VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks fired general manager Jim Benning and head coach Travis Green exactly four years ago.
The team’s current fortunes are worse than ever.
The Canucks sit last in the NHL’s overall standings, and despite a strong effort in their home-ice return Friday after four-game road trip, they fell 4-1 to Utah despite outshooting the Mammoth 32-18.
“I just watched all the chances for us,” Vancouver coach Adam Foote said after the game. “Fans might call me crazy. We should have had that game (4-1) or 5-1.”
Instead, the Mammoth got some puck luck to build a 2-0 lead, and only Arshdeep Bains was able to find a way to beat red-hot Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka.
“It’s tough,” said Vancouver co-leading scorer Elias Pettersson, who finished with two shots on six attempts, but has now gone three games without a point. “We definitely created a lot, enough to win the game. Created a lot of chances, had some good looks.”
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After the Canucks (10-15-3) limited the Mammoth to just one shot in the first 17 minutes of the third period, the visitors put the game away on a Kevin Stenlund goal off an odd-man rush before John Marino sealed it with a short-handed empty-netter.
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The Canucks have now allowed at least four goals in 14 of their 28 games season. They remain last in the league with 3.64 goals against per game and have slipped to 24th offensively, with an average of just 2.64 goals scored. The power play has also run dry during the club’s current four-game slide.
Known for his physical play in front of his own netminder during his playing days, Foote remains determined to focus on the process and hope the bounces will eventually start going his team’s way.
“I can’t get upset at what we’re doing,” he said. “Hopefully the goals are going to go in. I hate losing, but we’re pushing. If we can’t get it from a shot, we’ve got to go back and walk and put the goalie in the net. Maybe a little bit more of a dirty, aggressive mindset around the net, even if we get into some battles and start a war there. That’s probably what’s going to change.”
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The Canucks have also been front and centre in the NHL rumour mill in recent weeks, with constant discourse about the future of Quinn Hughes. The team is also thought to be open to trading its impending unrestricted free agents.
With injured goaltender Thatcher Demko and forward Nils Hoglander on track to potentially re-join the roster next week, Foote hopes they’ll provide a lift that could push Vancouver back into the playoff mix.
“My belief is we’ll get guys back, and we’ll be better for it,” he said. “We’re not too far behind.”
The Canucks sit six points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with the Minnesota Wild set to hit the ice at Rogers Arena on Saturday night.
“No reason to dwell on this,” Pettersson said. “It sucks with the loss. But back out again.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2025.
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