LATEST | Tocchet's usage of the team's star forward is causing a consternation
The Canucks started their season under Bruce Boudreau's guidance. Although they were having major defensive issues, things worked out quite nicely offensively for them and precisely for the first-year forward Andrei Kuzmenko.
The Canucks fired Boudreau to present Rick Tocchet as the team's new head coach. Tocchet was the top guy on Allvin and Rutherford's list and they wanted a coach to teach them accountability and to take value into making small plays, since he came in, it's hard to say he hasn't done that. The team now presents a 3-2-1 record since the coaching change.
Andrei Kuzmenko has been having it hard with the new coach, the winger has 44 points in now 51 games, but only counts one goal in his last 5 games. Jeff Paterson even noted that his ice time had decreased a ton in the team's last two games.
Even after the game against the Rangers, Tocchet did not hesitate to state that it was a bad game for the Russian winger. The following day when they played the Islanders, Brock Boeser even took his spot alongside Elias Pettersson and Anthony Beauvilier:
Though it is arguable that the player may not have been having his best moments as of late, do you believe he's using the right teaching way? Kuzmenko did go from being one of the biggest offensive threats on the ice to warming the bench. Let it be reminded that he did ink a 2-year $11M extension kicking in at the end of the season.
He spent 12:17 on the ice against the Islanders, 12:00 against the Rangers, compared to 18:00 against the Devils on Monday.
| POLL | ||
Do you like the usage Tocchet makes of Kuzmenko? | ||
| Yes | 75 | 25.3 % |
| No | 221 | 74.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
