![\"Heatmaps](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768194668_61_image.webp\"\/)
<\/p>\nThe difference is stark. The blue in the slot in last season\u2019s heatmap indicated the Canucks gave up fewer shots than average from that area.<\/p>\n
The deep, deep red in front of the Canucks\u2019 net this season indicates that they give up far, far more shots from that area than the NHL average.<\/p>\n
That is, to be blunt, very bad.<\/p>\n
The easiest explanation for why this is happening is that the Canucks changed their defensive system.<\/p>\n
Tocchet\u2019s box+one zone defence<\/p>\n
Under Tocchet, the Canucks played a box+one zone defence, a system that has become increasingly popular around the NHL.<\/p>\n
At its most basic, the box+one is exactly what it sounds like: four players form a box, with one additional player available to attack the puck.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a simple breakdown of what this looks like:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The idea is that no matter where the puck is on the ice, there will always be a defenceman and a forward in the \u201crails\u201d between the hashmarks, ensuring that the guts of the ice are protected.<\/p>\n
Additionally, the defencemen never stray too far from the front of the net. If a defenceman moves into the corner to pressure the puck and their opponent skates up to the point, the defenceman does not follow them. Instead, he returns to his zone in front of the net and passes off that check to a forward.<\/p>\n
There are downsides to a box+one system. It can be too passive, giving up a lot of possession on the outside. It can also be exploited by skilled players finding gaps in coverage, as individual players are not as tightly marked.<\/p>\n
But, for Tocchet, the benefit of the guts of the ice always being protected outweighed these downsides.<\/p>\n
Foote\u2019s man-on-man defence<\/p>\n
There are obvious upsides to this system.<\/p>\n
It simplifies defensive reads, apart from reading when to out-man the puck. Aside from that, you just have to know who your man is and stick with him.<\/p>\n
When done properly, no opponent should be open in a man-on-man system. There should be no holes in coverage to exploit. No matter who gets the puck, there should be a defensive player right on top of them to disrupt the play.<\/p>\n
The problem is, there will always be mistakes.<\/p>\n
This season, we\u2019ve heard Foote say, \u201cWe had a mistake,\u201d about as much as we heard Tocchet talk about \u201cprotecting the guts of the ice.\u201d That\u2019s been his explanation for dozens of goals against this season.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s been the big issue with the Canucks\u2019 man-on-man coverage: when someone makes a mistake, the entire system falls apart.<\/p>\n
It falls apart in little pieces on the floorThere was an obvious example of this in the Canucks\u2019 game against the Detroit Red Wings:<\/a> J.T. Compher\u2019s goal midway through the second period that made it 3-1. All of this is fine, apart from how long the Canucks have been stuck in the defensive zone.<\/p>\n Where things go wrong is that as Myers follows Chiarot to the point, Sherwood lapses into the mindset of most wingers: the defenceman at the point is my man. He and Myers double-team Chiarot, but that means Sherwood has left Sandin-Pellikka open.<\/p>\n From there, it\u2019s a domino effect: DeBrusk leaves Raymond behind to check Sandin-Pellikka; K\u00e4mpf leaves Compher in front of the net to check Raymond; and Buium is too gassed to prevent Van Reimsdyk from setting up Compher for the goal.<\/p>\n The NHL\u2019s goal visualizer makes it all too clear:<\/p>\n Obviously, Sherwood made a mistake, but that mistake is exacerbated by the system. In a box+one zone system, Myers never would have chased Chiarot to the point: when Chiarot went to the point, Myers would have simply returned to the front of the net and picked up Compher, freeing up K\u00e4mpf to check someone else.<\/p>\n In other words, a zone system like the box+one can be more forgiving of mistakes, because the focus is primarily on defending a dangerous area rather than checking an individual player.<\/p>\n The problem isn\u2019t the system \u2014 not exactly<\/p>\n Let\u2019s be clear: a man-on-man system can absolutely work.<\/p>\n The defensive system that Foote has the Canucks playing is essentially the same as what the Florida Panthers have used to win back-to-back Stanley Cups.<\/p>\n The Panthers play an aggressive man-on-man system that often sees their defencemen following players up to the point the way that Myers did on the Compher goal, leaving a forward to defend players in front of the net. When the puck is below the hashmarks along the boards, the Panthers will attack with numbers, looking to support the puck and create turnovers.<\/p>\n That aggressive man-on-man system has been very effective for the Panthers. They constantly break up possessions and turn the puck back up ice, spending as little time in the defensive zone as possible. They\u2019re not interested in protecting the guts of the ice with a more passive zone defence \u2014 they just want the puck back.<\/p>\n It wouldn\u2019t surprise me if Florida\u2019s success with this system is why Foote and his coaching staff introduced it to the Canucks this season.<\/p>\n There\u2019s just one problem: the Canucks don\u2019t have the horses.<\/p>\n The man-on-man system works very well for the Panthers because they have players who can win the one-on-one battles that are created by man-on-man coverage. Their forwards thrive in that type of aggressive system, including a couple of the best two-way forwards in the NHL, such as three-time Selke winner Aleksander Barkov.<\/p>\n Their defencemen, as well, seem to fit this system, particularly their mobile number-one defenceman, Gustav Forsling.<\/p>\n The Canucks, on the other hand, are struggling. That\u2019s particularly true for lengthy defencemen Tyler Myers and Marcus Pettersson, who seemed to fit right into a zone system that saw them primarily responsible for defending the home plate area with their size and reach, but are getting lost in a system that sees them chasing opponents all over the defensive zone.<\/p>\n The Canucks\u2019 forwards, unlike the Panthers\u2019, aren\u2019t winning the one-on-one battles required of man-on-man coverage, and both forwards and defencemen are failing to make the right defensive reads for when to out-man the puck.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/giphy.gif\")
At the start of the clip, every Canuck has a man, even if the assignments are a little haphazard after being stuck in the defensive zone for a while. Tyler Myers has Ben Chiarot, who is shooting the puck; Zeev Buium has James van Reimsdyk in the slot; David K\u00e4mpf is battling with Compher in front; Jake DeBrusk<\/a> has Lucas Raymond behind him at the point; and Kiefer Sherwood<\/a> has Axel Sandin-Pellikka at the other point, though he\u2019s cheated into the slot with the puck on the left side of the ice.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768194671_870_giphy.gif\")
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