Vancouver Canucks Henrik Sedin (captain) and forward Radim Vrbata (17) celebrates scoring against Edmonton Oilers goaltender Ben Scrivens (30) (not pictured) during the second period at Rogers ArenaAnne-Marie Sorvin
For the Vancouver Canucks, it was a dramatic end to a disastrous season.
After the team failed to make the playoffs, head coach John Tortorella – notorious for a fiery personality that boiled over outside the Calgary Flames locker room earlier this year – was shown the door, as was long-time general manager Mike Gillis.
A protracted goalie drama ended with the trades of both top goalies, Cory Schneider and Olympic gold medal netminder Roberto Luongo, as well as the trade of veteran forward Ryan Kesler.
Now the team is heading into a new season with a new president – revered former Canuck Trevor Linden – as well as new general manager Jim Benning, new head coach Willie Desjardins, new goalie Ryan Miller, and a host of fresh faces, among them former Phoenix Coyote Radim Vrbata, who will join the Sedin twins on the first line.
Veteran Canucks winger Chris Higgins says that, even though it means adjusting to a new coaching staff for the second year in a row, the seismic shift from the top brass all the way down has led to a renewed sense of optimism and ambition among the players.
"I think we're hungry for a new start because of how poor last year was and how many distractions there were," he says. "We want to get back to winning games and feeling good about ourselves and having confidence in the locker room. Just wipe the slate clean and come in fresh."
Mr. Higgins says many of the strategic changes are just as sweeping, with the teams focusing more on positional play and puck possession.
But while diehard fans may be hoping the big shifts could lead to another Stanley Cup run, Mr. Higgins says the team is just taking things one game at a time.
"It's important to keep a pretty small window on things, and for now, that's just getting off to a good start. Especially in the West, it's going to be tough all year to make the playoffs," Mr. Higgins says. "So I think you just keep your focus small, on the next week of games, and try not to get too far ahead of ourselves."
The Vancouver Canucks play their first regular season home game against Edmonton at Rogers Arena on Saturday (canucks.com).