Edmonton Oilers
Tocchet Takes Indirect Jab at Oilers in Calling Out Canucks Players
Why did Rick Tocchet take a shot at the Edmonton Oilers while calling out some of his own players on the Vancouver Canucks roster?
In a strange commentary on his team’s lack of engagement, Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet chewed into his stars following a 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins. The Canucks weren’t good, and the coach knew it. But he didn’t just rip into his team; he took an odd shot at a Pacific Division rival.
“Let’s face facts, we have four or five guys, they’re struggling,” Tocchet told reporters after the game. “They’re struggling to get emotionally invested in the game, and that’s my job to get these guys (invested). Certain guys, we’ve got to find another gear from them. They’ve got to understand that it’s the NHL, and you can’t play one good game and two bad or whatever.” He added, “This is a game, a sport, the NHL, where you have to be jacked up to play the game. You have to be emotionally in the game. Sometimes the guys, it takes them like 30 minutes to get in the game for whatever reason.”
What was interesting in some of his other comments was the indirect shot he took at the Edmonton Oilers while criticizing his own team. Saying his top guys didn’t have their “A game,” he added, “We don’t have the team to have three or four or five passengers. We just don’t have it. Edmonton, they can have four or five guys sleeping. They have guys that can win the game for them.”
While saying his team needs everyone to step up for the Canucks to win, Tocchet essentially called the Oilers a team that isn’t deep. Saying that the bottom six, or guys that aren’t Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl (he didn’t name them specifically), can not show up, and those two will carry the load. Tocchet basically said the Oilers aren’t a loaded team; they’re a core of a few guys, and the rest of the roster isn’t that relevant.
Is Tocchet Right About the Oilers?
Mark Spector wrote, “Respectfully, Tocchet misses it here, IMO. In EDM, the best guys are good every night. And everyone follows their leaders. It’s a culture. Sounds like the leaders in VAN are inconsistent, so the followers follow suit.” He argues that McDavid and Draisaitl don’t take nights off like some of the Canucks’ stars do. And that’s because the Oilers’ stars understand they must lead by example.
It’s also not necessarily fair to argue against the impact of other players on the Oilers. Zach Hyman scored 54 goals last season and is starting to get hot again. Not coincidentally, the Oilers are winning games. Darnelle Nurse is playing some of his best hockey since being creamed by Ryan Reaves. Evan Bouchard isn’t making as many gaffes and finding some consistency, while Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard are rounding into form to solidify the Oilers’ goaltending. Nugent-Hopkins is starting to score and the Oilers are getting production from their bottom six. When these pieces weren’t clicking, Draisaitl was still hot and McDavid was McDavid, but the Oilers’ record wasn’t great.
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