Vancouver Canucks know Tocchet's contract demands and he won't be cheap: report
Vancouver Canucks playoff hopes are dwindling, and more of the focus seems to be shifting toward next season.
The team has plenty of decisions to make for next year, one of the largest being what to do with head coach Rick Tocchet. The 60-year-old won the Jack Adams Award last year and did a formidable job helping navigate the club through plenty of adversity this season.
Tocchet’s contract expires at the end of this season, although the Canucks have a one-year club option for next year. However, bringing him back as a lame-duck coach without an extension is far from ideal for both sides.
“I think they’ve made Tocchet an offer, and obviously, that offer didn’t get it done,” said Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts today.
Tocchet has expressed a desire to wait until after this season is entirely over before getting into serious contract negotiations. The Canucks still have an outside shot at making the playoffs, and once their season ends, more intense discussions are expected to begin.
The Canucks will need to sell Tocchet on the team’s direction after an up-and-down campaign that was surely exhausting for the players and coaching staff alike. The two sides will also need to agree on the financial terms of a new contract, which could induce some sticker shock for the Canucks.
“If they want to extend Tocchet, it’s going to go into a bigger number than they’ve paid a coach in quite some time, and how do the Canucks feel about that? I think that’s going to be as much the decision for Vancouver as it’s going to be anything else,” continued Friedman.
The highest-paid NHL coach is the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Mike Sullivan at $5.5 million per season, per Front Office Sports. Tocchet’s current salary is $2.75 million per season, according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun. If he wants to be among the NHL’s highest-paid coaches, his salary will double.
The Canucks reportedly know exactly how much Tocchet wants in terms of dollars, per Daily Faceoff’s Irfaan Gaffar. They’ll need to determine if they’re willing to pay that amount.
Another thing to consider? Quinn Hughes.
Hughes has an “extremely good relationship” with Tocchet, according to Gaffar. The star defenceman has another two years left on his contract, and the Canucks will do anything to get him to re-sign. If Hughes is a Tocchet fan, that’s a huge reason why the Canucks should go all out to bring back the head coach.
I’ll say this about the Canucks & Rick Tocchet. VAN knows exactly what he wants in terms of $. The biggest thing in all of this is Quinn Hughes. The captain and coach have an extremely good relationship. Not sure how a new coach/system/lack of plan would go over in that room.
— Irfaan Gaffar (@irfgaffar) March 31, 2025
The longer Tocchet goes without an extension with the Canucks, the more speculation he might leave ramps up. The hockey world was abuzz with rumours connecting Tocchet to the Philadelphia Flyers after the Eastern Conference team fired coach John Tortorella last week.
If Tocchet hits the open market, there are surely several teams beyond just the Flyers who will be interested. He also always has the option of returning to television, where he previously worked as an analyst.
Getting a new coach for next season would mean their fourth since 2021, and that amount of change is not what any franchise wants. While he hasn’t been perfect, Tocchet has been the most successful coach the Canucks have employed in a while, and losing him would be another obstacle to overcome heading into next season.