Canucks GM makes his vision for HC Rick Tocchet extremely clear, points out key aspect regarding his long-term future in Vancouver

By Abhilasha Aditi

Modified Jan 21, 2025 10:40 GMT

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Vancouver Canucks GM Patrik Allvin spoke about coach Rick Tocchet's future during a media availability on Monday. Tocchet is in the final year of his contract, with a club option for the 2025-26 season.

Allvin praised Tocchet's performance:

"I’m proud of how Rick has handled the season here. I do believe that he is a good coach and I see him [in Vancouver] long term."

However, he noted that contract discussions haven't been a priority:

"It's a two-way street there. Up to this point, it hasn't been an urgency for us to do anything with a club option."

Tocchet joined the Canucks in January 2023 and has a 90-50-23 record in 163 games. Last season, he led them to a first-place finish in the Pacific Division and won the Jack Adams Award. However, the Canucks have struggled amid rift rumors between forward J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson.

Allvin’s comments suggest the Canucks may wait to see how the season unfolds before deciding on Tocchet’s future. Vancouver is 20-15-10 this season and fifth in Pacific Division with 50 points, just one below Calgary Flames for the fourth spot and the wild card seat.

The Canucks have been doing well in power play and penalty kill, ranking 13th in the league in both categories. Captain Quinn Hughes leads the team in points (50) and assists (38), while Jake DeBrusk (17) leads in goals.

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Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet praised team's energy in win over Oilers

The Vancouver Canucks beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 at Rogers Arena on Saturday. Quinn Hughes opened the scoring at 14:38 of the opening period with a power-play goal. Danton Heinen made it 2-0 at 15:49, following which Hughes added another power-play goal at 18:00 with a wrist shot.

Leon Draisaitl scored twice for the Oilers. His first goal came at 4:01 of the second period and second at 13:38 during a power play, but they weren't enough.

Canucks coach Rick Tocchet praised the team's energy:

“I thought everyone contributed really early on. We got to our game early, which we talked about all day, is make sure we get to our game. I thought we managed the puck (well), obviously, the last couple games, we haven't managed the puck very well."

Thatcher Demko made 13 saves for the Nucks, who ended their two-game losing streak. Vancouver held Edmonton to only three shots in the third period, sealing the win.