Rick Tocchet is leaving the Vancouver Canucks after two-plus seasons, and his name will feature prominently among the NHL’s coaching openings.
The Canucks didn’t pick up the team option on Tocchet’s contract but instead offered him a new one.
‘We’ve gone a long way from where coaches have been compensated with the Canucks for years − forever actually − and we’re hoping that he takes that contract,’ team president Jim Rutherford said previously.
Tocchet did not, he and the team announced Tuesday, and is free to pursue other opportunities.
“I’m choosing to move on from the Vancouver Canucks,” Tocchet said in a statement released by the team. “Family is a priority, and with my contract lapsing, this becomes the opportune time. While I don’t know where I’m headed, or exactly how this will play out for me over the near term, I feel like this is the right time for me to explore other opportunities in and around hockey.’
Rutherford called it ‘disappointing news,’ in the team’s statement, but added ‘we respect Rick’s decision to move to a new chapter in his hockey career.’
‘We did everything in our power to keep him, but at the end of the day Rick felt he needed a change,’ Rutherford said. ‘He is a good friend, a good coach, and we can’t thank him enough for all he did for our organization. Toc is a stand-up guy, and we wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”
The New York Rangers, Seattle Kraken and Anaheim Ducks have fired their coaches this offseason and the Boston Bruins have begun a coaching search. The Pittsburgh Penguins parted ways with longtime coach Mike Sullivan on Monday. The Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks finished the season with interim coaches.
As a player, Tocchet spent parts of 11 seasons with the Flyers and won a championship with Pittsburgh — and two more as an assistant coach for the Penguins. He also played for the Bruins.
Tocchet had been coach of the year in 2023-24 after leading the Canucks to the Pacific Division title in his first full season. This season, the Canucks missed the playoffs, hurt by a dispute between J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson that led to Miller’s trade to the Rangers.
The Canucks were also hurt by an injury that cost defenseman Quinn Hughes 14 games and kept the 2023-24 Norris Trophy winner out of the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Tocchet, who replaced Bruce Boudreau midway through the 2022-23 season, went 108-65-27 with the Canucks. He also coached the Tampa Bay Lightning and Arizona Coyotes and has 286 career wins.