Canucks: Jim Rutherford gets frustrated as annoying habits limit potential

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TORONTO—Jim Rutherford sounded like he was talking about one of his kids on Saturday.

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The Vancouver Canucks’ president of hockey operations says his National Hockey League club has enough good players, but annoying habits bring out their true potential .

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A constant cry from hockey kings for better structure and discipline is a direct result of what happened throughout the first 14 games and a 4-7-3 record. Small mistakes can lead to big troubles and bad habits are hard to break.

And whether it’s a blind cross ice pass, puck management in deciding to enter or leave a zone, lack of defensive support, or cheating in hopes of creating scoring chances, it’s not just about one thing. There is none.

“We will continue to emphasize that until we get to the right level,” Rutherford told Postmedia. “If there are no plays, always out (puck) and regroup the opposing team. And if there are no plays in his zone offensively, dig deeper. Don’t turn over at the blue line.”

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“These little things in our game at this level most of the time turn into scoring chances and turn into goals.

What if they don’t respond?

As Canucks coach Bruce Boudreau goes on to say, something is lost in translations and transitions. And if it continues, what can Rutherford do?Waiver players to see what else there is or broker deals while keeping an eye on salary his cap challenges mosquito?

“I won’t go into that. It may sound threatening, but I believe we have a lot of good players,” he added. “But until they start simplifying their game and developing good habits, we won’t fully know what we have. And that’s what we want. Yes, making decisions easier.

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“I hate to talk publicly about things that need to be fixed, but we have to smash it until we can fix it. This team is strong enough to win five or six games in a row. but you’re not where you need to be.

“As time goes on, unfortunately it will take time, but I hope to be able to fight for the championship.”

To do that, Canucks needs to look more closely at the backend. Yes, support is often lacking, but do you have enough strength and skill?

“We recognize that we must continue to strengthen our defenses,” Rutherford said. Being left without an out, I have no intention of doing that.

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“And a lot of the time we don’t see it. There’s puck pressure and nobody’s there and you shoot it down and it’s on the other team’s stick and we don’t see it. Not when you’re running (chasing the game) again.”

Not all is bad.

Rutherford praised captain Bo Hobutt for moving forward without a contract extension and scoring 12 goals in 14 games to rank second in the NHL behind Conor McDavid. Horvat has also won his 60.2% of draws.

“Yeah, Bo was very good. To his credit, he had to think in the back of his mind what his future was going to be,” Rutherford said. “He got over it”

He was also impressed by Elias Petterson’s continued 200 foot game. This was especially noticeable in his five goals (1-4) in his 8-5 win over Anaheim on November 3rd. Away and blocked shots between forwards.

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“It didn’t matter Point, he came back all the way to his end, interrupted the play, turned into a transition game, and they left,” recalls Rutherford. A good player should expect more scoring chances and more points if he cheats.

“If you play like Pettersson, you have more chances. and do it Periodically, we will win the majority of our games. “

bkuzma@postmedia.com

twitter.com/benkuzma

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