It appears that Rick Tocchet will not be returning to the Vancouver Canucks next season. According to a report by Elliotte Friedman, "Rick Tocchet will not be returning as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks." Friedman goes on to say, "Believe there will be a full statement with his rationale in the next little while...but add Vancouver to the teams looking for a new bench boss."
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Tocchet has been the head coach of Vancouver since January 22, 2023. Since then, he has coached 200 regular-season games, posting a record of 108-65-27. Tocchet also helped guide the Canucks to Game 7 of the second-round last season, before falling to the Edmonton Oilers.
Tocchet's departure has been rumoured for the past few weeks. Despite having a club option, the organization made it clear at the year-end media availability that they would not exercise it as, according to Jim Rutherford, "We don't feel it's right to have somebody here that may have his mind somewhere else."
Few coaches in franchise history have had as much success as Tocchet has. His .608 points percentage is the second-highest in Vancouver's history, while his seven playoff victories rank seventh. He is also the third coach in franchise history to win the Jack Adams Award, joining Pat Quinn and Alain Vigneault.
With Tocchet departing, the Canucks are now the eighth team in the NHL without a head coach. The other seven are the Pittsburgh Penguins, the New York Rangers, the Boston Bruins, the Anaheim Ducks, the Seattle Kraken, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks. This means Vancouver will have plenty of competition in looking for a new head coach this off-season.
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