Former Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet Takes a Shot at the Vancouver Media

After a difficult 2024-25 campaign, the Vancouver Canucks underwent some changes behind the bench as Rick Tocchet departed the organization, deciding not to re-sign with the club after parts of three seasons as Head Coach.

Tocchet didn't wait too long to find his next landing spot, as he was hired by the Philadelphia Flyers, the team that drafted him all the way back in 1983 and spent parts of 11 seasons with including half-a-year as their captain.

As Tocchet embarks on his first season as Head Coach in The City of Brotherly Love, the former Canucks bench boss had a lot to say about the media in Vancouver during a recent podcast appearance.

During an appearance on the Spittin' Chiclets podcast, Rick Tocchet spoke about his first month as Head Coach in Philadelphia from training camp to their start to the 2025-26 campaign, and also briefly touched on his time with the Vancouver Canucks.

Tocchet mentioned that while the majority of the media in Vancouver are "good guys", there was the odd guy here and there that he had to pull aside to talk too, without mentioning who it was, calling it cheap shot journalism.

Being the Head Coach of a Canadian team in the National Hockey League, especially Vancouver, comes with a lot more attention and pressure than any elsewhere, even more so when the team is not playing well.

When the team is performing well and even makes the playoffs, things will feel a lot easier, such as dealing with the media, but there's no question that the pressure may have gotten to Tocchet last season, which was a tough year for several reasons, and ultimately, he felt that he needed to leave and be in a different environment.