Ex-Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet speaks to Canucks fans for the first time since moving on

For the first time since he moved on from the Vancouver Canucks, former head coach Rick Tocchet addressed the media to speak about his decision.

Tocchet joined Donnie and Dhali on Tuesday morning, talking about his reasonings for leaving, his former assistant and the Canucks’ new bench boss Adam Foote, and finished with a message to the fans in Vancouver:

“Just a little bit of a fresh start, get back east, some other little things,” Tocchet said regarding him leaving Vancouver. “But like I said, my experience, I was there two and a half years, incredible experience, the market, the fans. I lived downtown, I used to walk the city – just incredible people. It’s hard to explain why, with all these positives: the ownership, Francesco and the Aquilini’s were unreal to me. Jim and Patrick will always be lifeline friends, and obviously, the players did a hell of a job for me. So yeah, it’s yeah, it’s hard to really tell you guys why I just felt it was the right decision for me.”

One of the few reported reasons for Tocchet leaving was the Canucks’ lack of a practice facility. And Tocchet confirmed that it was a factor in his answer:

“I’d be lying if it wasn’t. It’s not that bad in Vancouver; UBC is nice. It’s not horrible. But I will say, the Flyers’ facility is state-of-the-art. It’s got an 8,000 square foot gym. It’s got all the amenities; they’ve spared no expense. It’s a good tool for a coach. It really is.”

During his short two-and-a-half seasons in Vancouver, Tocchet took the Canucks took their first Pacific Division title in 2023-2024, earning himself coach of the year honours. As we approach the one-year anniversary of him winning the Jack Adams, did Tocchet anticipate he would be coaching elsewhere one year later?

“Listen, things went well – it’s a team award that Jack Adams, I owe a lot of people credit for that. [I was] Really excited about going into this following year; I thought we were dialled in. And actually, we weren’t too bad. I think we were 14-7-3 after 25 games. So, you know, we were still pretty good. Then, obviously, some things hit us. Coaches don’t like to use excuses, but [with] the injuries, we couldn’t just regain the momentum that we had last year. We just couldn’t get traction. So, yeah. I thought it would be in Vancouver a long time, sure.”

One of those ‘things that hit’ the Canucks this season was the ongoing rift between their top two centremen, Elias Pettersson and JT Miller. We all know how this ended, with the Canucks having no choice but to move on from one of them, and trading Miller to the New York Rangers.

Tocchet had this to say regarding whether he would have done anything different:

“I mean, you’re always trying to evolve as a coach. I’ve always considered myself a really good communicator. In that situation, I don’t know. I could be exhausted from a lot of things. I said this before, and I met them in my heart: I don’t think there’s a bad guy in this thing. Sometimes people have a bad divorce or something like that. Can the couple do something before that? I don’t know. But, like Jim said, it hit our team, and it’s my job, my responsibility, to try to make it work. And we tried. Yeah, I probably could have done some different things. Maybe got to it a bit earlier, maybe in training camp. There might have been some bumps and bruises early that if I dug my heels in the sand a little bit, maybe I could have done something, and then maybe it could have come to a decision a lot quicker. I don’t know. There’s a lot of what-ifs. I really think a lot of guys tried, though. A lot of people tried.”

With Tocchet out the door, the Canucks didn’t have to go far to find his replacement as they named his assistant Adam Foote to be his successor. Foote coached under Tocchet in Vancouver for the past two-and-a-half seasons, and developed a very strong relationship together. So it should come as no surprise that Tocchet spoke highly of his former assistant:

“I love the guy. I’m so happy for him,” Tocchet said about Foote landing the Canucks head coaching job. “A little bittersweet; I wish he was coming with me. But listen, great choice, great guy. He is so involved as a coach. I knew this day would come when he would be a head coach. He’s a smart guy, great relationship guy; he knows that organization inside and out. So all positives from my end. And we still talk. He’s gonna help me, I’m gonna help him, even though we’re on different teams. I really want to see him be successful, because that city deserves a winner. They really do. The fans deserve a winner, and I hope they get it.”

On behalf of the fans, Rick Dhaliwal asked Tocchet about the discourse the Canucks fans have had since his departure.

Dhaliwal: “Rick, you have never quit in anything in your life. Look at the way you played the game; one of the best power forwards in the National Hockey League. Lot of fans understand why you left, but some are saying, ‘Hey, embrace the hard. Meet pressure with pressure,’ and they think that you quit on the Canucks. What are your comments about that? What do you think about those who say that?

“I understand it. I’m not a quitter, but I understand where they’re coming from. Sometimes in life, you have decisions you have to make; you hit the crossroads and you have to go right or left. Sometimes you make the right decision, sometimes you don’t. You’ve got to go with your conviction. And it wasn’t a quit thing. It was just something I felt, for me to evolve, and just in my life, this was the right decision. And there’s other things I’m not going to dive into it. I just feel like this was the time. But I understand the passionate fan base, man, they want a winner. You want to be in a pressure cooker, because the rewards there – if you win a Stanley Cup there, how they would react to the celebration. Just the aura … I can’t even put it into words. We went to the second round Game 7; I couldn’t believe what I saw outside the city. So, can you imagine when a Stanley Cup there? I can’t imagine it.”

Don Taylor gave Tocchet the opportunity to end the interview with a message for Vancouver hockey fans. Here is what Tocchet had to say to Canucks fans:

“When I first remember me and Footy [Adam Foote], got off that plane, [I was] a little nervous going into this market, what we had, but all the people that helped me … It’s like I’m getting an Oscar or something, I want to name 50,000 people. The fans are very passionate, the media, same thing. I’m rooting for this team to be a winner. I really am. This has made a cheesy farewell, but this team, this fan base, deserves a winner. I know from the bottom of my heart that ownership is trying to get them a winner. They’ll do whatever it takes, and I hope it works out for them. I really do.”