‘It’s their room’: Foote aims to instill accountability, standards with Canucks

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks may have a new coach, but Adam Foote says it’s not his team. It belongs to the players.

But they have to want that responsibility, Foote said, and be able to establish and enforce accountability and standards.

In an interview with Sportsnet, Foote said he embraced this belief as a player, learning from Hall of Fame goalie Patrick Roy when the Colorado Avalanche was winning its first Stanley Cups. He said Roy probably learned it from Montreal Canadiens legends Larry Robinson and Bob Gainey.

Since being promoted by Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin on May 14, replacing Rick Tocchet after the National Hockey League’s 2024 coach of the year chose to leave the organization after a season of turmoil, Foote has been quietly busy.

He built a new coaching staff, adding experienced assistants Kevin Dean, Brett McLean and Scott Young. But his main focus has been communicating with players.

Soon after he was hired, Foote met in Detroit with captain Quinn Hughes, goalie Thatcher Demko and alternate captain Elias Pettersson, who flew in from Sweden on his own time and short notice. Foote has conducted Zoom meetings with the Canucks’ larger leadership group.

There will be more virtual meetings this summer.

“It’s not magic dust; it is a process,” Foote explained. “That group, the leadership group … they’re going to take care of themselves. It’s their room, right? They’ve got to hold each other accountable. They’ve got to push each other. 

“They’ve got to take care of each other and make sure that they support each other. Like, there shouldn’t be a young guy that sits in his room alone after he’s called up. They’ve got to take care of that guy. If a guy’s not pushing the pace in practice, well, you push each other. Joe Sakic was the hardest worker (in Colorado). You hear Sidney Crosby’s the hardest worker. Guys are going to go rogue once in a while … but the group has got to reel them in. It’s their team, right? That’s got to come from within. They’ve got to change that part, and I think they believe that.”

Foote’s message is similar to what Tocchet preached to players when he joined the Canucks two and a half years ago, and aligns with what Allvin and his boss, Jim Rutherford, said before that.

But after last winter’s drama and upheaval for the Canucks, when Rutherford publicly confirmed the internal dysfunction rooted in tension between Pettersson and J.T. Miller, who was traded, Foote’s call for strong leadership and unity carries extra gravity.

“Well, here’s the thing I’d like to make clear,” Foote said. “It doesn’t matter if we’d won 60 games or 20, if I’m a head coach anywhere … I’m still going to have a strong leadership group. This is what I believe in. 

“When Toc came in, he had so much on his plate — on our plate — and he did a helluva job, right? He managed us to 51 wins (in 2023-24), and changed the mindset of how guys think. Like, they play more as a team, right? There was so much that happened last year, I just want to continue that (mindset). My biggest thing to them is this is just a process, right? But the process starts now.”

Citing players’ right to privacy in the off-season, he declined to reveal details about his in-person meeting with Hughes, Demko and Pettersson, except to say they had dinner and played golf, and the summit — “I wouldn’t call it a summit” — was extremely positive.

But Foote did say how much he appreciated that Pettersson, who is coming off an awful 45-point season in which his own preparation and commitment became talking points for Tocchet and Allvin, flew across the Atlantic to be part of the meeting.

“He didn’t even hesitate,” Foote said. “It happened fast. But I just loved that he didn’t even hesitate. It meant a lot to me and to the group.”

The Canucks group, of course, hasn’t changed much since missing the playoffs in April. Foote noted there was plenty of change during the season, when the team incorporated as many as nine new players and made the Miller trade in January, which brought defenceman Marcus Pettersson to Vancouver and the leadership group.

Allvin re-signed two of his three unrestricted free agents, winger Brock Boeser following defenceman Derek Forbort back to the Canucks at the brink of free agency on Canada Day. While versatile centre and ace penalty-killer Pius Suter signed with St. Louis on Wednesday, top-six winger Evander Kane was added in a bargain trade with Edmonton to make the Canucks harder to play against.

Foote said he had a lengthy conversation with Boeser about 10 days before free agency, and was elated — but not shocked — to get the Canucks’ best goal-scorer and longest-tenured player signed for seven more years.

“This guy pulled off 25 goals last year and Miller missed 10 games (before he was traded), Petey missed games, Huggy (Hughes) missed games — it affected our power play — and he still scored 25,” Foote said of Boeser, who also missed seven games due to a concussion. “I was fortunate to play with some good shooters, and I’ll never forget how, in tight games, especially when you’re battling in the playoffs, you need a guy who can change the game with one shot. Whether it’s a quick release or an unexpected shot or a shot that gets there quicker than you thought … 80 per cent of guys don’t have that.

“Boes is one of the best practice players, his attention to detail … and not knowing where you stand in a year like last year, that’s behind him now, and you’re going to see him build even more.”

Foote said it “never crossed my mind” that the Canucks’ core needed a shakeup.

“Look at our group,” the coach said. “We had eight new guys. You add the injuries — your two top centres hurt, and Huggy and Fil (Hronek) on the blue line. And Demko, what did he play, 23 games? When Demmer’s on his game, he’s a top-five goaltender in this league.

“I’m actually, like, ‘Wait a minute, we’ve got great pieces, great players, a system.’ I’m excited.”

Foote will spend the summer planning for training camp and next season. And he’ll continue to bring his leaders together and empower them to take ownership.

“Guys aren’t far off, in my opinion, from doing that,” he said. “They believe in it. Listen, it’s so simple: they’re going to take care of each other because if I have to do it, I’m sure they’re not going to be too happy with that. It’s a good group; they care about each other.”