Beauvillier eager to 'start from scratch' with Canucks
Anthony Beauvillier is looking forward to having a clean slate now that he's been traded to the Vancouver Canucks.
"Honestly, I think (the) timing is perfect," Beauvillier told NHL.com's Kevin Woodley on Tuesday.
"Having a new coach and new (assistant) coaches, I feel like it can start a new page for everyone. Having the chance to start from scratch with everyone, it's exciting. I feel like everyone wants to play good for the new coaches and staff with the changes they made, so it's definitely exciting."
On Monday, the New York Islanders dealt the forward to the Canucks as part of the package that landed Bo Horvat. Beauvillier joined Vancouver along with 20-year-old center Aatu Raty and a conditional first-round pick in this year's draft.
Despite Beauviller's optimism about his change of scenery, he lamented having to leave Mathew Barzal. He met Barzal in 2012 and roomed with him at Canada's under-18 camp three years later before the Isles selected both in the first round of the 2015 draft, with Beauvillier going 28th overall.
"It's been a hell of a ride with him, and he's going to stay one of my best friends forever," Beauvillier said. "It's very emotional and sad to leave these guys, but at the same time, (you) don't want to beat yourself up too much because there's something exciting ahead."
Beauviller, who spent seven seasons with the Islanders, has yet to live up to the expectations placed on him as a first-rounder and former QMJHL star. The Quebec-born winger failed to carve out a consistent top-six role during his New York tenure, posting career highs of 21 goals (in 2017-18), 22 assists (last season), and 39 points (in 2019-20).
The 25-year-old's collected nine tallies and 11 helpers over 49 contests throughout this campaign while averaging his lowest ice time (15:47) since playing 14:39 per game in 2018-19. However, he should have an opportunity to nail down a top-six role with the retooling Canucks, who fired head coach Bruce Boudreau and replaced him with Rick Tocchet on Jan. 22.
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