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Rick Tocchet not returning as Canucks head coach next season
The Vancouver Canucks will have to search for their fourth coach in four years as Rick Tocchet will not be returning as head coach of the Canucks next season, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Per Friedman, there is expected to be a full statement with Tocchet’s rationale coming soon. The Canucks hired Rick Tocchet in 2022 after a tumultuous season and a half with Bruce Boudreau. After taking over behind the bench, Tocchet’s Canucks had a 20-12-4 record in their final 36 games. In his first full season as the Canucks head coach, Tocchet led the team to their first division win since 2012-13 with a 50-23-9 record. The team went on to win their first-round series against Nashville, but lost in seven games to Edmonton in Round 2. He received the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s best coach. The Canucks took a step back in 2024-25 amid off-ice issues, finishing fifth in the Pacific Division with a 38-30-14 record to miss the playoffs for the fifth time in six years. Last week, president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford confirmed to reporters that the Canucks would not exercise their club option on Tocchet, and left the decision to return entirely in his hands. The Canucks now join a growing list of teams with head coaching vacancies around the league, which includes the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Seattle Kraken.
The Vancouver Canucks will have to search for their fourth coach in four years as Rick Tocchet will not be returning as head coach of the Canucks next season, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Per Friedman, there is expected to be a full statement with Tocchet’s rationale coming soon.
The Canucks hired Rick Tocchet in 2022 after a tumultuous season and a half with Bruce Boudreau. After taking over behind the bench, Tocchet’s Canucks had a 20-12-4 record in their final 36 games.
In his first full season as the Canucks head coach, Tocchet led the team to their first division win since 2012-13 with a 50-23-9 record. The team went on to win their first-round series against Nashville, but lost in seven games to Edmonton in Round 2. He received the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s best coach.
The Canucks took a step back in 2024-25 amid off-ice issues, finishing fifth in the Pacific Division with a 38-30-14 record to miss the playoffs for the fifth time in six years.
Last week, president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford confirmed to reporters that the Canucks would not exercise their club option on Tocchet, and left the decision to return entirely in his hands.
The Canucks now join a growing list of teams with head coaching vacancies around the league, which includes the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Seattle Kraken.
