Brace Hemelgarn - USA TODAY Sports
NHL

The Vancouver Canucks finally make a change, firing Travis Green and hiring Bruce Boudreau

You never want to prematurely proclaim that a team has hit rock bottom because it can always get worse, but that seems almost impossible for the Vancouver Canucks at the moment. They took their latest loss on Saturday night, getting summarily beaten by the Penguins on their home ice. 

For as bad as getting outscored 4-1 and outshot 44-23 is, it feels like the biggest blow was really dealt by their own fans, who have understandably had enough of the pitiful product they've been subjected to this season. There was a jersey thrown onto the ice, and continued chants asking for firings that could be audibly heard over the nationally televised broadcast.

Those restless fans finally got what they were desperately looking for on Sunday evening, with news breaking that the team is mercifully making widespread changes. It's believed that General Manager Jim Benning and his right-hand man John Weisbrod are out, after remarkably clinging on long enough to embark on their eighth season overseeing the franchise. 

Those moves are accompanied by a change behind the bench as well, with Bruce Boudreau taking over for Travis Green as well. While we're going to have plenty of time to ponder the managerial side of things over the coming days and weeks, the coaching impact is more likely to take root on the on-ice product immediately.

So let's focus on whether Green deserved to take the fall, if Boudreau was the right hire to try and salvage things, and what this all means for the Canucks moving forward.

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This article is about:
NHL Vancouver Canucks NHL Elias Pettersson Bruce Boudreau Travis Green
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