Former Maple Leafs Head Coach believed to have been considered for Canucks' coaching gig
The Bruce Boudreau situation that took place in Vancouver was well documented because the Vancouver Canucks out-played and stretched out the situation far too long. The rumours were out and about for almost a month, Bruce Boudreau and everyone within the organization knew the writing was on the wall, but he was employed all the way until this past Saturday.
Rick Tocchet was given the job as the Canucks currently sit 27th in the NHL with an 18-25-3 record. They have lost their last 3 games and are 2-10-0 in their last 12 games. The problems in Vancouver stretch to injuries and defensive liabilities but the front office has mismanaged the salary cap and have essentially run the team to the ground with Bo Horvat set to be traded at the deadline, Brock Boeser following suit, and rumours surrounding Andrei Kuzmenko.
Rick Tocchet has been a head coach for 6 seasons, 2008-09 and 2009-10 for the Tampa Bay Lightning and then 2017-18 to 2020-21 for the Arizona Coyotes. He has a 178-200-60 record through 438 games, went 4-5 during the COVID playoff bubble, but has struggled throughout. He has his work cut out for him in Vancouver but there was a chance that someone else more grizzled was up for the job.
Former Anaheim Duck, Detroit Red Wing and Toronto Maple Leaf head coach, Mike Babcock, was apparently an option for the Canucks before they ended up going with Tocchet. Vancouver-based NHL insider, Rick Dhaliwal said that he "believes" there was something between the two sides but ultimately they chose not to bring him back from the abyss.
Babcock last coached for the Maple Leafs in 2019-20 and was fired 23 games into the season after they started rough with a 9-10-4 record. His coaching style drew a ton of criticism and many players came out afterwards with examples of his old-school guard that ended up hurting his credibility.
Babcock was hired as the head coach for the University of Saskatchewan's Men's Hockey Team but he resigned in the summer of 2022 before announcing his retirement. Whether or not another team will look into Babcock remains to be seen, however as it stands now, the Canucks are rumoured to have been interested before going in another direction.
