Myers: 'The mindset and the mood got to us tonight'

Following Vancouver's 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, in a game where Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau was shown support from serenading fans, D Tyler Myers admitted that the mood in the building affected the team's play.

“The mindset and the mood got to us tonight. We were down," said the 32-year-old four-year Canuck to TSN's Farhan Lalji. Myers notes that the noise was unlike anything he’s ever dealt with and probably more than anyone has had to deal with. “It’s hard to know what to want right now,” he concluded. 

Boudreau told reporters post-game that he could feel the effects of the week weighing on his players. 

“It looked like they were disenchanted right now. It can wear on them,” he said. 

Throughout moments in the game, Canucks fans broke out into a myriad of chants in support of the 69-year-old Toronto native who took over as the Canucks' bench boss mid-season in 2021-22. 

“It’s unbelievable. I’ve only been (here) a year (and) it will go down in my memory book as one of my best memories… it’s very touching.”

Down the hall, Colorado's Andrew Cogliano, a player of Boudreau's during their shared time with the Anaheim Ducks, spoke on the situation. 

"I don't know what's going on here, but I love Bruce," the 18-year veteran said. "I think he's a great man. He cares about players, he cares about his team, and he's a good coach. I have my thoughts on what's going on here with him on a personal level, and I don't think it's warranted. He's done a good job throughout the league. We had a lot of success in Anaheim and I actually attribute a lot of my success in the league to him."

"So I owe him a lot. I love him. I think he's a good person. He's a good coach. and I think he'll come out on top of all of this." 

The emotions began well before the drop of the puck on Friday night as earlier in the day Boudreau, while fielding pre-game questions from reporters, politely ended his media availability early when asked what being a coach in the NHL meant to him as rumours continue to swirl about his future.

"I'll talk later," Boudreau said before walking away.

Boudreau's future as head coach of the Canucks has been in question for weeks with president Jim Rutherford admitting on Monday that he'd spoken to people outside the organization about the job. One name that has been front and centre to replace Boudreau is former NHL analyst for TNT and former Arizona Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet. 

Speculation went into overdrive on Friday when Boudreau was absent from the team's morning skate ahead of back-to-back home games on Friday and Saturday against the Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers, respectively.

Boudreau said his team is also well aware of what's going on.

"They know," Boudreau said. "There's a lot of media here. I've got my wife phoning me, saying, 'You're not on the ice! Is everything okay?' So you guys are getting it out all over the country. It's tough not to feel it, but you just...look, you love it and you just want to go do it. So that's just how I shut it out, just realizing how much you love it and care about the players.