Rick Tocchet gave us some startling information about the mismanagement of Elias Petterson and JT Miller in Vancouver. Tocchet left the organization without hesitation at the end of the season and joined the Flyers as the New Head Coach.![Rick Tocchet]()
While we were all surprised by Rick Tocchet's decision to leave Vancouver, there had to be a good reason why he left. Tocchet is a former Jack Adams Award winner taking the Canucks from zero to hero last season after making a run to the playoffs.
In 2024-2025, tensions would boil over in the locker room, and Tocchet would be incapable of managing the team's inner turmoil. The result? Elias Pettersson and JT Miller would engage in a feud that would steal the headlines for weeks on end.
Rick Tocchet, if he was sour about the whole situation, has kept it to himself rather than airing the dirty laundry and risking his relationships with players like Miller.
Instead, he'd give a diplomatic answer regarding Vancouver and his time there.
«I really believe that the guys really tried hard to make everything work. I said it before, and I'll say it again. I don't think there's really a bad guy. Are there certain things that we wished we could have realized? Yeah..
While the Canucks did put in their best efforts, their roster was dismembered piece-by-piece as they lost Miller in trade to the Rangers, and Filip Chytil would again be lost to injury.
Tocchet would later state that in addition to everything else going wrong with the Canucks at the moment, the locker room drama was a significant issue for the team.
Causing distractions and destroying cohesiveness, he'd blame his lack of attention on some of the players having a negative effect on the season.
«I think I made a little mistake, I spent too much time on it. There were some guys that needed me a little bit and I wasn't there as much as I usually am for players.»
Which could explain why, instead of remaining in the organization, with chaos permeating through the ranks, he'd seek a fresh start in Philadelphia.
A place he once called home.
He has taken accountability for his lack of action in the Canucks locker room, and will have to rein in the Flyers who have seen better days after the firing of John Tortorella.
Can he win a Jack Adams Trophy in Philadelphia too?
