Watch: Wayne Gretzky sends heartfelt message to Rick Tocchet for winning Jack Adams Award 

By Anjum Rajonno

Modified May 25, 2024 03:59 GMT

NHL legend Wayne Gretzky congratulated Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet on winning the Jack Adams Award. Gretzky sent his heartfelt message to Tocchet on Friday, after he was named the NHL's Coach of the Year:

“I just want to say special congratulations to my buddy Rick Tocchet on winning Coach of the Year,” Gretzky said.

He then praised Tocchet and mentioned that his coaching style mirrors how he played the game during his playing days:

“You coach just like you play. You're unselfish, hardworking, dedicated, and you believed in your team. Congratulations. Well done,” Gretzky added.

Rick Tocchet won the prestigious award as only the third coach in Canucks’ history to do so. This season, Vancouver played exceptionally well in the postseason, but was eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Furthermore, the Canucks HC won the Jack Adams Award by a significant margin. Tocchet received a total of 483 voting points, including 82 first-place votes. He was listed as a top-three pick on 109 out of 114 ballots. He had a lead of 338 points over the second-place finisher, Andrew Brunette, the head coach of the Nashville Predators, who received 145 points.

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Wayne Gretzky and Rick Tocchet are longtime friends

Wayne Gretzky and Rick Tocchet's friendship spans several decades and began in the mid-1980s. Their bond was first formed during the 1985 Stanley Cup Finals when Tocchet, playing for the Philadelphia Flyers, delivered a hard hit to Gretzky in the first game:

“My first recollection of him was in the '85 Finals, when he ran me the first game in Philly. I said something to him and he turned to me and said, 'Get used to it, it's going to happen every night for the next seven games,’' Gretzky said in an interview with the Globe and Mail in 2008.

Tocchet warned him to expect similar hits throughout the series. Gretzky humorously responded that the series would only last four games. The series went to five games in the end, with the Edmonton Oilers winning the Cup:

“I said to him, 'I must be in the wrong series, because we only plan on going four,'" Gretzky added.

Gretzky and Tocchet’s friendship strengthened in 1987 when they played together on Team Canada during the Canada Cup. By the mid-1990s, they were teammates again, this time with the Los Angeles Kings.