The Vancouver Canucks haven’t been at their best in recent seasons. This year, the Canucks missed the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second straight season. In total, Vancouver has missed the playoffs on 16 occasions since the NHL introduced the draft lottery in 2025.
While it’s evident that there are problems in Vancouver that need to be fixed, ex-Skills and Development coach Chris Higgins has called the team to get rid of players with character issues. During a conversation with Jamie Dodd and Randip Janda on Sportsnet 650, Higgins mentioned that the team lacks the obsession to get better.
“That obsession to get better has been missing in this organization for a long time. It’s been one of my biggest critiques over the last number of years is our best players aren’t obsessed with getting better. We need to reestablish that culture of obsession of getting better every day, and being challenged, and not taking it personally… I feel like that hasn’t been around here for a very long time,” Higgins said.
The NHL veteran also added:
“If we’re into year four, five, six, seven, and we’re still talking about preparation and your practice habits, it’s time to get rid of those guys. Like, straight up. That’s too long. Now that’s a character issue.”
Chris Higgins has been in and around the Vancouver Canucks for a long time. While Higgins played in multiple seasons for Vancouver, he was also the team’s Assistant Director of Player Development. A year later, he was appointed Skills and Development coach, as mentioned.
Chris Higgins opened up on the type of players the Vancouver Canucks need
After consecutive failures, the Vancouver Canucks will look to rebuild so they at least make the playoffs next season. In his conversation with Jamie Dodd and Randip Janda on Sportsnet 650, Higgins said that Vancouver needs to find players with “predator eyes.”
He said:
“I’ve looked at players in the lights of their eyes — I didn’t see it with a lot of guys. I didn’t see the fierceness. It’s hard to describe, when you look into somebody’s eyes as a competitor, you know what those predator eyes look like… Those are hard to get, but those are the guys we need to find.”
As the Vancouver Canucks build for the upcoming season, they will have a new face in charge, as Ryan Johnson was recently named GM of the organization. Johnson previously played for Vancouver between 2008 and 2010.
Edited by Varun Anand Bhat