Just as one coach Vancouver Canucks coach leaves, another may soon follow.
According to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, Canucks assistant coach Adam Foote has received “multiple expressions of interest” in NHL head coaching opportunities and that interviews are soon to follow. Here is what Seravalli wrote:
“When you heard Quinn Hughes rave about Rick Tocchet in Vancouver, a big part of that was the coaching staff that Tocchet assembled around him, including Foote. Sources indicate that Foote – also a free agent – has already received expressions of interest in head coaching positions and is very likely to interview for multiple openings. He appears poised to make the jump. Foote’s playing career as a decorated defenseman speaks for itself. If Foote somehow doesn’t land a job, expect him to reunite with Tocchet – where he lands – for at least another year.”
This report comes on the heels of Rick Tocchet announcing earlier this week that he’d be leaving the Canucks, a turn of events that president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford admitted took the organization by surprise.
“It’s a little bit surprising,” Rutherford said Tuesday. “We had a lot of talks over the last four to six weeks, and in those talks, it was sort of general talks like we would normally have at the end of each year. He’s talking about what he’s going to do with the players in the summertime, what he wants to do differently at camp, and what he wants to do with the team next year. So, for the most part, the talks were all about the future, and it appeared to me that he would return.”
With Foote’s contract with the Canucks reportedly expiring, it wasn’t going to be much of a surprise to see Foote go out the door along with Tocchet. The two are good friends, and Tocchet raved about Foote — the first assistant he hired upon becoming Canucks head coach — at various points over the past two and a half years.
Foote, 53, played over 1100 NHL games and is widely regarded as one of the best defensive defencemen of his generation.
