May 13th: According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Tocchet won’t have to wait much longer for a new head coaching role. Dreger indicates that Tocchet will land a new gig this week, and the Bruins, Flyers, and Kraken have been the most interested suitors, similarly to Friedman.
May 12th: Former Canucks bench boss Rick Tocchet is the most recent entrant to the market after unproductive extension talks led Vancouver not to pick up his contract option for 2025-26. While there’s been some expected interest in his services already – the Bruins are believed to want to interview him – the market for his services isn’t as strong as some would have anticipated, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman told CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal today.
Weeks before it was clear Tocchet wouldn’t be back with the Canucks, he was being linked to the Flyers, where he spent a good portion of his playing career. Philly remains on the hunt for a permanent bench boss after firing John Tortorella late in the season. While Tocchet was reported as a favorite a few weeks ago, there’s yet to be confirmation he’s been interviewed by the Flyers. Friedman told Dhaliwal that Tocchet remains “high on their radar,” but they’ve expanded their search to other names enough (like Pat Ferschweiler and Jay McKee) that Tocchet is no longer a clear-cut frontrunner for the job.
As for other landing spots, Friedman believes Tocchet will ultimately end up commanding too much money for Boston to go his direction. Vancouver’s extension offer to Tocchet was in the $4MM range annually, Friedman said. While money wasn’t the primary reason Tocchet opted not to extend, it stands to reason he won’t take much less, if at all, than that figure after receiving a firm offer.
Another team demonstrating interest in Tocchet during this offseason’s hiring cycle is the Kraken, Friedman relays. It doesn’t appear the interest is mutual at this stage, though. There’s a legitimate possibility he goes unhired and returns to a familiar television job on TNT’s intermission panel, where he served between being let go by the Coyotes at the end of the 2020-21 season and being picked up by the Canucks midway through 2022-23.
There are other jobs out there – the Blackhawks and Penguins. It stands to reason he wouldn’t prefer the former if he’s not interested in another Western Conference non-contending team in Seattle. Pittsburgh remains an intriguing option – he won a combined four Stanley Cups there as a player and assistant coach – but it’ll be a while before they make a decision, Josh Yohe of The Athletic wrote earlier this month.
He is too cocky for his own good. Hopefully no one signs him and he can talk to the 5000 people who watch the pregame and between period show
I have too much bitterness at Tocchet over the Tyler Myers hit on Beniers shortly after the Canucks hired him that I would rather he find a different job.
Boudreau’s record – as is Claude Julien’s – is way better than Tocchet; one of them has a Cup ring as a head coach… Hard to think there’ll be this many options available next year…
Was Vancouvers offer C$4 or US$4?
Anyway, he should have taken the $4 mil to coach the Cans. Good luck getting that kind of pay elsewhere.
Taking a pay cut to get away is not a good look for the Canucks
Considering Tocchet took over Boudreau’s team and did much better with the same players… not the best comp.
nine seasons behind the bench .. only two playoff appearances.. never getting past the second round .. underachieved this past season .. glad briere is looking elsewhere
Guessing that you used a similar argument when the Panthers were considering Paul Maurice as the next coach.
maurice made the playoffs eight straight years with the jets before being taking over a much better roster in florida
Sounds like the perfect guy for the Bruins (b’s fan) to go with the rest of the clown show they have
Eight consecutive? Nice try. Do your homework. You can have your own opinion all day long but you don’t get your own personal set of facts.
I think Sullivan entering the market after Tocchet and quickly exiting with the top job has gummed up the market for Tocchet.
He might regret passing on VAN and it might get to where PGH has a shot.
To me, the CHI job is easily the best, so…that no one seems to want it suggest Wirtz is offering peanuts.
Pittsburgh doesn’t want him. They may interview him, but they want someone younger that has development skills.
With his defensive bias and abrasive personality, Tocchet is a quick-fix option rather than a long-term solution. He might work for Pit on a 2-year contract after which they would start on a full-scale rebuild. Tocchet however is unlikely to sign for only 2 years.
Plus, as always, they have to consult Crosby first. And that is the reason they are in such a mess.
They are still living in the past. It will take another couple of years of losing to bring them back to reality.
Please tell us which roster moves were not made until the Pens consulted with Sidney Crosby. Oh, and evidence to support your claim. Thanks.
Did I say “roster moves were not made” anywhere?
Jolly Roger
He’s not that abrasive if you’ve watched the interviews. He was a tough guy as a player, and looks mean on the bench, but he’s actually pretty soft-spoken