Patrik Allvin lost both his voice and his luggage on the way back from the world junior hockey championship in Sweden.
It is among the few losses he has suffered this season as general manager of the Vancouver Canucks. While his hockey team was screaming through the New York area last week, building a five-game road winning streak that took the Canucks back to the top of the National Hockey League standings, Allvin was barely audible as he watched from press boxes.
But over the four days it took his luggage to catch up to him, Allvin’s voice recovered and the Canuck GM, whose season has been every bit as impressive as his team’s, sat down for an interview with Sportsnet during the road trip.
It is 51 weeks since Allvin hired coach-of-the-year favourite Rick Tocchet, just under two years since the GM himself was hired from Pittsburgh by president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford.
Our interview has been slightly edited for brevity and clarity.
Sportsnet: Did you imagine your team would hit the halfway mark of the season at 27-11-3?
Allvin: I don’t think we look at the record. I think we look at more the details of how we play. I want to give the coaches a lot of credit for being able to implement and work with the players, and get them to where we need to be in order to have success. I think we continue to find the consistency. There was a stretch there (in November) where we win one, lose one, and we don’t want to be a team like that. We want to find that consistency.
Sportsnet: You added five free agents last summer and have made six trades since the eve of training camp in September. Is there any one move in particular that you’re most pleased with?
Allvin: It was important for us, obviously, to get the right personalities, character in here. Our pro scouts did a really good job identifying the players. Obviously, it helped … to have the familiarity with (former Penguins) Casey DeSmith and Ian Cole and Sam Lafferty. But I think the one guy is Teddy Blueger. I don’t think he gets as much attention (as he should for) how professional he is every day, how he goes about his business every day to prepare for the next practice or next game or next whatever. I think Teddy has shown this group a lot.
Sportsnet: The first time we did an interview, you spoke about building a winning culture in Vancouver and cited Sidney Crosby’s work ethic and how he set a daily standard for everyone to follow. Are you seeing that culture now on your team?
Allvin: We have taken steps. I still think in order to be an elite team consistently we need to challenge our players to push harder and understand that you need to practise hard every day to play the game hard and get better. We’re coming (past) the halfway point, and it’s just going to be harder and tougher going down the stretch. So I think it’s important that, off the ice and on the ice, we’re still preparing to get better.
Sportsnet: You’ve heard the arguments about the Canucks’ PDO and shooting percentage. Is the current level of success sustainable?
Allvin: What’s sustainable is our identity and our staples. So when we’re playing to our identity and the players know what’s expected, then it’s sustainable. But as soon as you don’t do that, then you might lose games. It’s hard and it’s demanding. It takes a lot of sacrifice from your own ego to play within the system.
Sportsnet: At a time when it’s extremely difficult to make in-season trades, you seem to have been involved in half the NHL transactions since the season began. What’s your secret?
Allvin: Obviously learning from Jim and having Jim around means a lot — his experience. You’ve just got to stay on top (of things) and communicate with teams.
Sportsnet: Rutherford became known as “Trader Jim” in Pittsburgh. Does this make you “Trader Pat”?
Allvin: No, that’s for Jim.
Sportsnet: You obviously hired the right coach in Rick Tocchet. How involved are you with the coaching staff?
Allvin: I make sure that I’m available for him anytime. I think it’s important that we have the same vision, that we’re seeing the same things. Sometimes … from my perspective up top, I have different opinions. But we have a great relationship.
Sportsnet: So when Tocchet sits out Andrei Kuzmenko, that decision isn’t made in isolation? You collaborate?
Allvin: Definitely. At the end of the day, Rick’s job is to put the best team on the ice that he thinks can win the games. He’s the head coach and he’s making those decisions. But prior to any lineup decision, we have a conversation about it.
Sportsnet: How concerned are you about Kuzmenko’s struggles this season and that a $5.5-million player has been a healthy scratch five times?
Allvin: If you look at it, he’s a second-year pro in the National Hockey League. Although he is older (27), we know the second year is tough. We’ve become a better team and we want to play a more structured game. I would say I’m very pleased with his last few games. I think Kuzie understands what he needs to do in order to stay in the lineup.
Sportsnet: Have other teams been calling you about him?
Allvin: Obviously, he’s a hell of a talented player and teams are definitely, you know, checking in when they see a guy like that is not in the lineup.
Sportsnet: Is what to do with Kuzmenko the biggest decision you have to make before the March 8 trade deadline?
Allvin: The players usually dictate where they fit and how they perform and all that. Toc is a puzzle guy and we want to make sure the puzzle works. So we talk about different ideas and things, and then we’ll see where things go.
Sportsnet: With your team obviously having a chance to win, will you be aggressive ahead of the deadline?
Allvin: Well, I think I owe it to the players. The players dictate how good we are and how they’re buying into the way we want to play. We know that they are capable of playing at this high level. And if they continue to do that, then it’s on me to make sure I support them and give them opportunities to be successful.
Sportsnet: Is there any change in Elias Pettersson’s situation? Any sign of negotiations resuming?
Allvin: I have conversations (with his agent) but nothing obviously has changed. We want to keep Petey here. He knows that. At some point it’s going to come down to negotiations and if it’s working or not. We have another year with him as an RFA; we’re not going to lose him this summer. But that being said, I’m trying to plan for our team this year and next year and I want him to be a big part of it.
Sportsnet: Based on your experience, is this situation unusual — a core player eligible for restricted free agency wanting to hold off negotiations?
Allvin: Maybe a little bit, yeah.
(Editor’s note: Agent Pat Brisson told Sportsnet he planned to discuss options with Pettersson and didn’t rule out negotiations re-starting before the end of the season).
Sportsnet: Do you believe Pettersson wants to remain a Canuck?
Allvin: I do believe that he wants to be a part of a good team. He wants to be part of a winning team and I do know that he has a good relationship with Toc and he really appreciates the changes and the direction the team is going.
Sportsnet: There’s so much attention on his status, but you have key role players eligible for unrestricted free agency — players like Blueger, Cole, Lafferty and Dakota Joshua. Are you concerned about losing them?
Allvin: If you go back to when we did the coaching change (last Jan. 22), with Rick coming in with Adam Foote and Sergei Gonchar, there was a different credibility around the league from players and agents. We saw it in the summer how many players actually would consider coming to Vancouver and want to play for Rick and be part of this. I think when you have success, they see that a lot of the players here have been able to take another step. The coaching staff has helped them, which is great. I want every single player to have success, and personal success comes from team success.
I think what’s important for us, too, is (our minor-league team in) Abbotsford. I think we have several players there that are capable to come in. We’ll see how the season ends and how many guys want to stay, and the guys that want to move on. And we’re going to see what we have in our own system to replace some of the players. That’s just part of the process.
Sportsnet: Will you try to re-sign some of those potential UFAs before the end of the season?
Allvin: We have kind of a pecking order. We’ve got to figure out how much money we have left, too. I anticipate there’s going to be some changes starting next year, but I also would anticipate some of those changes would be internally with some of the younger players coming in and taking a step
Sportsnet: Who are some of the young players you’re thinking about?
Allvin: You have Vasily Podkolzin, Arshdeep Bains, Aatu Raty, Linus Karlsson, Cole McWard, Artus Silovs, Max Sasson; I think you have a handful of guys in Abbotsford. On top of that, you’ve got Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Elias Pettersson (2.0) coming in from Sweden, and maybe they are a year or two away from really competing for a roster spot.
Sportsnet: A lot of your players, and especially captain Quinn Hughes, won’t express happiness about where the team is in the standings — saying nothing has been achieved yet and the main focus is on the next day. Are you the same way?
Allvin: What I’m pleased about is I’m pleased with the process. Toc and I are process-driven people. So the only thing we worry about is how do we get better? Stay within the moment. That’s the mindset we have here — the even keel, the next-day mentality. As boring as it sounds, I think that’s what makes good teams.
