WATCH: Embarrassing play from Ekman-Larson and his leadership ability is being questioned because of it

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Felip Gosselin
January 11, 2023 (11:56)

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The problems are not missing at this moment in Vancouver, though it seems like many of them don't actually have a fix apart from completely starting over. The Canucks' leadership has been questioned and an event in yesterday's game may reveal why.

The current Canucks leaders are known to be Bo Horvat and his alternates Oliver Ekman-Larsson, J.T. Miller, and Tyler Myers. Whilst Horvat has responded well, J.T. Miller isn't showing great signs and he isn't playing up to the standards he set for himself when he signed his most recent deal. Ekman-Larsson and Myers have been sharing ice time for a while and their leadership and playing abilities have been questioned since then.

The Canucks took an early 3-0 lead yesterday in Pittsburgh and they broke really bad when the Pens then scored 3 to tie it still in that same first period. Though a clip has surfaced about a particular play on the team's 3rd goal against. When the Canucks lose a clear draw in the defensive zone, the puck ends up on Jason Zucker's stick and he wires it top-shelf and ties the game at 3. In the clip you see, the puck coming off of the Penguins player's stick and it comes close to OEL who then ducks instead of stepping up to block it. Here:

Ekman-Larsson not only is an alternate captain but he's also a 31-year-old veteran in the NHL, an experienced player with 12 seasons under his belt. There's no way that the team doesn't look up to him and doesn't look at the example he sets, as the fan above stated:

''When the leaders of your team are ducking for cover & aren't willing to block a shot can you expect accountability from anyone else? Sure it's just one play, but everyone one on the Canucks sees this play there is a trickle-down effect.''

When the leaders of the group aren't doing it and it's deemed acceptable, how are the Canucks supposed to follow a lead that isn't there? This raises the question, is the problem within the team's captains? Or is the limits authorized by the off-ice management group causing this problem?