The Vancouver Canucks have named Adam Foote as their 22nd head coach in franchise history.
The news came to shortly after reports of former Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet was set to be hired by the Philadelphia Flyers, taking Foote off the table for a reunion between Tocchet and Foote in Philadelphia.
Foote has been a part of the organization since January of 2023, when Tocchet brought him in as the assistant coach. This management regime has watched Foote grow as a coach over the past two-and-a-half seasons.
General Manager Patrik Allvin released this statement regarding why they think Foote is right for the job:
“Adam is a strong leader, good teacher and person who knows what it takes to build a great culture and winning attitude,” said Allvin. “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 oriented 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.”
This marks Foote’s first job as an NHL head coach. He has previous experience as a bench boss of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets from 2018-2020, finishing with a disappointing 52-58-6 record.
Other final candidates for the job were Abbotsford Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra, Ontario Reign head coach Marco Sturm and Washington Capitals assistant coach Mitch Love. But Allvin and the rest of the management group are confident they have found their guy in Adam Foote.
