COULD CANUCKS TANK JOB LAND THEM BEDARD?

By: Braedyn Wozniak, RP Show Intern

Connor Bedard has to be going through so many emotions watching his hometown Vancouver Canucks play hockey. 

Bedard, the Vancouver native and consensus first-overall pick in next year’s NHL Entry Draft, might be giddy at the possibility of the Canucks winning the lottery and selecting him in the draft, even if it means watching them finish at the bottom of the standings. 

But when the Canucks are winless in their first seven games, going 0-5-2, would Bedard want to go to a team with that culture? 

Former NHLer Bernie Nicholls joined Darren Dupont and Rod Pedersen Monday on the Rod Pedersen show to dout what is going wrong in Vancouver. 

“They just can’t get a win,” said Nicholls. “It’s frustrating. I feel bad for the guys. I know the effort they’re putting in and not (getting) the result.” 

“I feel really bad for them.” 

At this point, many of them are feeling sorry for themselves. Canucks Captain Bo Horvat came out to the media after their 5-1 loss to Buffalo Saturday and said “it just feels like it’s never going to happen, like we’re never going to win again.” 

Yikes. Maybe Bedard will be donning the blue and green next season. When the Captain comes out and says anything along those lines, you have to wonder just how broken this team really is. 

So, what is the problem? Is it ownership? Coaching? Talent? 

According to Pedersen and Dupont, the answer may be all of the above. 

“There’s a lot of people at fault here,” said Pedersen. “If you want to talk about a bad culture, you can point it (at ownership) because it starts at the top, but these current players are responsible for it.” 

Dupont agreed, but the two gave Head Coach Bruce Boudreau a slight pass compared to the rest of the organization for his role in this mess. 

“At the end of the day, it’s the players,” said Dupont. “Boudreau has them ready to play games. They go out and get out to a lead, so they play well. But for whatever reason they can’t finish.” 

Holding a lead has been the main issue. In the Canucks first four losses this year, they had multi-goal leads in each game. No team in NHL history has managed to bungle their first four games that bad. 

But the team has talent. They have displayed it before. 

It was 2020 in the Covid bubble in Edmonton where they defeated the Minnesota Wild in the Qualifying Round, defeated the St. Louis Blues in the First Round, then pushed the Vegas Golden Knights to 7 games in the Western Conference Semi-Finals. 

The core of that team remains. What’s gone is yet to be figured out. Maybe they should go back to playing in isolation. 

If Vancouver can’t figure out what’s plaguing them in the next couple weeks the Connor Bedard watch will officially be on in Canuck Country. 

(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+ TV and WQEE Radio. Call your cable provider to subscribe. You can also watch on YouTube Live or listen 24/7 at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive)

Photo: ReginaPats.com/Keith Hershmiller