VANCOUVER – After weeks of speculation and at the heart of a difficult season, the Canucks de Vancouver fired head coach Bruce Boudreau.
The Canucks announced the decision on Sunday. In a statement, they clarified that the veteran hockey man will be replaced by Rick Tocchet, a former head coach with the Lightning de Tampa Bay and the Arizona Coyotes.
“Rick Tocchet brings a wealth of knowledge to this team, both from a player and coach perspective,” said general manager Patrik Allvin in the official statement.
“He has accumulated more than two decades of experience as an instructor, guiding teams of various styles. As a player, he displayed a high level of character, fighting spirit and intensity, while accumulating impressive offensive statistics. »
In addition to Boudreau, assistant instructor Trent Cull was also removed from his position.
The team added Adam Foote as an assistant coach and Sergei Gonchar as the defensive development coach.
“These two men have enjoyed long and successful careers as NHL defensemen and together they will provide a wide range of expertise in both aspects of defensemanship,” Allvin said of Foote and Gonchar.
“Tocchet, Foote and Gonchar all bring a track record of champions to the organization and we look forward to welcoming them to Vancouver. »
The changes behind the Canucks bench were announced the day after a 4-2 loss to the Oilers d’Edmonton. For the Canucks, it was a third straight loss and a ninth failure in their last 10 meetings.
The Canucks (18-25-3) have squandered leads of at least two goals in eight of their losses this season. They sit sixth in the Pacific Division, 14 points from a spot that would give them access to the playoffs.
Boudreau was hired on December 6, 2021, taking over from Travis Green. After he came on the scene, the Canucks went 32-15-10 through the end of the season, but missed the playoffs by five points.
Boudreau, 68, has an overall record of 617-342-128 in 15 seasons as head coach.