Canucks GM Patrik Allvin: ‘I’m not satisfied’

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Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said he was displeased to be talking to the media on Thursday.

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Not because he doesn’t like talking to reporters, but because it meant his team had lost the last game of their season.

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It was a bold, strong statement from the third-year GM.

He wants his team to be a Stanley Cup winner, not just a good playoff team.

“We lost the last game,” he said in his opening remarks. “I’m not happy sitting here today. I’m not satisfied.”

He was, of course, happy that his team had exceeded the benchmark his boss, president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford, had set before the season, that if everything went right they’d be a playoff team.

And he did believe that as the season progressed, both through play and additions he made to the team, he thought the team’s play got better.

“But that being said, we’re not satisfied,” he repeated. “You don’t know how many chances you’ll have to play Game 7.”

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He mentioned not being satisfied at least one more time, a clear message from a GM who has become a master of using the media stage to deliver his messages. He doesn’t speak often. In the early days, he didn’t say much either.

But he has become a strong, articulate, confident speaker, matching his efforts as a GM.

And his work this season landed him as a finalist for GM of the year, in a vote taken by his rivals around the league.

He said he was honoured to be recognized by his peers.

“I believe and we believe individual success comes from team success,” He said. “At the end of the day, the players contribute to this award.

“I respect it and I’m happy that my peers voted, but I’d rather have a team award.”

Head coach Rick Tocchet raved about working with the GM, who has earned a reputation from his coworkers for taking the advice of his staff seriously.

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“It’s a tight group, he’s around enough to be around, but he’s not in our faces,” Tocchet said of how his boss fits into the coaching staff’s dynamic.

“He takes the feedback very well,” Tocchet said. “You’re going to go through issues here and there, but the communication has always been there. The best I’ve ever had.”

Allvin said he hoped the players would draw lessons from the intensity of playoff hockey — “You can talk about the tough learning for some of the guys in the playoff environment” — but also keyed in on the support of the fans for the players in helping through some of the tough moments.

Like the comeback win in Game 1, with the fans cheering their hearts out.

“I can’t say enough about the fans, and my experience being here in Vancouver,” he said. “The fans gave us the win, 5-4 there.”

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He said assistant GM Ryan Johnson, who played two seasons for the Canucks and experienced the playoff energy first-hand, had told him to be ready for city-wide enthusiasm.

But the experience exceeded his expectations.

“Driving in on game days and seeing all the jerseys, guys talked about it,” he said.

The fan energy is also helping him sell his own players on staying on.

“The players want to stay here and they want to continue to build,” he said.

pjohnston@postmedia.com

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