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Rick Tocchet Reveals the Real Reason He Left the Vancouver Canucks

Originally posted on House of Hockey | By Tom Banks | Last updated May 20, 2025 4:29 PM ET

Rick Tocchet was expected to be the coach in Vancouver for a long time, but after departing a few weeks ago, he's revealed the reason behind moving on.

The Philadelphia Flyers made one of the biggest splashes of the NHL off-season thus far when they landed Rick Tocchet to be their new Head Coach, but it's a move that hasn't gone down well for many in Vancouver.

After the team moved on Bruce Boudreau to bring Tocchet in, fans were expecting him to be the Head Coach for a long time, but earlier this off-season, the team announced the two sides would be parting ways.

The reason given was for Tocchet to be closer to family, and now he's opened up on that decision, revealing why he left Vancouver and eventually took a job with the Philadelphia Flyers.

'Man, just a little bit of a fresh start. Get back East. Couple of, you know, some other little things. But like I said, my experience, I was there two and a half years, incredible experience, the market, the fans. I mean, I lived downtown. I used to walk the city. Just incredible people.
And, like I said, it's hard to explain why, when all these positives, obviously ownership, Francesco and the Aquilini's were unreal to me. Jim and Patrick, always be lifelong friends, and obviously the players did all the job for me. So yeah, it's hard to really tell you guys why. I just felt it was the right decision for me.'

One thing that was also brought up was the issue of a practice facility being the reason why he left, and while he noted it wasn't a complete reason, he did reveal that Philadelphia's state of the art facility was a huge factor in making his decision.

'Listen, I'd be lying if it wasn't. It's not that bad in Vancouver, you know, UBC is nice. It's not horrible, but I will say, the Flyers' facility is state-of-the-art. It's got an 8,000 square foot gym. It's got all the amenities. I mean, they've spared no expense. And it's a good it's a good tool for a coach. It really is.'

Ultimately, Tocchet has moved on and explained his reasons, and now it's up to the Canucks and their fans to get behind Adam Foote and move on as well, with both parties seeing that this could be the best thing for them moving forward.

This article first appeared on House of Hockey and was syndicated with permission.

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