Former Canucks Coach Says Team Is 'Bullying' Rick Tocchet

Former Vancouver Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau has been there, done that. He's hearing the latest word on what management is saying about their plans for head coach Rick Tocchet, and he says the team is "bullying" their coach.

Tocchet's guaranteed contract expires at the end of this season, but there is a team option for next year, and the reports are that the Canucks are insisting they have no intention of letting Tocchet coach elsewhere next season.

Per Boudreau, speaking on NHL Network Radio on SiriusXM, he's seen this movie before:

I can see how the Vancouver management works there. What they'll do is—they did the same thing to me when they wanted me to sign my deal—they put it public and then they say, 'Hey if you don't do this, then we're gonna do this.' So the M.O. on that, as soon as I heard about the Rick Tocchet situation, I said 'I know exactly what (president of hockey ops) Jim (Rutherford) is doing here,' and it's almost like bullying him into signing the deal.

And Boudreau intimates that all that does is hurt the team on the ice, adding that "it's too much publicity for a team that just wants to go out there and play... They might even sink a little deeper in the standings."

After a three-game losing streak (and the St. Louis Blues' insane 10-game winning streak going into Thursday's play), the Canucks are now a full eight points back of a Wild Card berth in the Western Conference. The Blues & Minnesota Wild are tied for the two WC spots with 89 points, while the Canucks are at 81 points, with just seven games to play.

Boudreau, now 70, coached the Canucks in parts of two seasons, in 2021-22 and '22-'23, and posted a 50-40-13 record there.

As for Tocchet, who took over from Boudreau after he was fired midway through his second season, he's the reigning Jack Adams Award winner as Coach of the Year in the NHL last season and has a 104-63-26 record behind their bench.

Whether he signs an extension after the season, or the Canucks are forced to execute their team option, will be played out in the weeks ahead.