Canucks: No contract talks for Rick Tocchet? No problem, he says

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Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet admitted Wednesday that he hasn’t started contract talks with team brass but maintains he’s not worrying about that.

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Tocchet is going into the final guaranteed season of a three-year deal he signed with the Canucks in January, 2023. There’s a team option for Tocchet for the 2025-26 campaign as well.

Coaches guiding teams in their final year of a deal are routinely looked at as having no staying power and routinely get a “lame duck,” tag. Tocchet does, of course, have a long history with the Canucks president Jim Rutherford and general manager Patrik Allvin from their time together with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and that along with the team option gives both parties some extra runway.

You could make a case that Tocchet has the power in negotiations right now coming off his Jack Adams coach of the year win. There’s a point to be made, too, that an even better playoff run next year adds to his value when it comes to a contract.

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It’s would be a massive surprise if something didn’t get done. The ‘when,’ remains the question.

“I’ll be honest with you — we haven’t talked,” Tocchet explained of his contract as part of a media availability to discuss Vancouver announcing earlier Wednesday that skills coach Yogi Svejkovsky had been promoted to assistant coach, taking over a spot that became vacant with the departure of Mike Yeo.

“I have a great relationship with Patrik and Jim. I’m not worried about it. I’m really honestly focused on this year.

“Those things will take care of themselves down the road. When there’s the time to talk we’ll talk. It’s really about me getting myself ready, recharging my batteries and getting ready for the upcoming year.”

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He pointed to Rod Brind’Amour having success coaching the Carolina Hurricanes in the final year of his contract as proof positive it can work out. Brind’Amour signed a five-year extension in May to remain in Carolina.

“I don’t think it really bothers anybody,” Tocchet said. “The players know who I am. We have a great relationship. It’s not going to change their minds going into this year. I’m not worried.”

Other items that came out of Tocchet’s discussion Wednesday? It sounds like the Canucks players wound up being references — albeit unknowingly — for Svejkovsky in him getting a promotion

“They go by the my office and they’re looking and I’ll be ‘Do you need me?’ And they’ll be like ‘We don’t need you. We’re looking for Yogi,’” Tocchet reported. “That impresses me.”

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Asked about how big a net they cast to find a replacement for Yeo, Tocchet said that Rutherford is keen on promoting from within. It wasn’t a mandate, Tocchet said, but it’s something that Rutherford “really likes and he knows how I feel about Yogi.”

“Did I look at other coaches? A little bit,” Tocchet continued. “But I felt this was the best way to go to keep the continuity of the staff.”

He also said Svejkovsky would be a “big chunk,” of running the Vancouver power play. The Canucks’ struggles with the man advantage against the Edmonton Oilers’ in the second round were well documented.

“I like the way he’s come up with some new ideas,” Tocchet said. “I see the workability with the Millsies (JT Miller) and Huggy (Quinn Hughes) and Petey (Elias Pettersson) and (Elias) Lindholm. They trust him. I think that’s important.

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“Saying that, it (the power play) is on me. I have to make sure that I’m involved.”

Tocchet also said that Henrik and Daniel Sedin would have a greater role in coaching the first unit power play as well after working mainly with the second unit last year. And he suggested that they would look to replace Svejkovsky as skills coach.

“We’re in the process of looking and talking to some people,” Tocchet said.

Tocchet did mention Lindholm’s name at least twice when talking about players, too. It may have been a slip of the tongue and old habits, but it’s interesting to note that Lindholm is a pending unrestricted free agent.

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