Canucks Likely Hiring First-Time HC

The Vancouver Canucks are still searching for their next head coach. Following the previous HC Rick Tocchet's departure from the franchise, and likely move to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Canucks need to replace him.

With the Canucks' search in full swing, the latest rumblings are that they will turn to a first-time head coach to take over Tocchet's role. On a recent episode of 32 Thoughts, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman listed two candidates that Vancouver is reportedly pursuing, and they share one thing in common: they are first-time head coaches.

"There were reports on Tuesday that the coaching search was down to Manny Malholtra and Adam Foote," he stated.

Malholtra is currently the organization's head coach in the AHL and Foote was an assistant under Tocchet this past season. They are the two likeliest in-house options for the Canucks to promote.

He also listed Washington Capitals assistant coach Mike Love and Ontario Reign Head Coach Marco Sturm as two other candidates. Both Love and Sturm are looking for their first head coaching gig as well.

"It appears likely that, if not 100%, the Canucks will hire a first time head coach," he said. "And I think they're pretty comfortable with that."

The Canucks are moving quickly to find a replacement and they are also fighting a market with head coaches in demand. The Pittsburgh Penguins, Seattle Kraken, Boston Bruins, and Flyers have still not named their new coach, but each is aggressively pursuing candidates.

In all four names Friedman listed, they'd have a motivated first-time NHL head coach. After a disappointing end to the 2024-2025 campaign, Vancouver desperately needs change. If Friedman's report is correct, this upcoming coaching hire will be the first big step towards organizational change for the Canucks.