Canucks hire Foote as 22nd head coach in franchise history
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The Vancouver Canucks have named Adam Foote as the 22nd head coach in franchise history.
TSN's Farhan Lalji reports that Foote is signing a three-year deal as part of the promotion.
Foote has been an assistant with the Canucks since January of 2023. He also 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 the Colorado Avalanche.
The 53-year-old also played a long career in the NHL, spending 19 seasons with the Quebec Nordiques, Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets.
“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 make the playoffs with a 38-30-14 record. Tocchet had guided the Canucks to the playoffs in his first full season at the helm in 2023-24, but the team failed to match those expectations this year.
Tocchet is set to become head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers in news that also broke Wednesday.