Canucks to name Adam Foote as next head coach

Foote, 53, served as the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL’s head coach from 2018-19 to 2019-20, when he was fired mid-season. His next coaching gig came in 2022-23, when Rick Tocchet brought him on as one of his assistant coaches upon joining the Canucks. Foote was responsible for the Canucks’ defence and penalty kill, both of which were undeniably improved under his tutelage.

Canucks captain Quinn Hughes has raved about both Tocchet and Foote, but at the end of February, singled out and praised Foote during a walk off interview with the TNT crew.

“Man, I can’t, it’s hard to break that one down, but I just find like, there’s a lot of coaches out there that, you know, scream and yell and they want to, you know, bully their players, intimidate their players.” Hughes said. “And this is a guy that I would say, coaches his defenseman, coaches his players, like he’d want his kids coached. And then on top of that, with all the experience he has.”

According to Rick Dhaliwal of Donnie and Dhali — The Team, it’s a three-year deal for Foote, who lands his first NHL head coaching job. Foote was believed to be the frontrunner for the position alongside Abbotsford Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra. The Canucks’ job was vacated after Rick Tocchet announced he was leaving the Canucks at the end of April. Reports on Wednesday suggest that Tocchet is joining the Philadelphia Flyers.

Foote had an NHL career spanning 20 seasons, and appeared in 1154 NHL games. Recognized as one of the greatest defensive defencemen of his generation, Foote has brought a wealth of knowledge to the Canucks’ defensive group.

The question now will be if he can help turn a team around who’s biggest issue in 2024-25 was that they struggled to generate offence. The Canucks have not yet officially announced the hiring, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated when that happens.

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