Former Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet may not be unemployed for long. There are three teams interested in hiring Tocchet as head coach, per TSN. They are the Seattle Kraken, Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers.

One of those teams may have the inside track on hiring the veteran coach.

“The Flyers want to be aggressive. Good fit,” TSN's Darren Dreger said.

Tocchet decided to leave the Canucks, after more than two years on the bench. He led the club to a playoff appearance, but didn't reach the Stanley Cup final.

The former Canucks coach is known as a defensive strategist. He helped turn Canucks captain Quinn Hughes into a star NHL player. Hughes won the Norris Trophy in the 2023-24 season, for the top defensive player in hockey.

The Kraken, Bruins and Flyers are all looking for coaches after disappointing campaigns in the 2024-25 season. Boston and Philadelphia each posted just 76 points in the Eastern Conference. Seattle posted the same amount of points in the West.

Rick Tocchet could turn around a NHL club

Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet on the bench against the San Jose Sharks in the third period at Rogers Arena
Bob Frid-Imagn Images

Tocchet has a lot of playing and coaching experience in the NHL. Before he went to the bench, Tocchet played as a winger for several franchises, including the Flyers. He posted 952 points, and won lots of games.

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It was somewhat surprising when the coach left Vancouver.

“I'm choosing to move on from the Vancouver Canucks,” Tocchet said in a statement in April. “Family is a priority, and with my contract lapsing, this becomes the opportune time. While I don't know where I'm headed, or exactly how this will play out for me over the near term, I feel like this is the right time for me to explore other opportunities in and around hockey.

“I've enjoyed my time here, and I wish everyone the best.”

It will be interesting to see if Tocchet accepts another coaching job. In a statement, Canucks management stressed that they tried to keep the coach in western Canada.

“After a very long and thorough process, unfortunately Rick has decided to leave the Vancouver Canucks,” Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford said. “This is very disappointing news, but we respect Rick’s decision to move to a new chapter in his hockey career. We did everything in our power to keep him, but at the end of the day Rick felt he needed a change. He is a good friend, a good coach, and we can’t thank him enough for all he did for our organization. Toc is a stand-up guy, and we wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”

Time will tell how this all shakes out for Tocchet.