The Vancouver Canucks are signing Adam Foote to a 3 year deal, making him the 22nd head coach in franchise history.
The 19 year NHL veteran has been an assistant with the Canucks since January of 2023. Prior to that he served as head coach of the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL for a season and a half, and spent seven seasons as a defensive coach with his former club, the Colorado Avalanche.
“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. “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. Adam brings structure, accountability, and a detailed orientated approach to his coaching, a process that will send a clear message to our group about the way we want to compete, practice, and play hockey. We are very happy to have him take over as the new head coach of the Vancouver Canucks.”
Vancouver parted ways with Rick Tocchet at the end of the season after failing to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 38-30-14 record. Tocchet guided the Canucks to a 38-30-14 record, but locker room turmoil necessitated a change behind the bench. The former Vancouver bench boss is now deep into contract talks with the Philadelphia Flyers to take over the reins from John Tortorella.
Foote was known for his defensive prowess along the blue line, registering 308pts (66G, 242A) across 1,154 NHL contests split between the Nordiques, Avalanche, and Blue Jackets. The Toronto, ON native won two Stanley Cups as a member of the Avalanche, and helped guide Team Canada to Olympic gold in 2002. Colorado retired his number 52 jersey in a ceremony on November 2nd, 2013.
Foote inherits a team at a crossroads, as the fanbase has championship aspirations, but their core could see drastic changes this offseason. Forward Brock Boeser, who has been with the franchise since they drafted him in 2015, has seen his name floated about as a potential departure this summer. Meanwhile, all world blue liner Quinn Hughes has seen consistent chatter about his desire to play with his brothers in New Jersey make headlines in recent months as well.
As currently constructed, the Canucks are likely a body or two away from making a push for the playoffs in 2025-26. However, how much of that core remains intact over the next few seasons remains to be seen.
Photo: Matt Boulton. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.