Two former NHL bench bosses on Vancouver Canucks assistant coach radar
Experience is expected to be an important factor when the Vancouver Canucks add a pair of coaches to Adam Foote’s coaching staff.
While Foote has familiarity within the organization and over 1,000 games played in the NHL, the former stay-at-home defenceman is relatively short on coaching experience.
The 53-year-old spent the last two and a half seasons as Rick Tocchet’s assistant. Foote spent two years in Kelowna prior to that as the head coach of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets.
Foote said during his introductory press conference that he would add two coaches to his staff, one to run the defence and one with more of a focus on offence.
“I would like experience, but I want the best,” Foote told reporters. “If I and our staff believes that the guy that we want is the best and the best for our situation and works with me well, that’s who I want to go with, whether he’s got five years, three years, or 15.”
“In the perfect world, yeah, we want an experienced coach with us, and that will be the ideal thing, but I’m confident enough in who we choose, and we’ve got a few guys in mind, it’ll be a great fit.”
CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal mentioned two names of interest during an interview with Mike Halford and Jason Brough on Sportsnet 650 on Friday morning: Luke Richardson and Bob Boughner.
They both bring a wealth of experience.
Richardson was fired by the Chicago Blackhawks last December, after two and a half years as their head coach. The 56-year-old former NHL blueliner also has eight years of NHL assistant coaching experience with the Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, and Ottawa Senators. Richardson was also the head coach of the AHL’s Binghamton Senators for four years (2012-2016).
Dhaliwal said that Richardson is still in the running for vacant NHL head coaching jobs, but if he doesn’t land one, he could end up in Vancouver. Richardson and Foote played together briefly in Columbus.
“Luke Richardson, still talking with teams about a head coaching job, I think he just interviewed in Boston, if he doesn’t get one, I believe that Luke Richardson would be a candidate in Vancouver,” Dhaliwal said. “He did talk to the Canucks when they were looking for a head coach.”
Boughner is also a former NHL defenceman with ties to Foote. They were teammates in Colorado and with the Soo Greyhounds during their junior days.
“Wouldn’t surprise me if former NHL defenceman Bob Boughner is on the radar for Foote,” Dhaliwal said. “Great relationship there.”
Boughner has been the head coach of two NHL teams during his career, with the San Jose Sharks (2019-2022) and Florida Panthers (2017-2019). The 54-year-old has also worked behind the bench as an assistant or associate coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets, San Jose Sharks, and, most recently, the Detroit Red Wings.
Outside of the NHL, Boughner has been a head coach of the Windsor Spitfires for eight seasons, winning back-to-back Memorial Cups with the OHL club in 2009 and 2010.
Both Richardson and Boughner would appear to be candidates to run the defence, which is a position Foote vacated when he took the job as head coach.