Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet is now Vancouver’s ex-head coach. ‘Toc’ announced on Tuesday that he’s not returning to run the club.
It’s not unexpected given the amount of time it took to make the decision. The longer it dragged on, it became clear that contract negotiations weren’t ending with the coach continuing his tenure.
“Obviously, we’re very disappointed,” Canucks President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford said. “We thank him greatly for the job he did here. He’s been a friend of mine for a long time, and he always will be, and he’s a very good coach, and he did a good job here, so we’re very thankful for that.”
Rutherford added that much of the recent discussion with Tocchet, and the language used, in reference to the future of the hockey club and the development of its players, made it sound as if the coach’s future was here. It was misleading.
Tocchet wants to move closer to family out east, which means there’s a very strong likelihood he’s headed to the Philadelphia Flyers or the New York Rangers. Flyers GM Keith Jones was swamped with texts and calls today.
“To the Canucks fans – your infectious spirit, loyal commitment and will to win kept me and the entire team on our toes,” Tocchet said in a statement. “I appreciate how you have made yourselves a driving force in the Canucks community.”
Where he ends up is one big story; the other is whom the Canucks next convince to coach the hockey club. Mike Sullivan, hired in Pittsburgh by Rutherford ten seasons ago, parted ways with the Penguins on Monday.
He won back-to-back Stanley Cups with Sidney Crosby and the boys in 2016 and 2017. Tocchet was one of his assistants.
One would think Sullivan would garner a similar contract offer that Rutherford teed up and bragged about for Tocchet.
‘Sully’ was an assistant coach in Vancouver for one season, 2013-’14, under head coach and friend John Tortorella.
If it is Sullivan, we might not have to wait to long to find out. As for Tocchet, his decision as to what is next is probably already made. He coached exactly 200 regular season games in Vancouver, finishing with a record of 108-65-and-27.
“I’ve enjoyed my time here, and I wish everyone the best.”
