Canucks Decline Coach Option on Rick Tocchet, Make Huge Offer

The Vancouver Canucks have officially declined to exercise the team option on head coach Rick Tocchet’s contract. Instead, the club has extended a new contract offer that would make Tocchet the highest-paid coach in Canucks history. The hope is that he takes it.

"I would suspect sometime this week, he [Rick Tocchet] will have a decision… We're hoping that he takes that contract and stays."

Canucks president Jim Rutherford says the team will not exercise the club option on Rick Tocchet's deal as they continue to negotiate an extension pic.twitter.com/iegbfYZ8ZG

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 21, 2025

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General manager Jim Rutherford confirmed the decision not to force Tocchet to stay if he doesn’t want to remain with the organization. Rutherford praised the work of Tocchet and his staff while explaining that the coach was dealt a tough hand and they wouldn’t ask anyone to stay if their head and heart were elsewhere.

“We will not exercise the team option for him to stay,” Rutherford said. “We don’t feel it’s right to have somebody here who may have his mind somewhere else — and I’d say that about anybody.”

The Canucks Don’t Want Tocchet To Leave

Despite the decision not to use the option, it’s clear the organization is eager to keep Tocchet as their coach. The proposed extension is the highest ever made in franchise history, and Rutherford noted, “It’s been a really good dialogue. We’re hoping that he takes that contract and stays,” he said.

Tocchet won the Coach of the Year award last season, but the team failed to make the playoffs this season. The latter was not his fault, said Rutherford. He cited the player drama and other factors that hurt the team’s record. The hope is that those issues didn’t sour Tocchet on the team and the franchise, or lead him to explore and fall in love with other coaching options — of which there are plenty.

“I would suspect sometime this week, we will have his decision,” Rutherford said.

Whether Tocchet accepts the lucrative offer or explores other opportunities remains to be seen, but the Canucks’ message is clear: they want him back — and they’re willing to pay top dollar to make it happen.

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