The future of Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet is in his hands.
General manager Patrik Allvin and president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford confirmed that they will not be exercising the club option for next season for Tocchet. This announcement was made at their year-end media availability on Monday.
Rutherford stated that communication between management and the coaching staff has been good throughout the year and has improved since the season concluded.
He explained that it`s not appropriate to retain someone whose commitment might be in question, emphasizing that this principle applies to any individual, not just Tocchet.
Previous reports suggested that Tocchet would return to the Canucks next season under the club option, even if a new contract wasn`t agreed upon.
However, management has dismissed this idea. Rutherford and Allvin are continuing negotiations with Tocchet and have voiced strong support for the coaching staff, believing they are not responsible for the team`s performance this season.
Rutherford praised Tocchet and his staff, saying they coached effectively this year, comparable to the previous year when Tocchet was named coach of the year. He acknowledged the different challenges faced this season, despite winning the division.
Rutherford mentioned the incident involving J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson, which negatively impacted team chemistry and performance in the first half of the season, leading to a trade. Despite these issues, Rutherford commended Tocchet and his staff for their excellent handling of the situation and the team throughout the year.
Tristan Blackwood