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Canucks not exercising club option on Tocchet, remain confident in coaching staff
The future of Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet is entirely in his hands.
The future of Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet is entirely in his hands.
General manager Patrik Allvin and president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford confirmed that they will not be exercising the club option for next season on their bench boss at their year-end media availability on Monday.
“I believe the communication (between management and coaching staff) has been good this year, and it’s even been better since the season’s ended,” Rutherford told reporters in Vancouver on Monday.
“We don’t feel it’s right to have somebody here that may have his mind somewhere else. I’d say that about anybody, this is not just about (Tocchet).”
It had previously been reported that Tocchet would be back with the Canucks next season through the club option, regardless of whether the sides came to terms on a new deal.
While management is putting the kibosh on that idea, Rutherford and Allvin have continued negotiations with Tocchet and expressed full confidence in the coaching staff, noting that wasn’t the source of the Canucks’ regression this season.
“I believe (Tocchet) and his coaching staff did as good a job coaching this team this year as they did the year before when he was coach of the year. He was dealt a totally different hand this year, but the team won the division,” Rutherford said.
“We talked enough about the (J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson) incident that happened and affected the chemistry of the room and affected the play of the team in the first half that forced the trade. But with all that going on, how he handled the situation and how he handled the team was really good. So I give him and his staff kudos for the job they did this year.”
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Allvin added that they expect Tocchet to make his decision this week.
Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the guaranteed portion of the 61-year-old’s contract expires on June 30. Should he decide to part ways with the Canucks, there are head coach availabilities around the league.
Notably, Tocchet may be keen to return to the Philadelphia Flyers, who drafted him in 1983 and where he went on to play eight seasons.
The New York Rangers also recently fired head coach Peter Laviolette, while the Anaheim Ducks parted ways with Greg Cronin.
Latest on Willander
The Canucks will have to wait to see top defensive prospect Tom Willander in the NHL.
Willander’s family advisor told the Canucks that the blue-liner was going to return to Boston University for his junior year, Rutherford and Allvin confirmed Monday.
“We feel our development staff… have built a great relationship with Tom during the year and they felt that he was ready to turn pro after two successful years at Boston University,” Allvin said. “I mean, it’s a lot of money for a young player to pass on.”
In 39 games with the Terriers, Willander tallied two goals and 24 points as Boston University advanced to the Frozen Four final. Internationally, he had five points in seven games while representing Sweden at the world juniors, and he plans to play for the Swedish national team at the upcoming world championships.
“We’ll continue to work with Tom, and he’s coming here for development camp,” Allvin continued. “Great relationship with him. I think this is part of learning how to be a pro and what the next step will come, and you know, the money involved that you’re turning down to go back to school.”
