While Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis said there will be significant changes after a stunning first-round sweep by the San Jose Sharks, players continued to try to pick up the pieces from a “lost year” on Thursday.
Ryan Kesler told the Vancouver Province’s Ben Kuzma that he’s still coming to grips with what happened to a team he believed in.
“I have faith management is going to find the right pieces,” Kesler said. “I want to win now. We shouldn’t be done. I’m still in shock.”
Kesler and other teammates took blame of the defeats rather than heaping it on head coach Alain Vigneault (like many fans and pundits have).
“The coaches got us prepared and we’re not going to put the blame on them,” Kesler said. “We’re big boys. It was our discipline.”
It sounds like Kesler and other Canucks want a chance to show that this group’s window hasn’t closed, but a lot can change during this summer (and perhaps next season).