Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet knows that what worked last year won’t cut it this year.
The team coaching staff recently convened for their second annual offseason summit, and fans were given a behind-the-scenes look at what happened. The Canucks published a video on social media showing some of the happenings at the event.
Embrace hard.
With the #Canucks season fast approaching, Rick Tocchet and his staff have began to lay the groundwork, starting at this summer’s Coaches Summit. pic.twitter.com/bJHZGoebMr
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) August 28, 2024
Last year, Tocchet won the Jack Adams Award for being the best coach in the league. His emphasis on staples brought the team a lot of success. Now that they have that down, Tocchet is ready to take things to the next level.
“Last year, we were like, ‘Hey, we got to get right to the bare bones, and this is how we’re gonna play, and this is how we have to get the team to do things,’” said the head coach.
“Now we’ve got some foundation here. We can get a little bit outside the box.”
The Canucks have the luxury of having multiple coaches with a ton of NHL experience. The Sedin Twins, Adam Foote, Sergei Gonchar, Manny Malhotra, and Tocchet all had long NHL careers.
“I’m very lucky to have all these guys,” said Tocchet about his co-workers.
Training camp in Penticton is just around the corner, as it starts on September 19. It will mark the start of the new season and give the coaching staff a chance to get back on the ice with the players.
Management had a busy offseason, adding players like Jake DeBrusk, Daniel Sprong, Kiefer Sherwood, Danton Heinen, and Derek Forbort. Penticton will be the first time they all hit the ice together with the coaching staff.