Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet has been drawing inspiration from all areas this offseason.
Tocchet spent some time at the NFL’s New York Jets training camp with head coach Robert Saleh per Canucks reporter Chris Faber.
“A friend brought him into Jets’ training camp, and Tocchet spent time with Jets head coach Robert Saleh and his coaching staff,” reads Faber’s article.
The 45-year-old Saleh has a strong coaching resume built over multiple decades in the NFL. He’s been a member of two staffs that have made it to the Super Bowl, winning the big game in 2013 while with the Seattle Seahawks.
Saleh took over the Jets’ head coaching job back in 2021. It’s his first time being the boss on an NFL coaching staff and so far he’s amassed a record of 18-33. The team has gone 7-10 in each of the past two seasons, even with their star quarterback Aaron Rodgers missing all of last season.
NFL head coaches are some of the most tactically involved in their sport and responsible for leading a roster of more than 50 players.
Tocchet is preparing for his second full season as Canucks head coach, where he’ll look to improve on what was a massively successful year. The team not only made the playoffs for the first time since 2020, but they also made it all the way to Game 7 of the second round against a strong Edmonton Oilers team.
The Canucks were the NHL’s most improved team last season, and Tocchet was a big reason why. He won the Jack Adams Award as the coach of the year for his efforts, becoming the third person in franchise history to do so.