It’s no secret the Vancouver Canucks have been struggling lately.
After barreling out of the gate to start the 2016-17 season with four straight wins, the club has struggled mightily and has simply not been able to find the back of the net. They went into Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs riding a seven-game losing streak, scoring just seven goals and being shut out four times during that stretch.
The team’s troubles have many questioning the job security of head coach Willie Desjardins.
But as Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos explained during Saturday’s Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada, there’s no need to worry just yet.
“There’s a lot of people thinking with this recent losing streak that Willie Desjardins may not even make the end of this road trip,” Kypreos said. “But I can tell you right now that his job is safe for now.”
While the offence has been stalling, the defence and goaltending has been a bright spot for the squad. The club is ranked in the top 10 defensively going into Saturday, with a respectable 27 goals against so far this season.
In other words, Desjardins is still getting at least part of his message across to his players.
“Usually when you see coaches fired, particularly this early in a season, it’s because he’s lost the room,” Kypreos said. “[Canucks president] Trevor Linden doesn’t believe that’s the case. They’re in close in a lot of games, they’re getting good mileage from their goaltending, defensive zone coverage, they just can’t score a goal.”
Desjardins is in his third season as Vancouver’s coach, and has led the club to a 83-73-19 record during that time.
“So as of now — who knows what maybe tomorrow or later on in the year — but as for now, he is safe,” said Kypreos.
