Ex-Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet is going to the Olympics
Team Canada has named its coaching staff for the 2026 Olympics in Milano Cortina, and Vancouver Canucks fans will recognize one of the assistant coaches.
Jon Cooper will be Canada’s head coach in Italy, and four assistant coaches have been named as well. Rick Tocchet, who served as head coach of the Canucks between 2023 and 2025, was among the four coaches on Cooper’s bench.
Joining him will be Vegas Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy, former Dallas Stars bench boss Peter DeBoer, and Misha Donskov, who serves as the vice-president of hockey operations for Hockey Canada.
Hockey Canada announced the coaching staff on Monday morning.
Four assistant coaches are joining Jon Cooper’s staff for #MilanoCortina2026. 🇨🇦
Quatre entraîneurs adjoints épauleront Jon Cooper à Milan et à Cortina en 2026. 🇨🇦
🍁 Bruce Cassidy
🍁 Peter DeBoer
🍁 Rick Tocchet
🍁 Misha Donskov@TeamCanada | @EquipeCanada— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) July 21, 2025
Tocchet now coaches the Philadelphia Flyers after he failed to come to terms on a contract extension with the Canucks following this past season. The ex-NHLer spent 11 years playing in the City of Brotherly Love, where he amassed over 500 points between 1984 and 2002.
The 61-year-old coach helped the Canucks to one of their best seasons in franchise history back in 2023-24 and carried them to Game 7 of the second round before being eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers.
Tocchet took home the Jack Adams Award for coach of the year for his efforts that season, making him one of the league’s premier bench bosses.
That high was shortly lived, however, as the Canucks regressed this past season and missed the playoffs.
We’re now just seven months away from NHL players participating in the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014. That also happens to be the last time Canada won gold in men’s hockey.
The NHL has not scheduled games next season from Feb. 6 to 24, to allow for participation in the men’s Olympic hockey tournament, which begins Feb. 11 in Milan, Italy.