On today’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal discussed Rick Tocchet’s uncertain future with the Vancouver Canucks, Mike Sullivan’s next move, and how the coaching market could unfold this offseason.

Starting with Mike Sullivan, who was recently let go by the Pittsburgh Penguins after 10 years with the team, Quads laid out the situation:

“There are some openings, and one of them for Mike Sullivan is the New York Rangers,” Quads said. “There’s all sorts of rumours connecting Sullivan to the Rangers and they’re a team that has the money to pay for a premiere head coach. The contract with Tocchet is coming down to a few things, money is one of them, but I don’t think that’s going to be anything the Rangers are worried about. The Canucks aren’t going to outbid the Rangers for Mike Sullivan when they could just pay up for Tocchet, so realistically, Sullivan isn’t coming to Vancouver.”

Harm agreed, noting that the Rangers have had their eye on Sullivan for a long time:

“It’s a slam dunk fit for Sullivan and the Rangers,” Harm said. “Chris Drury has tried to make runs to poach Sullivan from the Penguins on a couple occasions. He was unsuccessful obviously, but he’s been the dream hire for Chris Drury and the New York Rangers for many years. Despite their down season this past year, they’re only a year removed from being a President’s Trophy winning team. They probably have the clearest path back to contention, though you could argue the Canucks are in a similar boat in terms of bounce-back potential. Most importantly, the Rangers are incredibly deep-pocketed, and Sullivan was already the highest-paid coach in the NHL at $5.5 million. From a compensation standpoint, I doubt the Canucks could outbid the Rangers.”

The discussion then shifted to possible destinations for Rick Tocchet if he does not return to the Canucks next season.

Harm identified two potential landing spots in the Western Conference:

“There are two teams in the West who I think could be potential landing spots if they open up, if I was Rick Tocchet,” Harm said. “Vegas Golden Knights – we know how ruthless they are in terms of moving on from players and people once they realize it’s not working. If they lose in the first round for a second consecutive season, I wonder about Bruce Cassidy’s future, even though I think he’s a phenomenal coach. We know how quick to pull the trigger the Knights are.”

He also floated the Dallas Stars as another possible fit:

“Another one is the Dallas Stars with Peter DeBoer if they lose in the first round again. It’s a similar situation – if I’m Jim Nill, I wouldn’t be rushing to fire DeBoer, they’ve had a couple 50-win seasons in a row, he’s guided them to a couple conference finals, and it’s not embarrassing to lose to the Colorado Avalanche in round one. But if they lose again, DeBoer does have this reputation where he can get you regular season success and win some playoff rounds, but has never been able to guide any of his teams to the Stanley Cup.”

Both Vegas and Dallas would be highly appealing destinations for Tocchet.

“Those rosters are Cup-contending rosters,” Harm said.

Finally, the guys discussed what could happen if Tocchet chooses not to coach next year.

Quads pointed out that Tocchet’s career and background give him plenty of options:

“If Tocchet isn’t thrilled with the idea of coming back to Vancouver, he’s got the background in TV. He could always make a lot of money doing TNT again. He’s also made enough money in his career where he doesn’t have to be a full-time head coach if the right opportunity isn’t there for him.”

Harm emphasized the role of negotiations in all this:

“If he decides to come back, it’s going to be with full conviction and belief,” he said. “The other thing you have to keep in mind is part of this is just negotiation. You want to get the best deal, and that happens when the other side perceives you as having leverage. Whether it’s legit or not, we perceive now that Tocchet is open to the idea of leaving Vancouver.”

You can watch the full segment below: