3:13 p.m.: Vancouver has formally announced Tocchet’s departure.
2:33 p.m.: The Canucks will not pick up head coach Rick Tocchet’s club option despite failing to come to terms on an extension, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Vancouver will now begin the search for a new bench boss.
President of hockey operations Jim Rutherford confirmed last week that the Canucks wouldn’t rope Tocchet into his club option regardless of whether they agreed on a new deal, so today’s news isn’t entirely out of the blue. Either the Canucks or Tocchet are expected to release a statement with his reasoning against extending his time in Vancouver later today, Friedman relays.
While Vancouver expressed interest in keeping Tocchet and was willing to pay up to do so, it’s not surprising to see at least one of the two sides decide that a split was the best way forward. The Canucks had an incredibly disappointing 2024-25 campaign, falling to a 38-30-14 record and missing the playoffs after recording a 50-win season and winning the Pacific Division in 2023-24. That campaign earned Tocchet Coach of the Year honors, but that hasn’t meant a ton for a coach’s long-term future with their club as of late.
It’s too early to say who might succeed Tocchet in British Columbia. Internal options could include assistant coach Adam Foote or AHL head coach Manny Malhotra. As for Tocchet, the Flyers have had their eye on his situation ever since firing John Tortorella with weeks left in the campaign. They’ll presumably be aggressive in bringing him back to the city in which he spent 11 of his 18 seasons as a player.
Tocchet ends his stint in Vancouver with a 108-65-27 (.608) record across two and a half seasons. He was initially brought in midway through the 2022-23 campaign after the Canucks fired Bruce Boudreau. In 2024-25, major regression from the since-traded J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson, along with injuries to 2024 Vezina finalist Thatcher Demko and top-pair defenseman Filip Hronek, were simply too much to handle for Tocchet to keep the club afloat.
The Canucks are now the eighth active head coach vacancy, joining the Blackhawks, Bruins, Ducks, Flyers, Kraken, Penguins, and Rangers.
Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports.
Let the battle of the two Pennsylvania teams begin for his services!
Ugh, please go to Pittsburgh.
One of the few names out there who I can see earning the respect of the Pens locker room… which is probably why Dubas won’t do it.
I think dubas want go for young coach who has energetic and also could try make young players good
Rick Tocchet leaving Vancouver isn’t surprising. Things got pretty messy for the organization this season on & off the ice. It’s probably best for both sides to get a fresh start. I suspect Tocchet is either going to Pittsburgh or Philadelphia.
Either way, gotta get out of Canada.
Another black eye for a Canucks franchise that cannot escape the cycle of controversy.
And they still need to deal with the Pettersson situation.
Chicago should at least try, all these inexperienced coaches they keep bringing in isn’t working
“Hello Bruce? It’s Jim – hello?”
After the way they treated Boudreau I’d be surprised if anyone with a pedigree would take the job unless overpaid for it. In other words, welcome back to the NHL Manny!
Waiting for The Hockey Guy video.
Does JR reunite with Sullivan?
Predictions: Brad Shaw remains in Philly, Mike Sullivan to Boston, Rick Tocchet to NYR. Torts to Chicago. Gallant to Seattle. Laviolette to Pittsburgh. Luke Richardson to Anaheim. And they will all be looking for new head coaching gigs in three years.
id be ok with Torts
Who goes to Van?
Nobody. Quinn Hughes is player/coach
Agreed. The GMs are never to blame, just coaches with Cup rings and 500 wins.
Totally love this coach’s self-determination to move on. GMs are getting 10-year contracts and four coaching changes for total rebuilds, 5 years and two coaching changes for partial rebuilds, and then they just mess around trading away talent for draft choices. And then have the gall to fire well-respected coaches for “failing to meet expectations.” This is bs.
One-quarter of the teams are looking for new coaches..seems mind of a high turnover rate, but then again the NFL churns as many coaches, so…
Bring some fresh blood in. Sullivan might be the exception, but none of the notable FA coaches will have a lifespan with their new team beyond three years.
Time to bust up the old boys club and bring in new faces. It’s not working for these guys anymore.
Derek Lalonde is available. Great job at Detroit except for not winning.
Manny taco