THN Exclusive: Former Canucks & Maple Leafs Forward Rick Vaive Discusses The Challenges Of Playing In A Canadian Market & What He Thinks Of This Year's Vancouver Team
Former Vancouver Canucks forward Rick Vaive sat down with THN's Adam Kierszenblat to discuss the challenges of playing in a Canadian market and how he feels about this season's team.
Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports - THN Exclusive: Former Canucks & Maple Leafs Forward Rick Vaive Discusses The Challenges Of Playing In A Canadian Market & What He Thinks Of This Year's Vancouver TeamFormer Vancouver Canucks forward Rick Vaive sat down with THN's Adam Kierszenblat to discuss the challenges of playing in a Canadian market and how he feels about this season's team.
Vaive was picked 5th overall in the 1979 NHL Draft and played 47 games for the Canucks before he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He had 13 goals and eight assists.
"It was pretty great being picked 5th overall," Vaive told THN. "I mean, you look back at that and go, wow, that's pretty amazing."
Vaive's draft class included other legends like Mike Gartner, Ray Bourque, and Mike Foligno.
"I got [to Vancouver, and] things were fine. For some reason, I don't know, things kind of went south after a few months," Vaive said. "Then I ended up getting traded to Toronto."
Vaive was sent to Toronto along with Bill Derlago in exchange for Jerry Butler and Tiger Williams. Vaive became the first player in Maple Leafs history to score 50 goals in a season. He did that during the 1981-82 season.
"Some of the toughness was gone, and I think they needed a guy like Tiger Williams to come in and be the veteran leader and give them some toughness," Vaive said about the trade. Toronto needed young guys like Billy and I to kind of build on. I don't really look back on things like that. I think it was a trade that benefited both teams."
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He completed that feat in three consecutive seasons.
With Auston Matthews on the verge of hitting 70 goals this season, Vaive has seen his name pop up more often.
"I mean, now that he's in a different stratosphere, getting close to 70, it's a little bit different. It almost seemed like for a few years there, every time Matthews did something, it was like, well, he just passed Rick Vaive," he said. "So your name goes up quite a bit. That is probably why things, for me, maybe, have gotten a little bit more popular in the last few years because of what he's done."
With social media today, Vaive can't imagine the attention he would've gotten had it been around during his playing career.
"There was no Sportsnet. No TSN. No social media. I mean, what they have to deal with today is so far greater than what we had to deal with," Vaive said.
With playoff buzz in full force, Vaive gave his thoughts on what the Canucks coaching staff can provide. Vaive played against head coach Rick Tocchet and vividly remembered what facing off against him was like.
"Yeah, wasn't fun. He was a pretty physical guy. I mean, I never had a fight with him or anything, but I knew he could fight pretty good," Vaive said. "I love the way he coaches I really do."
A topic of discussion throughout this season is that the Canucks coaching staff has a ton of playoff experience. The roster doesn't have too much, but Vaive feels that the staff has set up the Canucks for success.
"We have mutual friends here in Toronto and people who know him that I know, and they talk a lot of great things about Rick," Vaive said. "I think he's done a fantastic job with Vancouver. "After he came in last year, things kind of turned around a little bit. I think over the summer, I think it's just gotten even better."
Vaive also gave his thoughts on why he feels Tocchet is a better fit for the modern NHL player than Bruce Boudreau.
"I think it's the philosophy, and I also think Rick is probably—maybe it's not fair to say—but I think he might be more in tune with the players of today," Vaive said. "He Knows what they need, what he has to do, and what buttons he has to push to get the best out of them. I think his record is very much up on that. Maybe Bruce wasn't as much. That might not be fair to say."
As for the upcoming playoffs, Vaive knows the pressure is on the Canucks. He didn't sugarcoat the Canadian market factor, either.
"It's gonna be difficult. I've always said to play in a Canadian market, especially Toronto and Montreal, maybe not as much out west, but it's very close; you got to focus on what you need to do," he explained. "Yes, you're gonna hear things on television. You're gonna read things in the newspaper. If you can't let those things roll off your back and just go out and do your job, then you're not going to have success. So you've got to be able to let those things go and just go out and do your job. There's no other way, I think, to have success in the Canadian market if you're not able to do that."
Like any player, Vaive loves playoff hockey. He feels that today's generation of playoff hockey is closer to when he played.
"I love it. If I look back at when I played to the way it's played now, playoffs are a little bit closer to the way the game was when I played. I love playoff hockey," Vaive said.
Vaive played in 54 career playoff games and scored 27 goals.
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