Former Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet embracing return to Vancouver

Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet stands on the bench behind Pius Suter, from left to right, Dakota Joshua, Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk during first period NHL hockey action against the Tampa Bay Lightning, in Vancouver, B.C., Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

VANCOUVER — As the Philadelphia Flyers’ bus wound its way through Vancouver late Sunday night, the memories began to flood back for Rick Tocchet.

It’s been eight months since he walked away from his post as head coach of the Canucks. Now, Tocchet’s back in Vancouver and will be behind the bench Tuesday when his Flyers take on his former team.

“I was only here two and a half years, but it was a lot of fun,” he said after Philadelphia practised at Rogers Arena on Monday. “And it’s a great place to live and coach. It really is.”

Named Vancouver’s head coach on Jan. 22, 2023, Tocchet guided the Canucks to the top of the Pacific Division and back to the playoffs in the 2023-24 campaign.

He won the Jack Adams award as the NHL’s top coach that season, but what sticks in his mind is how the fans reacted.

“They show up,” he said. “I mean, I remember in the playoffs, them chanting people’s names. I haven’t really heard that much in other buildings. … You know that’s a passionate fan base when they’re screaming guys names out. That was impressive to me.”

The Vancouver faithful have “endured a lot,” added the former NHL power forward. The team has yet to hoist the Stanley Cup over its 55-year history, despite reaching the final three times.

Still, the city continues to cheer for its hockey club, Tocchet said.

“Great fans. I mean, we just went to the second round, we lost in seven, and there’s a party on the streets. There’s like 50,000 people in Surrey (partying in the streets.) That’s how starved they are and what they’ll do to support a winner,” he said. ”So how can you not love a fan base like that?”

During in his time in Vancouver, Tocchet amassed a 108-65-27 record behind the bench.

The Canucks followed their 2024 playoff run with a tumultuous season punctuated by personnel issues and injuries, and missed the playoffs once again. Days after the final game, Tocchet said he hadn’t decided whether he’d be back with the team come fall.

“All year I’ve barely breathed,” he said at a season-ending press conference. “During the time off, I was at 4 Nations, you’re trying to get this team into the playoffs, dealing with a lot of stuff. So I haven’t really thought of myself. … I do have to take a breath and go through it. With respect to both sides, you do have to go through the process. You have to.”

The Canucks announced on April 29 that Tocchet would not return.

His former assistant coach, Adam Foote, was promoted to the head coaching role on May 14. Tocchet was named head coach of the Flyers the same day.

The Flyers and Canucks have travelled opposite paths since.

Heading into Monday’s slate of games, Philadelphia sat third in the Metropolitan Division with a 19-11-7 record and was eighth in the league in points percentage (. 608).

Vancouver sat at the very bottom of the NHL standings with a 15-19-3 record.

The Canucks have had some “tough breaks” over the past two seasons, Tocchet said.

“Even myself, like last year, woulda coulda, I played that in my mind,” he said.

“I do feel sorry for the fans. This is the last thing you want to see. But I think (the Canucks) have a plan and they’re going to go in the right direction. Obviously, get some young players in and I think they’re going to stick to a plan.”

Tocchet brought a lot of new things to the Flyers, said captain Sean Couturier, and the team has adjusted well.

“We have a young team, so I think he’s given us older guys a voice to kind of lead. But I think we’re all in this together,” said the veteran centre. “We’re all buying into the style of play he wants us to play. It’s been working so far. So it’s been fun.”

Tocchet’s also found a way to get the most of Philadelphia’s prized off-season acquisition, Trevor Zegras.

The Flyers picked up the 24-year-old centre from Anaheim ahead of last summer’s draft after his fifth season with the Ducks.

Zegras leads Philly in scoring (15 goals, 22 assists) and is on pace for career bests in both points and goals.

Transitioning to life with the Flyers — and playing under Tocchet — has been easy, Zegras said, describing his coach as “kind of like an older teammate.

“An older teammate that gets angry,” he said with a grin.

Tocchet’s history as an NHL power forward is part of what makes him a great coach, Zegras added.

“He’s somebody that you can kind of trust right out of the gate, just because of how long he played, the type of career that he had, especially playing for the Flyers and coming back and coaching the Flyers,” he said.

“He knows what it means to be in the room, kind of was in your shoes before. So easy guy to trust.”

This report by Gemma Karstens-Smith of The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 29, 2025.