Canucks Face Difficult Choice With HC

The Vancouver Canucks are interested in signing head coach Rick Tocchet to an extension after this season ends. The organization has reiterated that they want to negotiate a new deal, but also can exercise his contractual option for the 2025-2026 season.

The question facing the Canucks is not whether or not they want to retain Tocchet. Rather, the question they need to be asking is whether they should retain Tocchet?

Tocchet is an excellent coach in the NHL, and that isn't in question. He's one season removed from winning the Jack Adams Awards as the league's top coach. But this year, everything has gone the wrong way for the Canucks. They were supposed to build on their Pacific Division-winning campaign, but are in danger of missing the postseason entirely after their latest loss.

The biggest failure of Tocchet's season is the dip in production Elias Pettersson suffered. The locker room drama certainly played a part, but the fact is that Pettersson is having the worst statistical season of his career. Through 64 games, he has 15 goals and 30 assists for 45 points. In his previous full NHL seasons (injuries limited him to just 26 games in 2020-2021) he's recorded at least 66 points. Now, he's playing like a shell of himself, even after the organization sent star forward JT Miller to the New York Rangers.

Are the players not responding to Tocchet? Or are his choices as coach negatively affecting these players and their performances? The lineup seems to love their head coach and enjoy playing for him, but it's clear something is amiss with this organization, and that could be who is behind the bench.

Another blight on his record is the drop in goal production from Brock Boeser, who is playing for a new contract. After scoring 40 goals last season, he's on pace to finish with less than 30. It's another solid season for the winger, but there's a noticeable drop in his production.

A lot of this goes beyond Tocchet, however. The locker room drama between Pettersson and Miller was not a result of poor coaching, and there was really no other outcome that could have happened other than to move one of the players.

Similarly, injuries have crushed this team. Starting goalie Thatcher Demko has been in and out of the lineup regularly since the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. It's totally derailed his career and undermined his rising stock as an elite goalie in the NHL.

The Canucks have a very difficult decision to make. The team needs to make changes, especially if they miss the postseason. The organization loves Tocchet and he has the respect of the locker room. It's not a situation where they are tuning him out. But with the team sliding backwards, it could force the Canucks to move on from their beloved coach after this season.