One-sided losses. A highly criticized change of coach. sweaters on the ice.

Vancouver Canucks fans have seen it all in another disappointing season – and some say they’re frustrated not just by the performance on the ice, but also by the lack of response from the team’s front office.

“We’re stuck in a state of perpetual mediocrity and it’s extremely frustrating as hope fades,” said fan Andrew Melo.

Ahead of the 2022-23 season, the Canucks promised to make a playoff push. In 49 games, the team is 14 points from a playoff spot with a 20-26-3 record.

In several games, players were booed off the ice at home, with shirts being thrown from the stands on multiple occasions.

Lorne Perry has been a Canucks fan for over 50 years. He spent his childhood listening to shows on his transistor radio and remembers watching the franchise’s first-ever NHL game on an ER TV after he broke his hip playing rugby.

As an adult, he spent decades rushing home to watch games. Now, there are times when he doesn’t even bother to turn on the TV.

“I just don’t feel the enthusiasm I had anymore,” Perry said.

“Winning and losing is not as important as a good game. In recent years there have been times like at the end of last year when there have been wins, but they have also played good. hockey I like to watch good hockey.

Fans are also refraining from watching matches in person.

While the team brought in more than 18,000 attendances for every game this season, rows of empty seats and dark suites have become the norm at Rogers Arena.

Less than half an hour before the puck drop on January 27, hundreds of tickets were still available for a game between the Canucks and the Columbus Blue Jackets. Ads on Craigslist offered lower seats for as little as $50 per person.

Tickets for future home games can be purchased on the online resale market for $42, although marquee games still command big bucks – the cheapest seat for a March 4 game with the Maple Leafs was $185 on Friday.

Melo is among those who have decided not to attend Canucks games this year.

“And that’s precisely because I don’t like the product they put on the ice,” he said.

“And I don’t like the fact that they didn’t go for a full rebuild. The lack of direction means I don’t want to go to games anymore, which is a shame because I loved going to games.

Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford said last month that the team needed a “major operation” but that management was planning a “renovation” rather than a rebuild.

Many fans expressed their frustration with the mood.

“There seems to be a real lack of direction or purpose in the movements the front office is making,” Andy Per said. “I think it’s pretty clear that the roster they have right now isn’t good enough, but we keep making changes to the edges and trying to fit a square pin into a round hole.”

August Badke also feels “a little disoriented” in the front office.

“What’s the way to get into some kind of argument again?” Badke asked. “It seems like it’s been a very long time since we’ve been in the race. And it seems to have less to do with the players and more with management decisions.

One decision that angered not just fans but several members of the hockey community was the Canucks’ handling of the firing of head coach Bruce Boudreau.

For weeks there has been talk of the club planning a move and many have criticized the decision to keep Boudreau on the bench, even after rumors surfaced that management were already in talks with his successor.

“I think the coaching situation was not the right one,” Badke said. “It was very chaotic. Knowing that it would happen for so long, it was difficult to monitor the bank.

Boudreau was finally fired on January 22 and replaced by Rick Tocchet, former coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Arizona Coyotes.

The whole situation with Boudreau’s hiring in December 2021 was frustrating, Adam Piercy said.

“He was really hired in a no-win situation before a president or a general manager was in place,” he said. “That’s not how things are done. And he deserved more than he got.

A move the Canucks made this week seems to have resonated better with the fan base.

On Monday, Vancouver traded captain Bo Horvat to the New York Islanders for forwards Anthony Beauvillier and Aatu Raty and a protected first-round pick in the 2023 draft.

“It’s really sad to see Bo go,” said Ella De Groot. “But for me it’s a good sign [management’s] ready to shake the core.

The swap makes sense for longtime fan Chris Keogh.

“It gives me quiet confidence,” he said. “And if [the trade] takes us to a point where we’re rebuilding, if we get a good player out of this draft year, I think that’s progress.

Keogh has followed the Canucks for more than 50 years and says he’s not too bothered by the ups and downs of the team anymore. The hockey gods just aren’t fans of Vancouver, he said.

“Sometimes I’m like, ‘Hey, that’s part of being a Canucks fan,'” he said.

“It looks like we’re never going to get to the point where we’re going to progress or be a dominant, traditional franchise like the Montreal Canadiens. It’s just.”

However, others believe the team has yet to drop this season.

Piercy wants the Canucks to hit rock bottom and get a high draft pick to start a new era.

“I’m on the team tank now, so to speak. I want to see how bad it can get,” he said. “It could always get worse.”

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