<p>It&#8217;s been a day since the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/vancouver-canucks/line-combinations">Vancouver Canucks</a> officially confirmed that <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/rick-tocchet-will-not-be-returning-vancouver-canucks-report">Rick Tocchet will not be returning</a> with the team next season.</p>
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<p>The sting of the announcement is sure to be felt for a while in Vancouver, as it highlights <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/rick-tocchet-departure-yet-another-new-disappointment-vancouver-canucks-year-full-them">a season of disappointment</a> for the Canucks with the team seemingly lacking a clear direction heading into the off-season.</p>
<p>For the players themselves, there&#8217;s a sense of disappointment in losing a coach who was so highly respected by the team. On Wednesday, Conor Garland joined Mike Rupp and Brian Boyle on NHL Network to talk about Tocchet&#8217;s departure, and he had nothing but good things to say about the former Vancouver coach en route to his next coaching position.</p>
<p>&#8220;Any team that gets him is gonna be very lucky,&#8221; Garland said. &#8220;A lot of those guys, whether he wins 10 more Jack Adams or doesn&#8217;t win another game, those guys will go through a wall for him, he&#8217;s that type of coach. Any team will be lucky to have him.&#8221;</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;Any team will be lucky to have him.&quot; </p>
<p>Conor Garland talks about the departure of Rick Tocchet. <a href="https://twitter.com/Rupper17?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Rupper17</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/BriBrows22?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BriBrows22</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Canucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Canucks</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NHLNPlayersOnly?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NHLNPlayersOnly</a> <a href="https://t.co/aoPlbSXM7w">https://t.co/aoPlbSXM7w</a> <a href="https://t.co/CGGzpMGbmG">pic.twitter.com/CGGzpMGbmG</a></p>
<p>&mdash; NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/NHLNetwork/status/1917670291733373097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>Garland originally played under Tocchet in his rookie season with the Arizona Coyotes. After three years together, the American winger was traded to Vancouver, and Tocchet parted ways with the Coyotes. A year and a half later, they were reunited when Tocchet was hired as the Canucks new head coach midway through the year. Reflecting on it, Garland spoke about his gratitude for Tocchet&#8217;s leadership when he was green in his career.</p>
<p>&#8220;I was a young player, I really didn&#8217;t understand the details of the game and what it took to win,&#8221; Garland said. &#8220;I was more just relying on scoring and producing points. And he taught me the other side of the game and really filled out the rest of my game and I&#8217;ll be forever grateful for that.&#8221;</p>
<p>Having watched him mature through his whole NHL career, there&#8217;s no doubt that Garland and Tocchet have formed a close bond. With that, Garland touted how Tocchet&#8217;s character shines beyond his position behind the bench.</p>
<p>&#8220;As I&#8217;ve gotten older and had a family and a kid, it&#8217;s weird to say as a coach, but to me I kind of look at him as like another father figure, kind of a friend to me,&#8221; Garland shared. &#8220;When stuff happened in my personal life, he&#8217;s one of the people that you can lean on.&#8221;</p>
<p>With high praise for Tocchet from players and management alike, it&#8217;s hard to imagine he won&#8217;t be behind a new bench come next season. At this point, with a number of teams already on the hunt for their new head coach, it&#8217;s really just a question of where he&#8217;ll end up.</p>


It's been a day since the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/vancouver-canucks/line-combinations">Vancouver Canucks</a> officially confirmed that <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/rick-tocchet-will-not-be-returning-vancouver-canucks-report">Rick Tocchet will not be returning</a> with the team next season.
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The sting of the announcement is sure to be felt for a while in Vancouver, as it highlights <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/rick-tocchet-departure-yet-another-new-disappointment-vancouver-canucks-year-full-them">a season of disappointment</a> for the Canucks with the team seemingly lacking a clear direction heading into the off-season.

For the players themselves, there's a sense of disappointment in losing a coach who was so highly respected by the team. On Wednesday, Conor Garland joined Mike Rupp and Brian Boyle on NHL Network to talk about Tocchet's departure, and he had nothing but good things to say about the former Vancouver coach en route to his next coaching position.

"Any team that gets him is gonna be very lucky," Garland said. "A lot of those guys, whether he wins 10 more Jack Adams or doesn't win another game, those guys will go through a wall for him, he's that type of coach. Any team will be lucky to have him."

https://twitter.com/NHLNetwork/status/1917670291733373097

Garland originally played under Tocchet in his rookie season with the Arizona Coyotes. After three years together, the American winger was traded to Vancouver, and Tocchet parted ways with the Coyotes. A year and a half later, they were reunited when Tocchet was hired as the Canucks new head coach midway through the year. Reflecting on it, Garland spoke about his gratitude for Tocchet's leadership when he was green in his career.

"I was a young player, I really didn't understand the details of the game and what it took to win," Garland said. "I was more just relying on scoring and producing points. And he taught me the other side of the game and really filled out the rest of my game and I'll be forever grateful for that."

Having watched him mature through his whole NHL career, there's no doubt that Garland and Tocchet have formed a close bond. With that, Garland touted how Tocchet's character shines beyond his position behind the bench.

"As I've gotten older and had a family and a kid, it's weird to say as a coach, but to me I kind of look at him as like another father figure, kind of a friend to me," Garland shared. "When stuff happened in my personal life, he's one of the people that you can lean on."

With high praise for Tocchet from players and management alike, it's hard to imagine he won't be behind a new bench come next season. At this point, with a number of teams already on the hunt for their new head coach, it's really just a question of where he'll end up.

‘Any team will be lucky to have him’: Canucks’ Garland reacts to Rick Tocchet’s departure

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