Turns out Vancouver Canucks coach Foote isn't much like Tocchet after all
It was a legitimate concern for the Vancouver Canucks heading into this season.
After the Canucks floundered under Rick Tocchet last season, would things really be different under his protégé?
Foote was hired by the Canucks in May, shortly after Rick Tocchet left the team for the Philadelphia Flyers.
The 54-year-old’s pro coaching experience came largely from working with Tocchet. Together, the coaches helped the Canucks improve a defence that had struggled for years.
However, it was the lack of offensive production from Tocchet-coached teams that drew the ire of Canucks fans.
It was fair to wonder if that problem would persist under Foote.
There was a perception coming into this season that the Canucks would rely on their previously established defensive structure and a solid goaltending tandem in order to make up for a weak forward group.
Instead, they’ve been a catastrophic mess on defence.
Looking at both offence and defence, here’s how the Canucks have performed under both Tocchet and Foote. Numbers are at five-on-five, aside from special teams rankings.
Under Tocchet (January 2023 to April 2025)
- Goals per 60: 2.53 (15th)
- Expected goals per 60: 2.43 (26th)
- Goals against per 60: 2.32 (10th)
- Expected goals against per 60: 2.38 (6th)
- Power play: 22.4 per cent (12th)
- Penalty kill: 80.3 per cent (12th)
Under Foote (2025-26 so far)
- Goals per 60: 2.31 (20th)
- Expected goals per 60: 2.46 (21st)
- Goals against per 60: 2.65 (23rd)
- Expected goals against per 60: 3.08 (32nd)
- Power play: 23.3 per cent (11th)
- Penalty kill: 68.1 per cent (32nd)
Not only are the Canucks bad under Foote, but they also rank dead last in two key categories.
They’ve allowed the most expected goals at even strength, and they have the worst penalty kill in the league as well.
When you combine that with an offence that’s still below average, it’s no surprise that they’re a bottom-five team in the NHL.
Perhaps this would be easier to stomach if Foote were more forthcoming about his team’s transgressions, like his predecessor, Tocchet.
Back when Tocchet was the coach, there would be honest quotes about his team like these:
“I can’t even pick one guy who played well other than Demko,” Tocchet said early in 2023-24 after the Canucks were dominated by the Flyers. “Who are we to think we’re anybody?”
Tocchet also called out guys last season for not being “emotionally invested” in the game.
“You’ve got to earn your ice time around here,” Tocchet told reporters last season when Jake DeBrusk, Elias Pettersson, and Brock Boeser were struggling. “That’s the way it works. That’s how you win Stanley Cups.”
So far this season, from Foote, the messaging has been very different.
There’s been no calling out his team for lacklustre performances. There’s been no criticizing players publicly.
In fact, he’s been overtly optimistic about his team’s performance after most games, even after a loss.
“I like the resiliency from our group,” was a repeated phrase he used after a loss against the Colorado Avalanche.
“We made a couple of mistakes,” is another commonly used phrase, something he said after the Canucks allowed eight goals to the Florida Panthers.
Even last night against the Dallas Stars, Foote was pumping the positivity once again.
“It was probably our best game of the season,” he said. “We dominated them in the second period.”
Not every coach is like Tocchet, where he’s publicly willing to call out his team and players for poor performances.
However, if the Canucks’ losing persists, and Foote continues to pummel the media with positivity, it may start to make Canucks fans miss the authenticity of Tocchet.