- The Vancouver Canucks now have three head coaches on the books, as they are still paying Travis Green, the bench boss that preceded the recently-fired Bruce Boudreau. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Tocchet’s deal is for two years and carries a $2.75MM salary, meaning altogether, the team is forking out $7.5MM this season for head coaches.
Canucks Rumors
Vancouver Canucks Hire Rick Tocchet
The Vancouver Canucks have made the worst-kept secret in hockey official. Rick Tocchet has been hired as head coach to replace the outgoing Bruce Boudreau, per a team release Sunday. Former NHL defensemen Adam Foote and Sergei Gonchar have also been added to the coaching staff, replacing assistant Trent Cull.
Foote directly replaces Cull as an assistant coach, and he’ll complement assistants Jason King and Mike Yeo and goalie coach Ian Clark on Tocchet’s staff. Gonchar was brought in as a “defensive development coach,” and it’s unclear whether he’ll be behind the bench for regular game action.
Tocchet replaces Boudreau, one of the most well-respected coaches in NHL history. Boudreau coached just 103 games with the Canucks, however, and finished with a 50-40-13 record. After finishing the 2021-22 season in Vancouver with a great pace of 32-15-10, the Canucks have just a .424 points percentage in 2022-23 and sit well out of the Western Conference playoff picture.
Boudreau’s departure from the Canucks organization is viewed as one of the ugliest in recent history by many, with many details of the veteran coach’s impending firing being leaked to the media throughout the decision-making process. The 68-year-old was visibly emotional as he coached his last games with the Canucks this week and received an outpouring of support from Canucks fans in the process.
Tocchet is now brought into a highly complex situation in Vancouver, where he serves as the 21st head coach in franchise history. In 438 games as an NHL head coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning (2008-2010) and Arizona Coyotes (2017-2021), he has a record of 178-200-60 and just one playoff appearance with Arizona in 2020.
General manager Patrik Allvin had the following statement on Tocchet’s hiring:
Rick Tocchet brings a wealth of knowledge to this team from both a coach and player perspective. He has had more than two decades of coaching experience, guiding teams of various styles. As a player, he displayed a high level of character, grit and intensity, while recording impressive offensive numbers.
Foote and Gonchar are some of the best defensemen in NHL history. They are obviously very targeted hirings by the Canucks organization to plug the defensive holes that have existed on their roster for the past number of years. However, their coaching experience is somewhat limited.
Foote coached midget hockey for a time in the 2010s but most recently served as the head coach of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets for two seasons from 2018 to 2020. His only NHL front office experience consists of four seasons as a development consultant for the Colorado Avalanche, from 2013 to 2017.
Gonchar, 48, did spend five years as a coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was a defensive development coach there as well from 2015 to 2017, during the team’s back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. He was then on staff as an assistant coach for three years from 2017 to 2020. He’s since served in various coaching capacities with the Russian national team.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Latest On Bruce Boudreau
- One of the worst-kept secrets in hockey in recent weeks has been the Vancouver Canucks’ desire to move on from head coach Bruce Boudreau. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that the Canucks are expected to officially announce a coaching change in a Monday press conference, and that tonight is likely to be Boudreau’s last game as Canucks coach. The Canucks organization has faced significant criticism from media and fans alike for their handling of this expected coaching change, and now it seems their long-planned Rick Tocchet era is about to begin.
Latest On Bo Horvat
The Vancouver Canucks have an anchor around their necks. The team has lost eight of ten, appear to be on the brink of a coaching change, and seems to be ready to move on from captain Bo Horvat. President Jim Rutherford recently explained that the team’s best offer didn’t line up with Horvat’s performance this season, suggesting an extension wasn’t going to be possible.
One other notable thing about Rutherford is that he often likes to make his big midseason moves well ahead of the trade deadline. He’s often been the first to act in an arms race, and now the spotlight is on him as a seller. On the latest 32 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet discussed which teams he has heard most connected to Horvat:
I think Seattle’s in it. I think Minnesota’s been around it, but can only do him as a rental. I think Boston’s been around it, but it is not easy for them to do.
The Carolina Hurricanes have also been linked to the Horvat sweepstakes, especially since Max Pacioretty’s injury last night. Friedman noted several times that the Hurricanes “don’t do rentals,” suggesting that a deal like that would need to come with an extension.
That is perhaps the most interesting part of the Horvat situation. Sometimes, players on expiring contracts are looking forward to testing the full open market. It doesn’t matter where they are or where they end up, the process of free agency is something they want to experience. From the outside, that doesn’t seem to be the case with Horvat’s negotiations in Vancouver. From all reports, he has been working in good faith with the desire to stay long-term with the Canucks – the two sides just can’t find a common ground.
If he is dealt, especially if it is soon, an acquiring team would have a little while to convince him to stay. Friedman reports that as of the podcast taping (Thursday night), no teams have been given permission to talk with Horvat’s representatives on an extension.
There are probably a dozen teams in the league that could use the 27-year-old for a serious playoff run, especially as he works his way through a career year. Already to 30 goals, his assists have also recently started to rack up, giving Horvat 49 points in 44 games. Positional versatility, goal scoring, leadership – all things that teams value greatly this time of year (anytime, really). A Horvat move could legitimately change the makeup of a team’s top-six for years to come, or offer a difference-making third-line pivot for a Stanley Cup run.
Latest On Rick Tocchet
Based on recent media reports, it seems as though the Vancouver Canucks are rapidly approaching a coaching change. We recently covered how former NHL star defenseman Sergei Gonchar was linked to a position in Vancouver on presumed new coach Rick Tocchet’s incoming staff. Today, NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston issued some clarity on Tocchet’s status on TSN’s Insider Trading program.
According to Johnston, it’s a “question of when, not if” the Canucks will end up replacing their current coach, Bruce Boudreau, with Tocchet. Johnston reports that the Canucks are currently in contract negotiations with Tocchet and that an official signing (and the coaching change that would result from that) could be coming “in the next few days.”
Should The Canucks Trade Andrei Kuzmenko?
- Though the Vancouver Canucks are attempting to sign Andrei Kuzmenko to an extension, Cam Charron of The Athletic argues they would be passing up a “golden opportunity” by doing so. The team could sell Kuzmenko at the deadline, and recoup assets for a player that cost them nothing but a one-year, entry-level contract. Sure, the 26-year-old has 38 points in 42 games during his first season of NHL action, but it hasn’t helped this Canucks team much. Kuzmenko is a pending unrestricted free agent.
Tampa Bay Lightning Interested In Luke Schenn
The Tampa Bay Lightning and Luke Schenn had a nice time together. Two years, two Stanley Cup championships. Then they parted ways, with one choosing security and proximity to family. Now it seems that they might want to rekindle an old fling. The Lightning have shown interest in re-acquiring Schenn from the Vancouver Canucks, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Schenn, 33, won back-to-back championships with the Lightning before signing a two-year deal with the Vancouver canucks in 2021. That contract is about to expire, and the physical depth defender has drawn some interest from all over the league as the perfect deadline addition.
He’s relatively cheap, costing just $850K against the cap, right-handed, and has 15 years of experience in the NHL. He’s also in the midst of his best per-game offensive season, with 14 points in 43 games so far in Vancouver.
Schenn has over 200 hits already this season, easily leading the league. While that isn’t always indicative of success (the other team has to have the puck for you to deliver a hit), it may be exactly what the Lightning are after.
Friedman notes that they are also looking for “a forward with an edge.” They’ve targeted players like Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow, and Nick Paul in the past to great success.
The Lightning won’t be the only team considering Schenn, but if they are set on him, they’ve shown a willingness to pay whatever it takes at the deadline. Tampa Bay is focused on championships, and has enough faith in their scouting and development system to move high draft picks. Schenn shouldn’t cost a first-rounder or anything, but he’ll be a nice chip for the Canucks as the deadline nears.
Sergei Gonchar Linked To Vancouver Canucks
- Sergei Gonchar, who last coached in the NHL during the 2019-20 season, may be on his way back to join Rick Tocchet with the Vancouver Canucks, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. While Tocchet’s hiring isn’t official, Friedman seems to believe it is inevitable at this point, suggesting it could happen within the next few weeks. Today, Jim Rutherford admitted that he had been in contact with potential replacements.
Tucker Poolman Not Expected To Return This Season
The Vancouver Canucks press conference with Jim Rutherford has resulted in several major news items, including the fact that he will be performing “major surgery” on the roster before next season.
Another was the status of Tucker Poolman, who has been on long-term injured reserve since October. Rutherford explained that he does not believe Poolman will return this season, though they are still waiting on the evaluation of some specialists on his future.
Poolman, 29, is signed through the 2024-25 season and carries a $2.5MM cap hit. That contract was one signed by the previous management group, and one that quickly looked like a mistake. The former Winnipeg Jets defenseman has played just 43 games for the Canucks, and is averaging fewer than 17 minutes of ice time when he’s in the lineup.
He has just four points as a Canuck, and never has looked like the right-shot solution that the team desperately needs.
Given that Rutherford mentioned buyouts, it is important to note that an injured player cannot go through that process. If the team wants to move on in that manner, Poolman will have to be cleared medically in the coming months.
Vancouver Canucks Looking At “Major Surgery” To Roster Before Next Season
When Jim Rutherford sat in front of the collected Vancouver media today, it was to address the Tanner Pearson situation. Flanked by two of the team’s medical staff, he tried to explain that the club had done everything right in Pearson’s case, but setbacks had resulted in an issue that will keep him out the rest of the year.
Quickly, the conversation turned to the Canucks roster and how it has struggled. Rutherford admitted that he is disappointed in his own performance since arriving in Vancouver, pointing out that the team is still in a tighter cap situation than he expected to be.
When discussing the core players, Rutherford said that his stance has changed. What he thought would be minor changes to the depth, he now calls “major surgery” to the roster before next season. He went so far as saying that not all of the core players were going to still be there.
On captain Bo Horvat, who is a pending free agent, Rutherford explained that the team offered their “best shot” but it was still under market value for what the talented center has done this season.
Head coach Bruce Boudreau “is the coach now” according to Rutherford, who explained that the two are friends. That said, he admitted he has made calls to potential replacements, despite not knowing whether he’ll make a change at this point.
It’s not clear what major surgery will look like, but there are obvious issues for the club. The Canucks are sixth in the Pacific Division with an 18-22-3 record, and can’t seem to find any consistency. Rutherford refused to call any moves he does make a rebuild (using the term “retool” instead), but admitted he might be going after some draft picks and young players as he tries to turn things around.
He also mentioned buyouts as a potential way out from certain contracts, though that wouldn’t be the first option. A player like Oliver Ekman-Larsson, for instance, could be bought out with a massive cap saving for 2023-24, giving the Canucks a chance to bridge the gap to the increase that is expected thereafter.