LATEST | Legendary guest at Canucks' practice: Canucks preparing something massive?

The Vancouver Canucks took the ice for a morning skate Wednesday ahead of their matchup with the Ottawa Senators. It marks their first game of the new year and first since December 29th.

With the Canucks holding first place in the Western Conference and 3rd overall as the second half of the NHL season approaches, an unexpected guest made an appearance at their skate:

interested observer at #Canucks morning skate. Rick Tocchet's buddy Wayne Gretzky pic.twitter.com/itOCeu8F6P— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) January 2, 2024

Coach Tocchet's relationship with the NHL's all-time leading scorer dates back to their playing dates — they were teammates for parts of two seasons with the Los Angeles Kings from 1994-1996. Tocchet served as an assistant coach with the Gretzky-led coaching staff of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2005-2006. Tocchet returned as the Coyotes' head coach in 2017, where he remained until 2021, before being hired by the Canucks midway through the 2022-2023 season.