Canucks promote Adam Foote to head coach

The Vancouver Canucks named Adam Foote as their new head coach on Wednesday.

Foote, an assistant coach with the club since January 2023, reportedly will receive a three-year contract. He would replace Rick Tocchet, who reportedly is expected to be named the new coach of the Philadelphia Flyers.

"Adam is a strong leader, good teacher and person who knows what it takes to build a great culture and winning attitude," Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said in a statement. "His past experiences on the ice have translated nicely into a coaching style that fits our organization's goals and vision. He has worked extremely hard the past few years, gaining our players respect and trust for his strong communication and honest straight forward opinion. He knows this group better than anyone else we interviewed and has inside knowledge and understanding of what it will take to get us back to where we want to be."

Foote, 53, has never been an NHL head coach. He coached the Kelowna Rockets of the Canadian Hockey League from October 2018 before getting fired in February 2020 with 14 games remaining in the season.

Foote is a two-time Stanley Cup winner and played 19 seasons in the NHL, 17 of them with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise (1991-2004; 2007-11). He also played three seasons in Columbus.

The defenseman finished with a plus-99 rating for his career, recording 308 points (66 goals, 242 assists) in 1,154 games.

Tocchet stepped down as Canucks coach on April 29 with a record of 108-65-27, plus 7-6 in the playoffs. The Canucks missed the playoffs.

On April 21, the Canucks announced they would not use their option on Tocchet's contract for the 2025-26 season, but that they instead offered him a new and more lucrative deal.

--Field Level Media