NASHVILLE 鈥� Rick Tocchet drew ample respect during his 18 seasons as an NHL player.聽
Now he鈥檚 doing the same behind the bench 鈥� and leading the Vancouver Canucks to their best season in over a decade in the process.聽
Tocchet was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Trophy on Friday, awarded annually to the NHL鈥檚 top head coach.聽
鈥淗e was a great player, obviously. Probably should be a Hall of Famer, right in that conversation, for sure,鈥� said fellow Adams nominee Andrew Brunette, who played with Tocchet on the Washington Capitals during the 1996-97 season.
Brunette鈥檚 currently the bench boss of the Nashville Predators who will look to extend their season Friday when they host Tocchet's Canucks in Game 6 of a first-round playoff series. Vancouver leads the series 3-2.
Winnipeg Jets coach Rick Bowness is the third nominee for the Jack Adams Trophy, which is voted on by members of the NHL Broadcasters鈥� Associaton.
Tocchet and his team are both intelligent and hard to play against, Brunette said.聽
鈥淩eminds me a lot of his mentality and style. They鈥檙e in your face, they鈥檙e not giving you any space, they鈥檝e got some skill,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd that really epitomizes the player he was. Along with being a really tough guy.鈥�
Over the course of 1,144 regular-season NHL games, Tocchet put up 440 goals and 952 points. He won the Stanley Cup while playing for the Penguins in 1992, then added two more championship titles to his name as an assistant coach for Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017.
Tocchet previously served as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Arizona Coyotes, and worked as a hockey analyst on TNT before taking over the struggling Canucks in January 2023.
For Conor Garland, the coaching change brought in a familiar face.
The winger, who spent three seasons playing for Tocchet in Arizona, describes his longtime coach as a "great man" who cares deeply about his players.
"I know guys have dealt with stuff that he鈥檚 helped them with mentally and he makes sure you鈥檙e doing all right," Garland said.聽
"That鈥檚 why guys love playing for him. It鈥檚 not just 鈥楢re you playing well for me?鈥� He worries about guys and that鈥檚 what makes people want to run through a wall for him. That鈥檚 why you have such buy-in.鈥澛�
Dedication to the coach is translating into results. Under Tocchet, the Canucks have a 70-35-13 record with a .648 winning percentage.
This season 鈥� Tocchet's first full campaign in Vancouver 鈥� the team posted a 50-23-9 record and finished atop the Pacific Division to earn its first playoff spot since 2020.聽
He's consistently preached the importance of structure and keeping a level head, and under the new coach's guidance, many of the club's brightest stars have shone.
Quinn Hughes put in a franchise record-breaking performance this season and is a favourite for the league's top defenceman award. Goalie Thatcher Demko is a V茅zina Trophy nominee, despite missing a month with a knee injury. Right-winger Brock Boeser hit the 40-goal mark for the first time in his career. Three Canucks players ended the campaign among the league's top-20 point producers.聽
鈥淎 lot of success this year," Garland said. "You鈥檝e got a lot of guys that are bought in and want to work hard and want to earn their ice. When you play well, you get more and when your game鈥檚 not there, you鈥檙e going to get less. It鈥檚 pretty black and white. The rules apply to everybody.鈥�
The system in Vancouver doesn't differ much from the one Tocchet utilized in Arizona, Garland added. The players and their skill levels are different, he said, but the team defends the same way and the coach's expectations are the same.聽
The way Garland and the coach work together has evolved, but there are constants, too.
鈥淥bviously, I鈥檓 a little older now. Don鈥檛 need as many reminders from him as I did when I was younger. But I still get them from time to time," he said. 鈥淔ortunate for me, he鈥檚 had me for so many games 鈥� probably over 300 now 鈥� that he knows what my good hockey looks like and when it doesn鈥檛.鈥�
The reminders seem to be paying off. Garland became a crucial part of the Canucks' offence this season, finding success on a line with big winger Dakota Joshua, and hitting a career-high in goals (20).聽
Tocchet has been an important part of his development as a player, Garland said.
鈥淚鈥檝e had some ups and downs here as a player," the winger said. "And I鈥檝e been fortunate to find my game a little bit more this year. He鈥檚 obviously had a great year as a coach and we鈥檝e had a great year as a team.鈥�
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2024.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
