Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin has announced the team has hired Rick Tocchet as the new head coach, replacing fired Bruce Boudreau.
“We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Bruce and Trent for their contributions to this organization,” said Allvin.
“We appreciate their dedication and wish them nothing but the best moving forward. This was not an easy decision to make, but one that we felt was necessary for this franchise.
“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.”
The Canucks have also added Adam Foote and Sergei Gonchar to their coaching staff.
Assistant coach Trent Cull has been “relieved of his duties,” the team said.
Foote has been hired as an assistant coach and Gonchar will fill the role of defensive development coach.
“We are also excited about the additions of Adam Foote and Sergei Gonchar to our coaching staff. Both individuals enjoyed long, successful playing careers as NHL defencemen and together provide a wide range of expertise on both sides of the puck,” Allvin said.
“Tocchet, Foote, and Gonchar all bring a championship pedigree to the organization and we look forward to welcoming them to Vancouver.”
Tocchet, 58, joins the Canucks having most recently served four seasons as head coach of the Arizona Coyotes from 2017 to 2021.
During his tenure in Arizona, Tocchet led the Coyotes to their first trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in eight years. The team defeated the Nashville Predators in four games in 2020 to advance from the qualifying round.
That same season, he was selected to coach the Pacific Division at the NHL All-Star Game in St. Louis. Prior to his appointment in Arizona, Tocchet spent three seasons as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins, winning back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017.
Foote most recently served as head coach of the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League over parts of two seasons. Prior to that position, he spent four seasons as a development consultant with the Colorado Avalanche and earned a gold medal with Canada at the 2018 Spengler Cup as a development consultant.
Gonchar has spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach for Russia’s national team, including at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Previously he was an assistant coach and defenceman development coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins following his retirement from the NHL.
Saturday night’s loss for the Canucks against the Edmonton Oilers was the end of Boudreau’s run as head coach. He was hired in December 2021.
Canucks fans sent Boudreau off Saturday night with a final “Bruce, there it is.” chant. An emotional Boudreau gave a final wave to the fans before leaving rink-side with the team.
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