The Canucks have pulled their goalie more than any other team

There was a time when coaches would wait as long as possible to pull their goalie. They were afraid of the risk, it was always clear.

No more. Teams pulling goalies with two or even three minutes left is a common occurrence. That fear of leaving your goal exposed just isn’t there any more.

For years, the numbers suggested that coaches should pocket their fears and be more aggressive in pulling the goalie. That it took so long for coaches to come around isn’t the point here — it’s that it has happened at all.

Vancouver Canucks coach Adam Foote has not been shy to get six skaters on the ice this season.

Indeed, no team has played more with an empty net than the Canucks … which is of course a troubling thing. You only pull the goalie because you’re chasing the game.

In total, the Canucks have used an extra skater for just over 34 minutes this season — averaging more than a minute per game (they have played 27 games this year).

Second-most isn’t even close — the New York Islanders have pulled the goalie for a total of 22 minutes, 21 seconds this season. They have also played 27 games this season.

And for the record, the Colorado Avalanche, who toyed with the Canucks on Tuesday in Denver, winning 3-1, have pulled the goalie the least, for just over three minutes in total this season.

It’s good that Foote has been so brave in pulling his goalie — but the problem is they’re doing it so much.

The great hockey blogger Kent Wilson once noted that blocking shots is like killing rats — doing it is preferable to not, but you would rather not do it at all.

In similar terms, it’s great to not be afraid of conceding a goal when you pull your goalie — what’s the difference between a one-goal loss and a two-goal loss? But you would rather not be in a position to have to do it at all.

That remains the Canucks’ main problem this season. You can declare “we were right there” all you want, but the reality is you’re not, and that’s the problem.

The Canucks aren’t the league’s worst team when it comes to chasing the game. They’ve only spent the eighth-most time trailing so far this season. That’s hardly a moral victory, though.

They have spent the fourth-fewest minutes leading. That’s just miserable.

Is it any surprise that Quinn Hughes looks so miserable in his post-game interviews, let alone in-game.

This team stinks. Might a new coach make a difference? Adam Foote is in a result-based business, and his team isn’t playing very well. You can look at how Rick Tocchet’s Flyers are playing, winning through very defensive hockey, and you can see one difference there.

These Canucks might be in better shape had they been able to keep their coach, but he didn’t want to stay. Did he see a future like this? Did he think this current team was without hope? Or did he more likely worry about Hughes’ future? About management’s future?

Whatever the case, here we are, watching a team going nowhere but down, with management openly entertaining trade offers for players such as Kiefer Sherwood. (Sources suggest, by the way, that Minnesota and Montreal are currently the two teams chasing hardest after Sherwood, but nothing is done until it’s done in hockey, and even then, sometimes, things can change again.)

Bottom line, it seems reasonable to expect the Canucks to keep finding themselves in spots where they have to pull the goalie.

How much longer can you sell fans on a team that really isn’t there, that isn’t good enough? Someone is to blame here, and it ain’t the fans.

As always, they deserve better.

MINOR-PETEY — Elias “Junior” Pettersson was sent back to the minors on Wednesday morning. Abbotsford plays on Wednesday night and again this weekend. The young defenceman has struggled in the NHL this season, but will get plenty of ice time back in the AHL to reset his game. He will surely be called back up to the NHL at some point. … Nikita Tolopilo, who left the team earlier this week to be with his wife for the birth of their baby, has also been sent to Abbotsford, presumably to get a start Wednesday night before being recalled to continue on as the NHL backup while Thatcher Demko works his way back from a groin injury.

pjohnston@postmedia.com