Rick Tocchet not returning as Canucks coach, becoming top candidate for vacancies across NHL
Rick Tocchet is not returning as coach of the Vancouver Canucks, the team announced Tuesday, making him a top candidate for several vacancies around the NHL. Tocchet did not have a contract moving forward and decided not to sign another with the Canucks.
"Family is a priority, and with my contract lapsing, this becomes the opportune time," Tocchet said. "While I don't know where I'm headed, or exactly how this will play out for me over the near term, I feel like this is the right time for me to explore other opportunities in and around hockey."
His departure comes after 2 1/2 seasons in Vancouver since replacing Bruce Boudreau in January 2023. He won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in 2024 for guiding the Canucks to a 50-win season and first place in the Pacific Division.
Tocchet, 61, won the Stanley Cup as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and '17 and played more than a decade with the Philadelphia Flyers. The Penguins and Flyers have coach openings, along with the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, Anaheim Ducks, Seattle Kraken and the New York Rangers.
Given his resume, Tocchet joins Cup champions Mike Sullivan, Joel Quenneville and Peter Laviolette as a few of the top options available to fill those jobs. John Tortorella, who the Flyers fired in March, could also be looking for a new job.
Tocchet will likely be closely tied to the Flyers' opening, given his connections to the team and the area. In addition to playing 11 years in Philly, including a couple of seasons with team president Keith Jones, Tocchet spent time serving as a Flyers analyst for NBC Sports Philadelphia.
"Rick felt he needed a change"
In Tocchet's final season with Vancouver, the Canucks dealt with locker room drama between J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson for several months, did not have injured captain Quinn Hughes at times and missed the playoffs. Miller was traded to the New York Rangers at the end of January, and Tocchet was critical of Pettersson in his season-ending news conference.
Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford called Tocchet's departure "very disappointing news."
"But we respect Rick's decision to move to a new chapter in his hockey career," Rutherford said. "We did everything in our power to keep him, but at the end of the day Rick felt he needed a change. He is a good friend, a good coach, and we can't thank him enough for all he did for our organization."
