Last week, the Vancouver Canucks named Adam Foote the new head coach of the franchise. Only hours later, the Philadelphia Flyers announced that they would be hiring former Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet as their new bench boss. In an interview on “Donnie and Dhali,” he explained why he decided to take the job with the Flyers, but also shared his thoughts about those still with the organization.
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In his first media availability as head coach, Foote expressed his gratitude towards Tocchet for taking a chance on him and helping him grow as a coach. The bond between the two extends past their time with the Canucks, as Tocchet helped coach the Colorado Avalanche back when Foote was still playing. Though both coaches are now with different organizations, Tocchet slightly wishes they weren’t.
“I love the guy. I’m so happy for him. I mean, listen, a little bittersweet. I wish he was coming with me. But listen, great choice, great guy. He’s so involved as a coach. I knew this day would come where he would be a head coach — smart guy, great relationship guy, knows that organization inside and out. So all positives from my end, and we still talk today. He’s going to help me, I’m going to help him, even though we’re on different teams. I really want to see him be successful, because that city deserves a winner. They really do. The fans deserve a winner, and I hope they get it,” Tocchet said in his interview on the TV program.
One player who caught some heat during Tocchet’s time as head coach was Elias Pettersson, who had a down season in 2023–24. Speculation about why this is the case has varied from injuries to off-ice issues. Tocchet spoke in his end-of-season media availability about compromise between Pettersson and the team regarding off-season training and effort. While he is no longer the team’s coach, he’s still expressing his support for the forward.
“From the bottom of my heart, he is going to have a bounce back year,” he said on the show. “He’s a great kid. He’s got to get his confidence for himself, but also his teammates. You’ve got to get his teammates to have confidence in him.”
"We've Got To Meet At The 50-Yard Line": Canucks Rick Tocchet And Elias Pettersson Discuss Off-Season Training And Injury Rehab
<a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks">Vancouver Canucks</a> forward Elias Pettersson confirmed today that his season-ending injury was an oblique injury. While he had initially been working to get back into the lineup, once playoffs were out of sight, the training regiment changed to working on coming back for the 2025–26 season.
Tocchet also gave a more in-depth explanation about his end-of-season comments about ‘reprogramming’ Pettersson. “Petey likes to slow the game down a bit. In today’s game, it’s a lot evolved. If you guys are watching the playoffs, there’s not a lot of room. There’s not a lot of tic-tac-toe and take it back, it’s straight on hockey, and it’s beating pressure. And Petey likes to come back and play kind of that slower game, and I think it affected him. You wish he came in better shape last year, and I think he’ll be more prepared, but you’ve got to play that style. It’s why, when I’m talking about reprogram, I was talking to more of coming back in the puck and taking off or in the power play, when he gets the puck on the side there, when you beat pressure, that’s the time you attack. And you learn from the McDavids and you learn from all these top-level players, the Crosbys, where would they be pressure? I mean, they’re attacking. So that’s what I meant, reprogram it, he’s just going to vet his game a little bit differently.”
Regardless of how things worked out for Tocchet and the Canucks, from what the former head coach has said, it’s clear he wishes all the best for the organization as well as those involved. “I’m rooting for this team to be a winner. I really am. This has made a cheesy farewell, but this team, this fan base, deserves a winner, and I know from the bottom of my heart that ownership is trying to get them a winner. They’ll do whatever it takes, and I hope it works out for them.”
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