7 things to know about Canucks new head coach Rick Tocchet

Well, it’s official:  Rick Tocchet is now the new head coach of the Vancouver Canucks.

As Bruce Boudreau was let go on Sunday morning, the long-rumoured news finally became reality.

Tocchet enters Vancouver as easily the most disliked head coach since Mike Keenan joined the club as a midseason replacement back in 1997.

Speaking of Keenan, he has a connection to Tocchet, which is reflected in this list of seven things you should know about the Canucks newest head coach.

1. Questionable internet history

In the days leading up to Tocchet’s rumoured hiring, Twitter users were pulling up a list of his past likes.

Oh, you mean like these examples? pic.twitter.com/93YBojP4dD

— Bro. Do your dekes. 💗BOTCH (@priored) January 22, 2023

He has a specific taste I think Sam pic.twitter.com/J1zP7Cbd1f

— Memarzadeh (@ArashMemarzadeh) January 22, 2023

Mere hours before his introductory press conference, Tocchet deleted his Twitter.

“Well, I had it when I was on your side, at TNT. It was more of like, you know, promoting and all that stuff,” Tocchet told reporters when asked about deleting it.

“Now as a head coach, time to get rid of it, you know?”

2. Charged with promoting gambling while he was an NHL coach

It was one of the more infamous off-ice stories involving an NHL employee in recent memory.

Back in February 2006, “Operation Slapshot” became public, and the investigation implicated Tocchet for being involved with an illegal gambling ring that he was running with New Jersey state trooper, James Harney.

Tocchet was eventually charged in August 2007 and sentenced to two years probation. Harney was sentenced to six years in prison.

Ironically, former Canucks’ head coach Travis Green was implicated as having placed a bet in the gambling ring, although the allegations were never proven. There was also no evidence that NHL games were bet on.

Tocchet’s probation ended in February 2008. Later that year, he landed his first NHL head coaching gig with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

3. Former Canucks coach Mike Keenan was his favourite coach

Canucks fans will love this one.

Rick Tocchet mentioned in this interview that his favourite coach, in terms of who did the most for his career, was Mike Keenan.

The former Canucks’ bench boss was actually Tocchet’s first NHL coach back in 1984-95 with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Not only was it Tocchet’s first season in the league, but it was Keenan’s first as an NHL head coach.

Keenan coached Tocchet for four seasons in Philadelphia. The Flyers actually made the Finals twice during Keenan’s tenure, losing to the Edmonton Oilers both times.

4. “Motivated” his team with chin-ups

Could you do 16 chin-ups in a suit?

Tocchet spent three years as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he was known for running a successful power play and getting the most out of star forward Phil Kessel.

There was a semi-famous urban legend from the Pens’ Cup run in 2017. Kessel apparently bet that Tocchet couldn’t do 15 chin-ups in a suit. So, prior to Game 7 of their Round Two matchup against the Washington Capitals, Tocchet won the bet by doing 16 chin-ups in a suit in front of the team. He confirmed the story when confronted about it on the Spittin’ Chiclets Podcast.

Pittsburgh ended up beating Washington 2-0 in Game 7 en route to their second consecutive Stanley Cup.

5. Butted heads with Evgeni Malkin

Although Tocchet had success as an assistant coach with the Penguins, it wasn’t always smooth sailing.

In particular, Tocchet admitted that his early relationship with Evgeni Malkin was tenuous, at best.

“Geno, early on, I wanted to kill him,” Tocchet admitted in 2019 on the Spittin’ Chiclets Podcast. “I didn’t really get along with Geno early. My personality, I don’t really know why.”

Tocchet told a story of how he called Malkin out for not backchecking, and Malkin “snapped” on him, and started cussing in Russian.

“I snapped at him,” said Tocchet. “I’m not gonna tell you what I said to him, but it wasn’t nice. But my favorite part of this whole thing, I snapped at him, he sat there and I gave it to him. And Sully goes, ‘Tocc take it easy’ and I don’t take it easy.”

The next day at practice, Malkin and Tocchet made peace.

“I said, ‘Geno, I’ll go to war with you. You’re a hell of a player.’ And since that day, I’ve loved Geno.”

6. Cited Howe as his idol

No, we’re not talking about THAT Howe.

Although many players idolized Gordie Howe, one of the greatest NHL players of all time, Tocchet cited his son, Mark Howe, as one of his biggest influences in hockey.

Howe and Tocchet spent eight years together with the Flyers.

7. Has three Stanley Cup rings

Despite the controversies and entering Vancouver on a sour note, Tocchet has certainly had success in the NHL.

He spent 18 seasons playing in the NHL for six different teams, winning one Stanley Cup as a player with the Penguins back in 1992.

The Scarborough, Ontario native was known for being a prototypical, old-school power forward. He’s one of three NHLers (along with Pat Verbeek and Gary Roberts) who finished their career with at least 400 goals and 2,500 penalty minutes.

Tocchet then won two more Cups as an assistant coach with the Penguins.

While he’s had success in the league, his head coaching resume leaves something to be desired.