With the news that Rick Tocchet is taking his talents back east, the Vancouver Canucks are in search of a new head coach. They join as many as six other teams in searching for their next leader.
On Tuesday, Jim Rutherford explained that Rick Tocchet’s decision was disappointing and surprising. He also said that he hasn’t given much thought to what traits they will look for in a new head coach, at least in terms of experience. Rutherford mentioned that an experienced coach helps the players’ leadership group. While also saying that there are several successful coaches currently in the NHL who did not have NHL coaching experience prior to their current roles.
Rutherford was also sure to point out that he’s not the one who will be dealing with the coaching staff on a day-to-day basis. That is Patrik Allvin’s duty, and he’ll ultimately be the one making the decision. The inference is that while Rutherford has connections with many coaches, that may not matter unless Allvin also has working experience with them.
Given these parameters from Rutherford’s comments, below is a list of potential coaching candidates that the Canucks may consider.
Internal Options
Manny Malhotra
Previous experience:
AHL Head Coach
Abbotsford Canucks (One season)NHL Assistant Coach
Vancouver Canucks (Three seasons)
Toronto Maple Leafs (Four seasons)
Jim Rutherford has already said that Malhotra will be on the short list of candidates.
“We’ve never mentioned it to him, because we didn’t know we were getting to this point, but based on the job he did [in Abbotsford], the experience he has in the league, he will certainly be on the short list and will be a guy that will be considered.”
Malhotra first joined the Canucks organization as a free agent in the summer of 2010. The faceoff wizard played a key role in shoring up the team’s centre depth and was a vocal leader in the dressing room. Unfortunately, a puck to the face late in the 2011 season robbed him of his vision in one eye. He triumphantly returned in game two of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but his career was never the same afterwards.
Immediately after retiring, he took a job as a development coach with the Canucks and parlayed that into an assistant coaching gig. After three seasons in Vancouver, he moved to Toronto to join the Maple Leafs as an assistant coach for four seasons.
This past season saw him take the reins of the Abbotsford Canucks. They’ve since broken their record for most wins in a season and are about to start the second round of the playoffs. This is important, if the Canucks do intend to interview the Abbotsford coach, they may wait until after the Calder playoffs.
Adam Foote
Previous experience:
WHL Head Coach
Kelowna Rockets (Two seasons)NHL Assistant Coach
Vancouver Canucks (Three seasons)
The former-Avalanche defensive icon brought that toughness to the Canucks’ defence after he arrived. He’s earned praise from inside and outside the organization for the work he’s done and his connection to the players.
Rick Dhaliwal has reported that Foote’s contract is up, and he has permission to talk to other teams. Given his lack of experience, he likely wouldn’t have been a serious candidate for head coach.
Unemployed
Greg Cronin
Previous experience:
NCAA Head Coach
Maine (One season)
Northeastern (Six seasons)AHL Head Coach
Colorado Eagles (Five seasons)NHL Associate Coach
New York Islanders (One season)NHL Assistant Coach
New York Islanders (Five seasons)
Toronto Maple Leafs (Three seasons)
New York Islanders (Four seasons)NHL Head Coach
Anaheim Ducks (Two seasons)
NHL Record: 62-87-0-15
Despite only being an NHL head coach for the last two seasons, Cronin is not a young man; he turns 62 in early June. He started coaching in the late 80s and has a long rap sheet.
His time as Colorado’s AHL coach had excellent regular season results that ended with disappointing playoff losses; he never advanced past the second round. This was preceded by his time as an assistant coach in Toronto and New York, where the teams he coached either did not make the playoffs or were first round fodder.
The Ducks, this past season, vacillated between dangerous and uncomposed. While they weren’t expected to be a contender and made improvements, they improved their points percentage from 0.360 to 0.488. General Manager Pat Verbeek still saw enough to determine that Cronin wasn’t the guy to continue to lead his team through the rebuild.
Gerard Gallant
Previous experience:
QMJHL Head Coach
Saint John Sea Dogs (Three seasons)NHL Assistant Coach
Columbus Blue Jackets (Four seasons)
New York Islanders (Two seasons)
Montreal Canadiens (Two seasons)NHL Head Coach
Columbus Blue Jackets (Three seasons)
Florida Panthers (Three seasons)
Vegas Golden Knights (Three seasons)
New York Rangers (Three seasons)
NHL Record: 369-262-4-70
An excellent coach with a short shelf life. Gallant has never lasted more than three seasons as an NHL head coach, and his most recent stop, with the New York Rangers, was only two seasons.
He wasn’t active in the 2023-24 season and, apart from coaching Canada at the Spengler Cup this past season, didn’t coach professionally this year as well.
His personality wears thin, and he has a track record of having excellent regular-season teams get bounced in the first round.
In the past, he has employed a single forechecker and focused on a counter-attack-based offence. This system is very similar to Rick Tocchet’s and would allow an easy transition for the players without losing the identity that the team has tried to build. There should still be concerns that the Canucks, as currently composed, still wouldn’t be able to generate enough offensive chances under Gallant.
Peter Laviolette
Previous experience:
AHL Head Coach
Providence Bruins (Two seasons)NHL Assistant Coach
Boston Bruins (One season)NHL Head Coach
New York Islanders (Two seasons)
Carolina Hurricanes (Five seasons)
Philadelphia Flyers (Five seasons)
Nashville Predators (Six seasons)
Washington Capitals (Three seasons)
New York Rangers (Two seasons)
NHL Record: 846-562-25-161
If you want experience, few have coached more NHL games than Laviolette; he’s currently 9th all-time in games coached. There’s also an obvious connection with Jim Rutherford, as they won a Stanley Cup together in Carolina. That was 20 years ago, however.
When asked about Laviolette at Tuesday’s media availability, Rutherford had this to say about his former coach:
“We had some success together. I like him as a person and a coach. Haven’t got that far yet but certainly, having someone you’re familiar with helps.”
“…[Allvin] did not work with Peter Laviolette a lot, but I wouldn’t take him off the list at this point. He’s had a lot of success in the league and it’s a good name.”
Another point, not mentioned by Rutherford, is that Laviolette has never coached outside of the Eastern United States.
Dan Bylsma
Previous experience:
AHL Head Coach:
Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Penguins (One season)
Coachella Valley Firebirds (Two seasons)NHL Assistant Coach:
New York Islanders (One season)
Detroit Red Wings (Four seasons)NHL Head Coach:
Pittsburgh Penguins (Six seasons)
Buffalo Sabres (Two seasons)
Seattle Kraken (One season)
NHL Record: 355-231-61
Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2009, Bylsma hasn’t had a lot of head coaching success. Two uninspiring seasons in Buffalo and a one-and-done year in Seattle, none of which resulted in playoff appearances. He hasn’t reached the Stanley Cup playoff since 2014.
His two seasons coaching the Firebirds ended in Calder Finals losses and excellent regular seasons.
Bylsma wasn’t able to get any offence out of the Kraken, although they scored 12 more goals than the Canucks managed.
He’s not a strong systems coach but a personality manager. If Bylsma were to come to Vancouver, he would need very strong assistants to craft the offensive and defensive systems they’ll utilize.
Jay Woodcroft
Previous experience:
AHL Head Coach:
Bakersfield Condors (Four seasons)NHL Assistant Coach:
San Jose Sharks (Seven seasons)
Edmonton Oilers (Three seasons)NHL Head Coach:
Edmonton Oilers (Three seasons)
NHL Record: 79-41-13
Woodcroft got short shrift. He’s only coached one full season in the NHL and didn’t even have NHL goaltending for most of it. He still managed to get them to the second and third rounds of the playoffs.
The main tactic that Woodcroft changed upon his arrival, which led to great success, was to implement a 1-1-3 neutral zone system. This created more turnovers at the blueline and allowed for three players to retrieve dump-ins.
The Canucks and Oilers are constructed in ways that are diametrically opposed to each other. The Oilers entire team is driven by their elite forwards while the Canucks live and breath by high-end goaltending and offense from Quinn Hughes. With limited recent coaching experience outside of the Oilers organization, it would be interesting to see what adjustments Woodcraft can make.
Derek Lalonde
Previous experience:
AHL Head Coach:
Iowa Wild (2 seasons)NHL Assistant Coach:
Tampa Bay Lightning (4 seasons)NHL Head Coach:
Detroit Red Wings (3 seasons)
NHL Record: 89-86-23
Lalonde was Steve Yzerman’s guy. He brought him over from Tampa Bay to get the Red Wings over the hump. All three seasons of Lalonde’s tenure ended in disappointment.
His style is very reminiscent of Rick Tocchet’s, low-event, limit rush chances, dump-and-chase, and heavy on the forecheck. There’d certainly be consistency between the two coaches if Lalonde ends up coming to Vancouver.
Dave Hakstol
Previous experience:
NCAA Head Coach:
North Dakota (11 seasons)NHL Head Coach:
Philadelphia Flyers (Four seasons)
Seattle Kraken (Three seasons)NHL Assistant Coach:
Toronto Maple Leafs (Two seasons)
NHL Record: 241-213-69
A key aspect of Hakstol teams is their strict adherence to their systems. However, this has led to a lack of offence and stifled creativity. Stop me if this criticism sounds familiar.
Hakstrol, like Lalonde, would pretty seamlessly fit into what the Canucks have been building without upsetting the apple cart. With the team looking to become more dynamic offensively, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to bring in a coach who has the same problems as the previous coach.
Under contract
Brad Shaw
Current Team: Philadelphia Flyers (Interim Head Coach)
Previous experience:
AHL Head Coach:
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (Three seasons)NHL Associate Coach:
St. Louis Blues (Four seasons)
Philadelphia Flyers (Two seasons)NHL Assistant Coach:
Tampa Bay Lightning (One season)
New York Islanders (One season)
St. Louis Blues (Six seasons)
Columbus Blue Jackets (Five seasons)
Vancouver Canucks (One season)NHL Head Coach:
New York Islanders (One season)
Philadelphia Flyers (One season)
NHL Record: 23-21-5
Technically still the interim head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, it is widely expected that the Flyers to push hard for Rick Tocchet, potentially pushing Shaw out of a job.
Apart from taking over for fired coaches, Islanders and Flyers, Shaw has made a career out of being an excellent assistant coach. He was even credited with the Canucks defensive turnaround when Bruce Boudreau was brought on; having been given a voice when he didn’t have one under Travis Green. Remarkably, he’s been on an NHL coaching staff every season since 2005-06.
Is this the season that Brad Shaw finally gets to start the season as an NHL coach or is he firmly entrenched as a high-level assistant?
Mike Vellucci
Current Team: Pittsburgh Penguins (Assistant Coach)
Previous experience:
OHL Head Coach:
Plymouth Whalers (13 seasons)AHL Head Coach:
Charlotte Checkers (Two seasons)
Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins (One season)NHL Assistant Coach:
Pittsburgh Penguins (Five seasons)
While he’s currently under contract with the Penguins, it is heavily expected that he’ll be relieved of his duties. Vellucci has a strong connection with both Rutherford and Allvin, working with them in the Penguins organization. Additionally, Rutherford hired him as Assistant GM in Carolina for Rutherford’s last season there. The Canucks current management has put a strong emphasis on familiarity and trust.
With the Penguins, he oversaw the forwards and penalty kill. The Penguins made the playoffs in his first two seasons, although they were eliminated in the first round, but have failed to make the postseason in three consecutive seasons.
It would not be surprising to see Vellucci join the organization in some capacity.
In Another Organization
Jeff Blashill
Current Team: Tampa Bay Lightning (Assistant Coach)
Previous experience:
NCAA Head Coach:
Western Michigan (One season)AHL Head Coach:
Grand Rapids Griffins (Three seasons)NHL Assistant Coach:
Detroit Red Wings (One season)NHL Head Coach:
Detroit Red Wings (Seven seasons)
NHL Record: 204-261-72
After spending many years in the Red Wings organization, Blashill has been an assistant coach with the Lightning for the last three seasons. Since joining the Lightning, he’s been in charge of the defence.
With the Red Wings, his systems focused on offense from the back-end. That would certainly jive with Quinn Hughes proclivities. It is hard to judge his other offensive philosophies given how bad the Red Wings roster had become.
Todd Nelson
Current Team: Hershey Bears (Head Coach)
Previous experience:
AHL Head Coach:
Oklahoma City Barons (Five seasons)
Grand Rapids Griffins (Three seasons)
Hershey Bears (Three seasons)NHL Assistant Coach:
Atlanta Thrashers (Two seasons)
Dallas Stars (Four seasons)NHL Head Coach:
Edmonton Oilers (One season)
NHL Record: 17-25-9
He’s a three-time Calder Cup champion! He’s won the last two Calder Cups! Usually all that AHL success translates to a head coaching gig somewhere. Apart from four seasons as an assistant with the Dallas Stars, he’s remained in the AHL since being passed over for the head coaching position of the Oilers for Todd McLellan.
Something Canucks management love is having good practices and training camps. That’s a big part of Todd Nelson’s coaching philosophy.
Nelson likes to speed up the flow of play. According to him, this starts in the neutral regardless of what tactic is utilized.
A big proponent of getting to know his players and their families. He likes to meet with the players and their families before the season starts in order to build a family friendly rink.
Nelson is a very interesting candidate and should see his name pop up in the rumour mill for head coaching positions.
Pascal Vincent
Current Team: Laval Rocket (Head Coach)
Previous experience:
QMJHL Head Coach:
Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (Nine seasons)
Montreal Juniors (Three seasons)AHL Head Coach:
Manitoba Moose (Five seasons)
Laval Rocket (One season)NHL Associate Coach:
Columbus Blue Jackets (Two seasons)NHL Assistant Coach:
Winnipeg Jets (Five seasons)NHL Head Coach:
Columbus Blue Jackets (One season)
NHL Record: 27-43-12
Vincent was put into a terrible position as the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets. After Mike Babcock was fired before training camp even started, Vincent was quickly promoted, then cast aside after the season went as everyone expected.
He’s had his best season coaching in professional leagues with Laval; finishing with the best record in the AHL. His previous record as a head coach has been spotty, however. The work he did this season will surely garner him some interviews.
Jeff Halpern
Current Team: Tampa Bay Lightning (Assistant Coach)
Previous experience:
NHL Assistant Coach:
Tampa Bay Lightning (Seven seasons)
Since his playing days ended, Halpern has only known the Lightning organization. After three seasons working in the AHL, he was moved up to the main roster and hasn’t left. He runs their powerplay, which has been a top-5 in each of the last three seasons.
He’s been a popular interview for head coaching positions the last several years, but has either turned down opportunities or not been selected. Eventually, Halpern will find his way to becoming an NHL head coach, whether that’s with the Lightning or another franchise is yet to be seen.
Jay Leach
Current Team: Boston Bruins (Assistant Coach)
Previous experience:
AHL Head Coach:
Providence Bruins (Four seasons)NHL Assistant Coach:
Seattle Kraken (Three seasons)
Boston Bruins (One season)
There’s a Rutherford and Allvin connection here. Leach was Mike Sullivan’s assistant coach for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for one season. When Mike Sullivan was promoted, Leach moved into an associate coach role for the AHL team to end the season. However, he didn’t stick with the organization beyond that season. Shortly afterwards, he joined the Bruins’ AHL affiliate.
His name is making the rounds as a candidate for the many open head coaching positions. Apart from being part of Dave Hakstol’s staff in 2022-23, Leach hasn’t been a part of many successful coaching staffs.
Marco Sturm
Current Team: Ontario Reign (Head Coach)
Previous experience:
AHL Head Coach:
Ontario Reign (Three seasons)NHL Assistant Coach:
Los Angeles Kings (Four seasons)
For the last several offseasons, Sturm’s name has popped up as a head coaching candidate. Last offseason, it was reported he was deep in the process of being named the San Jose Sharks’ head coach.
After retiring, he coached Germany’s national teams before joining the Kings’ coaching staff. His last three seasons as the Kings’ AHL head coach have gone very well. With Sturm, it’s a matter of if, not when, he becomes an NHL coach.
Rikard Grönborg
Current Team: Tappara (Liiga, Finnish League) (Head Coach)
Previous experience:
Swiss Head Coach:
ZSC Lions (Four seasons)Liiga Head Coach:
Tappara (Three seasons)International Head Coach:
Team Sweden U20 (Three seasons)
World Championships (Three seasons)
An international darling, the fiery Swede is known as a shrewd tactician. Able to adjust to different ice surfaces and coach players from all over the world, he’s had success everywhere he’s been.
A lot of his coaching experience came from being in charge of several different levels of Sweden’s international teams. He’s spent the last three seasons coaching the Finnish team Tappara and has won back-to-back championships as their coach.
A few years ago, he was an attractive name to write about as a head coaching candidate. The Canucks were believed to have interest in him as well but, reportedly, viewed him as an assistant coach rather than a head coach.
Unlikely options
John Tortorella
His first stint in Vancouver was an unmitigated disaster that involved a fist fight in the opposing team’s locker room.
His time in Philadelphia did not end well either. The Flyers were hoping to finish out the season with him as their coach, but an increasingly public spat with defenceman Cam York and comments on how he wasn’t interested in coaching the type of season the Flyers have been having forced GM Danny Briere’s hand.
David Carle
At this point, it is believed that Carle will return to coach the NCAA’s University of Denver.
The Chicago Blackhawks were heavily rumoured to want him as the man to guide Connor Bedard, but rebuked their advances. He has since met with the Anaheim Duck, though.
Joel Quenneville
He was quietly granted permission by the NHL to resume coaching.
His contributions to covering up the sexual assault against Kyle Beach loom large and will spark many non-hockey-related questions.
Quenneville would be another distraction, rather than part of the solution, and erode the already shaky trust many within the fanbase have in the organization.
There you have it, a pretty exhaustive list of potential head coaching candidates. A strong mix of first-timers, long-time assistants, and experienced veterans. There are surely more out there as well. Are there any from this list that pique your interest?
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