Highly respected Canadian coach expected to be fired imminently

There has been a significant amount of speculation dating back to the start of the 2022-23 season that a Canadian club could look to replace its head coach after a horrendous start, but now it seems as if things have reached fever pitch in Vancouver. As a result, Bruce Boudreau is expected to be fired imminently.

A report coming from ESPN's Kevin Weekes on Monday confirms that the Canucks may be in the process of bringing in Rick Tocchet to be the team's next head coach, which would spell the end of Boudreau's tenure in Vancouver. Boudreau has enjoyed some success with the Canucks after coming in to replace former head coach Travis Green, but that success was limited and has not carried over into this season. As a result, the team is facing the likelihood of not qualifying for the playoffs once again.

Tocchet has not coached in the NHL since the 2020-21 season. That season and the three prior, he held the head coaching position in Arizona. The Coyotes reached the postseason just once under his charge, in 2019-20, losing in the first round.

Boudreau is in the midst of his 15th season as an NHL head coach. While he was able to lead the Anaheim Ducks to the Western Conference Finals in 2014-15, Boudreau has been past round 1 just a total of 4 times in his 15-year run as an NHL bench boss.


It's tough to fault Boudreau for the failures of the Canucks, as the team has been largely disappointing since making it to the Stanley Cup Finals back in 2010-11, missing the playoffs 7 times in 11 seasons since.

There are rumours of a massive divide in the locker room in Vancouver currently and it is expected that the Canucks may be headed the route of a rebuild after rumours of rifts forming between players. At this point, it is believed that captain Bo Horvat and superstar Elias Pettersson would both prefer to continue their careers elsewhere, which does not bode well for the immediate future. I doubt a coaching change fixes anything in this regard.