Publication date: Nov 08, 2022 • 57 min ago • 4 min read • 11 Comments Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau, who has a lot on his mind, now has the structure of challenging the club president and a slow start. Photo by Bob Frid /USA TODAY Sports

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CANADA, Ont. — This is not a happy place.

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First came Manic Monday. Then came the tension on Tuesday. Sign up to receive The Canucks Report newsletter, delivered directly to your inbox at the start of each series. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By clicking the subscribe button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

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Rival coaches of two contending National Hockey League clubs have been the target of concern, and everyone is waiting for someone to pull the trigger. The concern began Monday morning when Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion had to quell clamor for a change from a 4-7-0 record, endorsing — but no confidence in — bench boss DJ Smith. “I’m pleased with the job that DJ and the staff have done,” Dorion said. “I’m not giving votes of confidence or anything — I think that’s stupid. DJ is our coach, he will be our coach. I have faith in how this team plays under DJ” Then, in an afternoon radio address, Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford sang a familiar refrain about a bad structure, a bad training camp, a bad 3-6-3 start and a poor work ethic. It’s been bothering him for weeks and for the hockey business boss, it’s like he’s picking at a scab that won’t heal.

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“There’s not enough extra drive and pace to prepare for a five-game road trip,” Rutherford told Postmedia on Monday. “And have a structure that makes it easy for players to play in all situations.” Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford (right) and general manager Patrick Alvin both came to the Canucks after Bruce Boudreau was hired as head coach, replacing Travis Green. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /PNG That falls on Bruce Boudreau and his players, with the coach defending their efforts Tuesday morning. “We play as hard as we can, play as well as we can and put it all on the line every night,” he began. “It is what it is. I try to keep the noise out of the room as much as I can. “I’m not in the players’ minds, but if we get the positive result, it pisses them off to show everyone wrong. This is my 47th year in the business and I’ve seen a lot. It’s another thing added to the book that I will never write. “I think every person wants to prove people wrong when they say things. I’m quite a competitive guy at heart and maybe that’s the message – prove it’s not a true statement.”

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Rutherford said the Canucks are guilty of “playing loose,” and general manager Patrick Alvin dropped an interesting line on Oct. 25 when he addressed Boudreau’s situation with the club’s record at 0-5-2.

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Tuesday Vancouver Canucks vs. Ottawa Senators 4 p.m. Canadian Tire Centre. TV: Sportsnet. Radio: AM 650. Despite a 32-15-10 streak when Boudreau replaced the fired Travis Green as head coach in December, Alvin said the coach “had a terrible start here and I think teams started taking us lightly (slightly). “If you look at how we played, we had a terrific goaltender (Thatcher Demko) and special teams, but 5-on-5 had to be better to be a top team.” It wasn’t exactly a resounding endorsement of a lame-duck coach in the option year of a contract because there was no thought of extending someone with a half-season workbook. And when the players were briefed Tuesday morning on what their president said about the structure, they agreed to agree and also disagree.

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“Obviously, there’s different times in the game where we can be better structurally, but I think that’s every team,” Canucks captain Bo Horvat said. “Do I think we’re terrible? No. But there are things we need to clean up and we will continue to do so. “We’re focused on what’s going on in that room. We have a lot of belief in ourselves and we have enough good hockey to know that we have a very good team. It’s good to be challenged and we need to add more fuel to the fire and we want to prove a lot of people wrong. “Because (the message) is repetitive, it’s about us. We have to execute.” JT Miller challenged a good power play to be even better, so a directive from the president that all is not well with the Canucks isn’t going to faze him and will likely motivate him.

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JT Miller argues that “we have to be tough to play against.” Photo by Bob Frid /USA TODAY Sports “He watches every game from above, so I guess he has an opinion,” Miller said. “I don’t really have an opinion. I have work to do to make a good game and we have a lot to do. We had chances in every game we played. “We have to be tough to play against. We have a lot of skills in this room.” The perspective of the owner hiring Boudreau first and then Rutherford was never good. Rutherford brought in his protégé Alvin from Pittsburgh, and he’s the guy who usually hires the coach. Allvin and Canucks assistant coach Mike Yeo have a relationship dating back to working with the Penguins, and that could be a replacement option if ownership feels like firing Boudreau and paying another coach for not is training. Add it all up and this could be a defining road trip for the manager and perhaps some of his players.

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Rutherford hinted at a roster change, but the salary cap settlement could prevent a trade. Waivers are also an option to grab the room’s attention. “We have to make the players more accountable,” Rutherford said during his interview with Sportsnet 650 on Monday. “We will have to take the necessary steps to try to get the attention of the players.” [email protected] twitter.com/benkuzma More news, less ads: Our in-depth journalism is made possible by the support of our subscribers. For just $3.50 a week, you can get unlimited, ad-lite access to the Vancouver Sun, The Province, the National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The Province.

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