Canucks agree to multi-year extension with head coach Green

The Vancouver Canucks and head coach Travis Green agreed on a multi-year contract extension, the team announced Friday.

Green has largely overseen Vancouver's rebuild since joining the club in 2017 and has played a large part in the growth of the team's young stars.

"We are excited to have Travis Green continue to lead the Canucks as head coach and move forward from a challenging year to focus on future seasons," General manager Jim Benning said. "Our plan has always been to draft and develop a young core and surround them with supporting players who can help us win. We have some of the best young players in the NHL, and I believe Travis is the right coach to help us achieve team success and a return to the playoffs."

Green just wrapped up his fourth season in Vancouver. The club missed the postseason for the third time under his leadership after finishing in last place in the North Division with a 23-29-4 record.

The Canucks made a surprising run in the Stanley Cup playoffs last year, making it to the second round before losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in seven games.

Captain Bo Horvat expressed his confidence in Green and the coaching staff the team has in place during his end-of-season media session on Friday.

"We’d love to see Travis and the coaching staff back," Horvat said. "They’ve done a great job. We have a good young core, and we have to continue to keep growing and getting better."

The Canucks battled through adversity this year, dealing with a massive COVID-19 outbreak in March that affected nearly the entire team and coaching staff on top of an injury to star player Elias Pettersson, who missed the second half of the season. The club finished 7-11-1 in its final 19 games of the campaign upon returning to the ice in late April.