Brock Boeser Hurt by Decision, Execution of Healthy Scratch on 'Hockey Fights Cancer' Night
Brock Boeser rode an emotional roller coaster on Saturday night. The Canucks sniper was a healthy scratch against the Coyotes after a poor start to the season; a very poor start.
Shortly before the game's start, we learned that Boeser was, in fact, playing - but only because of an injury to Dakota Joshua, who couldn't play; a complete 180. Boeser ended up scoring a huge tying-goal with under ten minutes play in the third period, which led to an eventual overtime win for the Canucks.
It was a great outcome for the Canucks' forward all things considered. However, there is more to the story, which explains the news that Boeser received permission to facilitate a trade with other teams.
First things first, Saturday night's game in Vancouver was the team's 'Hockey Fights Cancer' night, which is an important night for Brock Boeser and his family. Earlier this year, Boeser's father passed away after a long & painful battle with cancer, so the decision to scratch him on that particular night warrants criticism, no question.
Second, according to Elliotte Friedman's most recent 32 Thoughts Podcast, Boeser found out he was scratched by looking at the locker room's whiteboard; not from a coach. By which Boeser felt insulted, and not unreasonably so. Friedman says the combination of the timing of the scratch and the execution really rubbed Boeser the wrong way, which has a lot to do with the trade talk.
"So I think that Boeser - in this situation - is not only upset about being scratched, but he's also upset that he found out by looking at it on the board."
Friedman added that head coach Bruce Boudreau's reputation suggests that he is typically mindful of his players and what is important to them. Which could be a sign of how much stress Boudreau is under that he and the coaching staff would neglect Boeser's feelings the way they did.
The situation in Vancouver has been messy to start 2022-23, and it appears to just get messier with each passing day.
Source:
| POLL | ||
DÉCEMBRE 5 | 178 ANSWERS Brock Boeser Hurt by Decision, Execution of Healthy Scratch on 'Hockey Fights Cancer' Night Who is the first NHL head coach to get fired in '22-23? | ||
| Bruce Boudreau (VAN) | 61 | 34.3 % |
| Craig Berube (STL) | 40 | 22.5 % |
| DJ Smith (OTT) | 37 | 20.8 % |
| Other | 40 | 22.5 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Zachary Werenski | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| Sean Monahan | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jesper Bratt | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Frederick Gaudreau | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jack Hughes | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Mackenzie Weegar | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Kent Johnson | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Alexander Wennberg | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Mitchell Chaffee | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Coronato | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Marcus Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nick Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Conor Geekie | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Stefan Noesen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Corey Perry | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Igor Sharangovich | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dmitry Voronkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||