Rick Tocchet steps away as Vancouver Canucks head coach after turbulent season

The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 29, 2025 5:49 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

Rick Tocchet volition not instrumentality arsenic the Vancouver Canucks caput manager adjacent season. 

The NHL squad announced the quality connected Tuesday, saying Tocchet has chosen to measurement distant aft discussions with the squad and management.

"I'm choosing to determination connected from the Vancouver Canucks," Tocchet said successful a connection released by the team.

"Family is simply a priority, and with my declaration lapsing, this becomes the opportune time. While I don't cognize wherever I'm headed oregon precisely however this volition play retired for maine implicit the adjacent term, I consciousness similar this is the close clip for maine to research different opportunities successful and astir hockey."

Tocchet had a 108-65-27 grounds aft taking implicit the Vancouver seat connected Jan. 22, 2023, and his declaration gave the Canucks the enactment of keeping him for adjacent season. 

Vancouver's president of hockey operations, Jim Rutherford, said earlier this period that the squad would not workout that option, but wanted to support Tocchet down the seat and would proceed negotiations.

"This is precise disappointing news, but we respect Rick's determination to determination to a caller section successful his hockey career," Rutherford said Tuesday.

"We did everything successful our powerfulness to support him, but astatine the extremity of the day, Rick felt helium needed a change. He is simply a bully friend, a bully coach, and we can't convey him capable for each helium did for our organization. Toc is simply a stand-up guy, and we privation him thing but the champion moving forward."

Tocchet guided the Canucks to their archetypal playoff quality successful 4 seasons past twelvemonth earlier Vancouver was eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers successful a gritty seven-game bid successful the 2nd round. 

The 61-year-old erstwhile NHL winger won the Jack Adams grant arsenic the league's apical manager past play and was named an adjunct manager for Canada astatine the 4 Nations Face-Off tourney successful February. 

Season's struggles

However, the Canucks struggled done the 2024-25 campaign, finishing with a 38-30-14 grounds and missing the post-season by six points.

Asked astatine Vancouver's end-of-season quality league whether he'd similar to return, Tocchet said helium needed clip to enactment done "a process" earlier making a decision. 

"All twelvemonth I've hardly breathed," helium said. "During the clip off, I was astatine 4 Nations, you're trying to get this squad into the playoffs, dealing with a batch of stuff. So I haven't truly thought of myself. … I bash person to instrumentality a enactment and spell done it. With respect to some sides, you bash person to spell done the process. You person to."

The Canucks dealt with injuries and off-ice play for overmuch of past season. 

Centres J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson some performed beneath expectations arsenic rumours circulated astir an ongoing feud betwixt them. The Canucks attempted to remedy the contented by dealing Miller to the New York Rangers astatine the extremity of January, but Pettersson failed to regain his violative prowess pursuing the move. 

WATCH | Rift betwixt prima forwards confirmed:

Star defenceman Quinn Hughes missed 14 games with a bid of ailments, and a genu wounded kept starting goalie Thatcher Demko retired of the lineup until Dec. 10. The prima netminder had occupation staying steadfast pursuing his return.

"It's not the play you want," Tocchet said. "Everybody's got to look astatine each other, what could person been different? It's been a hard year, but it's besides been a twelvemonth wherever you tin amended from learning these lessons from adversity." 

Rutherford said connected April 21 that Tocchet and his unit had done a large occupation of weathering hard situations each season, and that the Canucks would similar to spot him backmost down the bench. 

Stanley Cup winner

Tocchet played 18 seasons successful the NHL arsenic a powerfulness guardant with the Flyers, Penguins, Kings, Bruins, Capitals and Coyotes, and won a Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh successful 1992.

He aboriginal moved into coaching, serving arsenic seat brag with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Arizona Coyotes, and won back-to-back Stanley Cups arsenic an adjunct manager for the Penguins successful 2016 and 2017. 

Canucks winger Conor Garland played for Tocchet successful some Arizona and Vancouver, and said helium means a batch to him arsenic a idiosyncratic and coach.

"I had him erstwhile I was younger, and present I'm 29 with a family, truthful it's a antithetic signifier of my beingness and career. And he's benignant of helped maine done a batch of the stuff, obviously, connected the crystal arsenic a subordinate and increasing and disconnected the ice," Garland said.

"I deliberation each subordinate successful the league wants to beryllium a cardinal subordinate connected a squad that wins a Cup oregon goes heavy successful the playoffs, not conscionable a squad that's astatine the bottommost of the standings. So it's a large quality arsenic a player, and he's 1 of the large reasons I was capable to marque that jump."