NHL Coaching News: Vancouver Canucks Part Ways with Head Coach Rick Tocchet, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins Potentially in the Running for His Services

As first reported by SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman, Rick Tocchet will not return as the Vancouver Canucks head coach for the 2025-26 NHL season. 

UPDATE: Vancouver Canucks Official Statement on the Departure of Rick Tocchet

The Vancouver Canucks announced today that Rick Tocchet has decided not to return as Head Coach for the upcoming season.

After thoughtful discussions with the team and management, Tocchet has opted to step away from his role, concluding his tenure with the Canucks.

PRESS… pic.twitter.com/ZW2T6Dc811

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) April 29, 2025

The news comes a week after Vancouver announced they wouldn’t exercise a club option to retain Tocchet. At the time of the announcement, Vancouver president of hockey operations and general manager Jim Rutherford stated the organization didn’t pick up the option because they didn’t “feel it’s right to have somebody here that may have his mind somewhere else.”  

Since the announcement, it has been assumed that Tocchet was a shoo in for the vacant Philadelphia Flyers head coaching job. Tocchet played parts of 11 NHL seasons with the Flyers and was inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame in 2021. In addition to his credentials as a player with the Flyers, Tocchet spent many years as a television analyst for Comcast SportsNet/NBC Sports Philadelphia and Turner Sports alongside current Flyers’ president of hockey operations Keith Jones.

While the Flyers may still be the betting favorite to land Tocchet’s services, they now have some competition from their cross-state rival, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Pittsburgh parted ways with record setting head coach Mike Sullivan on Monday afternoon and immediately the Tocchet rumors began to fly.

In addition to his time with the Flyers, Tocchet spent parts of three seasons as a player with the Penguins including their 1991-92 Stanley Cup championship team. He also spent 2014-2017 as an assistant coach in Pittsburgh, which included back-t0-back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017.

In either case, Tocchet would be tasked with coaching a club that has missed the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs for multiple seasons but that might not be a problem for the Scarborough, Ontario native.

The 60-year-old NHL veteran took over the Canucks midway through the 2023-24 for legendary head coach Bruce Boudreau. In his first full season behind the bench in Vancouver, the Canucks amassed 109-points and won the NHL’s Pacific Division for the first time in a decade plus before being eliminated in the second round by Edmonton.  Tocchet’s coaching job earned him the 2023-24 Jack Adams award as the best head coach in the league. Hope was high in British Columbia heading into the 2024-25 season, however, the Canucks struggled going 38-30-14 and were eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention on April 9.

For what it’s worth, the Flyers and Penguins organizations have expressed their desire at completing extensive head coaching searches. There are other additional “gold standard” franchises that could be inciting to a coach of Tocchet’s age including the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, and New York Rangers.