Breaking - Vancouver Canucks Confirm Rick Tocchet Will Not be Returning as Head Coach
Photo credit: TSN
An NHL insider has confirmed that head coach Rick Tocchet will not be returning to the Vancouver Canucks and a coaching search to replace him will begin shortly.
As soon as the Vancouver Canucks wrapped up their 2024-25 season on April 16th, there were plenty of questions surrounding the future of Rick Tocchet as the team's head coach going forward.
Last week, the team Jim Rutherford confirmed that they would not be exercising the option in his contract, but have made him an offer to become the highest-paid coach in franchise history and now, we know what Rick Tocchet has decided.
Elliotte Friedman confirms Rick Tocchet's departure from Vancouver
In a post on X on Tuesday afternoon, Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman announced that head coach Rick Tocchet will not be returning to the Vancouver Canucks.
Friedman added that there will be a statement released shortly detailing Tocchet's decision to leave Vancouver and that the Canucks are now the eighth team in the National Hockey League that are looking for a new head coach.
"There is word this afternoon that Rick Tocchet will not be returning as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks.
Believe there will be a full statement with his rationale in the next little while...but add Vancouver to the teams looking for a new bench boss." Friedman said.
Believe there will be a full statement with his rationale in the next little while...but add Vancouver to the teams looking for a new bench boss." Friedman said.
Tocchet, 61, initially joined the Vancouver Canucks in January 2023 as the team's replacement for Bruce Boudreau and the club rallied around him, finishing the season with a record of 20-12-4 under their new coach.
The following season, 2023-24, Tocchet led the Vancouver Canucks to their first division title in over a decade, helping them reach the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs where they lost in seven games to the Edmonton Oilers.
For his efforts last season, the Scarborough, Ontario native earned the Jack Adams Award as the best coach in the National Hockey League.
The 2024-25 campaign was a tricky one for Tocchet and the Vancouver Canucks as a whole. From injuries to a reported rift between Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller, the Canucks would go on to miss the playoffs for the fourth time in the last five seasons after having a 38-30-14 record.
Tocchet finishes his tenure with the Vancouver Canucks with a record of 108-65-27 in 200 games behind the bench, with his 108 wins being seventh-most in franchise history.
There's no doubt Rick Tocchet is going to find a new landing spot very quickly, with the Philadelphia Flyers reportedly one of the teams in the mix for his services.
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