If he is not fired, I will leave the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks, as he has a misunderstanding with his star.
Vancouver’s recent handling of the Boudreau situation cost the team a great deal of goodwill. If its wager on Tocchet is successful, only time will tell.
The Vancouver Canucks eventually changed their head coach after fumbling through one of the most awkward and unappealing processes in recent memory. As anticipated, the Canucks announced Bruce Boudreau’s official firing on Sunday and chose Rick Tocchet as their new head coach.
In a different reality, if Tocchet and the Canucks were treated with grace and delicacy, the odds would still be stacked against them. They burned a great deal of goodwill in the process of making things much more difficult by blundering their way through this Boudreau folly.
Following weeks of speculation, Bruce Boudreau was fired as the Vancouver Canucks’ head coach. (Image via Getty Images/Rich Lam)
Following weeks of speculation, Bruce Boudreau was fired as the Vancouver Canucks’ head coach. (Image via Getty Images/Rich Lam)
Canucks and Rick Tocchet are placing an odd wager.
It’s reasonable to question whether Tocchet really is an improvement over Boudreau, despite the turmoil. That is particularly true if you subscribe to the saying attributed to Bill Parcells, “You are what your record says you are.”
In his six seasons as an NHL head coach (two with the Lightning and four with the Coyotes), Tocchet compiled a passable 178-200-60 record. In the 2019–20 COVID bubble playoffs, he made his only playoff appearance.
Tocchet’s prior experience as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins is undoubtedly the main selling point. Tocchet was friendly with both general manager Patrik Allvin and current Canucks president Jim Rutherford during the Penguins’ most recent Stanley Cup runs.
Will it pay off to be so friendly? Is Rick Tocchet a competent coach who was simply stranded with subpar players? The Canucks’ gambles may or may not pay off in the long run, but confidence isn’t exactly at an all-time high.
What Tocchet faces as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks
A persistent question arises when thinking about this coaching change: what are the Canucks genuinely hoping to achieve by this trade at this particular moment?
It’s difficult to believe the Canucks think they have a shot to qualify for the playoffs unless they sign Lloyd Christmas. Their chances of making the playoffs are now estimated to be one percent or less. Many Canucks supporters are currently more interested in the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery odds than the standings for the current campaign.
Oddly enough, Tocchet’s powerful work may also work against it. The Canucks’ deficit is already so big that this coaching change might send them to purgatory in hockey terms—too excellent to be selected highly in the draft, yet too awful to qualify for the postseason.
Really, a bad situation might easily get worse due to the timing of the Boudreau-Tocchet coaching shift. Would Rick Tocchet have looked so weird on TV if the Canucks had hired him after the season ended?
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Is Tocchet a better option than Boudreau? It’s certainly conceivable, but it’s more likely that the Canucks’ issues run too deep for even the most astute strategist or motivator.
Much goodwill toward the Canucks was burned by the Boudreau firing.
Surprisingly, the Canucks’ blend of incoherence and callousness can be traced back to the better times under head coach Boudreau. As an in-season replacement in 2021–22, Boudreau gave the Canucks new life, but the team was notably “cautious” about having him return.
Rutherford chastised Boudreau in November over what he saw as the team’s “loose structure.” However, at the time of Rutherford’s confusing Monday press conference, when he sent strange mixed signals, things went from uncomfortable to downright untenable.
