The Vancouver Canucks have fired head coach Bruce Boudreau and assistant coach Trent Cull, it was announced on Sunday.
Rick Tocchet has been hired as the 21st head coach of the team, with Adam Foote and Sergei Gonchar joining him. Foote will serve as assistant coach while Gonchar will be a defensive development coach.
The move comes less than 14 months after Boudreau was first hired. The Canucks are 18-25-3 through 46 games in 2022-23, sitting sixth in the Pacific Division and 27th in the league.
On Friday, fans broke out into a myriad of chants in support of Boudreau and defenseman Tyler Myers said the “mindset and the mood got to us” during their 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, Vancouver’s sixth in seven games.
Earlier in the day, an emotional Boudreau politely ended his news conference with reporters when asked what coaching in the NHL meant to him as rumors of his job security continued to swirl.
The Canucks played again Saturday, this time losing to the Oilers at home, but Boudreau continued to receive support from fans.
“You never know when it’s the end… It will be something that stays with me my whole life,” he said.
TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston spoke Thursday on Insider Trading about the possibility of Tocchet being hired. Johnston said “Tocchet was very careful with his wording. He was on TNT’s broadcasts on Wednesday night. [He] said he didn’t have a contract with Vancouver. I would expect that to change at some point here in the next few days. It sounds as though negotiations have started on that deal [and] that Rick Tocchet will probably arrive in Vancouver with a couple additions to his coaching staff as well. And, of course, nothing’s officially 100 percent until pens have been put to paper. That hasn’t happened yet. But it does sound as though it’s getting very close.”
Tocchet, 58, spent four seasons as head coach of the Arizona Coyotes from 2017-21. The team made the 2020 Qualifying Round, eliminating Nashville in four games before losing to Colorado in five games. He and the organization agreed to part ways on May 9, 2021 after the Coyotes missed the postseason for the seventh time in eight seasons. Over four seasons, Tocchet went 125-131-34 behind the bench in Arizona.
It’s been a historic season for the Canucks for all the wrong reasons. Earlier this season, Vancouver became the first team in NHL history to lose four straight games after holding a multi-goal lead in each contest. The trend has continued for the team, with a total of eight multi-goal leads blown this season.
Boudreau took over behind the bench on Dec. 5, 2021, after the Canucks made a number of front office changes, including the firings of then-head coach Travis Green and general manager Jim Benning, after an 8-15-2 start to the season.
Under Boudreau, the team went 32-15-10 the rest of the season, finishing five points out of a playoff spot. He re-upped on a one-year deal on May 13 to return as head coach.
The 68-year-old coached in his 1,000th regular-season game on Jan. 23.
He won the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year in 2008 with the Washington Capitals. Boudreau has also had NHL coaching stints with the Minnesota Wild and Anaheim Ducks.