(Vancouver) The general manager of the Vancouver Canucks was not happy Thursday afternoon.
Patrick Allvin wanted to watch his players prepare for another playoff game. Instead, the latter answered end-of-season questions with reporters.
“I’m not happy sitting here today,” Allvin said. I’m definitely not satisfied. We lost our last match and it was only in the second round. »
Few people saw the Canucks in the playoffs when the season started.
The team surprised many, positioning itself among the best on the circuit for the majority of the season. The Canucks finished first in the Pacific Division with a 50-23-9 record.
It was the first time the British Columbia squad had participated in the playoffs since playing in the bubble at the end of the COVID-19 shortened season. Vancouver hosted its first playoff game since 2015.
In the first round, the Canucks defeated the Nashville Predators in six games. The Edmonton Oilers, however, slowed down the Canucks in seven games in the next round, winning the ultimate duel by a score of 3-2 on Monday in Vancouver.
“I think we’ve improved, but having said that, we’re not satisfied at all,” Allvin added of the season. You don’t know how many No. 7 games you’ll have the chance to play. »
Star player Elias Pettersson said he has been bothered by a knee injury since January.
PHOTO DARRYL DYCK, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Elias Pettersson
“It got more and more painful as time went on,” Pettersson said.
The 25-year-old forward said the injury affected his play, but it wasn’t serious enough for him to go under the knife.
Pettersson scored 34 goals and collected 55 assists in the regular season, but had his share of problems in the playoffs. He was limited to one goal and five assists in 13 games.
His teammate, Brock Boeser, also confirmed Thursday that he had suffered a blood clotting problem in his leg, preventing him from taking part in the final game of the series against the Oilers.
The forward mentioned that he took a puck to the leg in the first game of the series against the Oilers and that the bruise turned into a blood clotting problem.
About a week later, he started experiencing pain in his calf. An X-ray revealed Boeser had a blood clot in a small vein, but doctors determined he could still play.
PHOTO DARRYL DYCK, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Brock Boeser (center)
Another x-ray, after the sixth game, changed everything.
“It showed that there was more clotting in my deep vein,” Boeser said. I didn’t expect to go through this. I didn’t really understand, I think. (Monday) was an emotional morning for me.
“To hear this news after giving all your energy to your teammates and the playoffs, and you are really pushing yourself to achieve this ultimate goal… To not be able to play the seventh game with my teammates, it was painful. »
Boeser led the Canucks this season with a career-high 40 goals. In the playoffs, he scored seven goals and five assists in 12 games.
After suffering a lower-body injury in his team’s first playoff game, star goaltender Thatcher Demko worked hard to try to return to the game and help the Canucks. In the end, this did not happen and Demko will have to wait until the next season before playing his next match.
“Not being able to play was probably the hardest thing I had to go through as a player,” Demko said, adding that he was close to a return and probably would have been ready if the Canucks had advanced to the next round.
Participating in the playoffs will “increase the appetite” of several players on the team, according to forward JT Miller.
“At the end of the day, we have a great hockey team and have many qualities, and those opportunities don’t come around very often,” said Miller, who had the most productive season of his career with 103 points.
He added that the real test will be next year.
“It’s going to be a challenge, not to take everything for granted and aim even higher,” Miller said. We can be happy with what we did this year, but at the end of the day we still lost. For my part, it makes me want to work even harder, to know that we were only one or two goals away from the final four. »
The Canucks have nine players set to become unrestricted free agents this summer, including forwards Elias Lindholm and Dakota Joshua and defenseman Nikita Zadorov, all acquired at the trade deadline.
Defender Filip Hronek and goaltender Arturs Silovs, who played an important role in the series, will be restricted free agents.