between players and the coaching staff has been a key factor in the team’s turnaround.
“I’m not saying things (to the media) to send a message to players,” Tocchet explained after Thursday’s press conference. “I don’t do that. I’m not telling you anything they don’t already know.”