Canucks Rick Tocchet: A Down To Earth, No Nonsense Coach

Rick Tocchet behind the bench for the Vancouver Canucks

When Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet won the Jack Adams trophy, awarded to the NHL’s top coach during the regular season, last Spring, he was caring and humble and spent most of the time praising the players and his coaching staff. Adam Foote, Sergi Gonchar, Mike Yeo (now with Ottawa,) and Henrik and Daniel Sedin, played a huge roll in Tocchet’s success. And he acknowledged that.

Fast forward to this week, and a telling quote from star defenseman Quinn Hughes, speaking to Jackie Redmond of the NHL network. “He’s great, he’s the best, he’s my favorite coach ever,” Hughes continued on, “He’s just a great coach, great person, cares about his players.”

This speaks volumes as to why the Canucks have been so successful under Tocchet, and partly why Quinn Hughes himself won the Norris trophy, awarded to the League’s top defenseman, last season. The other part being that Hughes is just that good. And that’s not even mentioning Hughes success as team captain. It all comes together, as one, under the watchful eye of Rick Tocchet.

The Scarborough, Ontario native was a hard nosed NHL player, a true power forward, who racked up 952 points in 1144 career games, 440 of those were goals. He amassed 2,970 penalty minutes during that time. No other player, who scored more than 400 goals in the NHL, did so while taking as many penalties as Tocchet.

The guy is, quite simply, down to earth. His no nonsense, no bs, approach has been very well received in Vancouver. The players not only respect ‘Tocc’ but they like him as well. He expects the players to come to camp prepared, and in top physical shape. And in return the players have bought into his system.

President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford and General Manager Patrick Allvin hit a home run when they brought Tocchet in. Will it translate to the ultimate ending? Only time will tell, but for the first time in many years, this team is on the right track. Oh, and one other thing, what did Tocchet do at Canucks practice this past week? Grabbed a shovel and proceeded to remove loose snow on the ice. No fuss, no muss, just get it done. And that, folks, really sums up Mr. Rick Tocchet.

Nux notes: The Canucks acquired D Erik Brannstrom from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Tucker Poolman (20% salary retained) and a 4th-round pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. This was a good move by Allvin, as it removed the injured Poolman’s salary from Vancouver’s cap. Brannstrom was immediately put on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the Abbotsford Canucks, and did clear waivers this morning.

The team announced that they have signed forward Nils Hoglander to a three-year, $3m AAV, contract that begins in 2025/2026. Another solid signing by Allvin.

Remember goaltender Jiri Patera? The Bruins plucked him off waivers when they were unsure of Swayman’s situation. Well, with Swayman now signed long-term, he was put back on waivers yesterday. And yes, the Canucks re-claimed Patera this morning. Welcome back, Jiri.

The Canucks open their regular season on Wednesday, October 9th, at home against the Calgary Flames.