The great thing about Vancouver Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford is that he is more than happy to say whatever is on his mind. The filter between his brain and his mouth does not exist, and you always get the pure honesty when he speaks to the media.
That continued on Tuesday afternoon when discussing the departure of head coach Rick Tocchet.
While addressing Tocchet’s decision to leave the Canucks, citing a need for a chance of scenery, he ended up dropping some other big NHL coaching news when he hinted at where former Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan might end up.
The east coast.
Rutherford said he spoke with Sullivan on Monday shortly after he and the Penguins parted ways.
Rutherford was the general manager in Pittsburgh when Sullivan took over as head coach, with the two of them combining to win back-to-back Stanley Cups during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.
With Tocchet’s future with the Canucks being in some doubt leading up to Tuesday’s announcement, it is reasonable to conclude that Rutherford reached out to Sullivan about the Canucks’ job should it have come available.
So his claim that Rutherford wants to remain on the east coast seems like it should be taken seriously. That also makes it a little easier to narrow down his potential landing spots.
Vancouver, the Seattle Kraken and Anaheim Ducks would seemingly be the first three teams with head coaching vacancies to be eliminated, along with perhaps the Chicago Blackhawks.
Philadelphia might be a remote possibility, but it would not be a stretch to imagine Tocchet leaving the Canucks to join the Flyers as their next head coach given his history with the franchise as a player.
That would leave the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins.
Both would be logical spots for Sullivan.
The Rangers have long been rumored to be Sullivan’s next stop, even before he was let go by the Penguins. The Rangers are in a win-now mode, coming off a bitterly disappointing season and could use a fresh approach and a high-profile head coach. Sullivan checks all of the boxes for them.
But do not discount the possibility of the Bruins. Not only is Sullivan from Boston, but his family still lives there while he is the father-and-law of star defenseman Charlie McAvoy. He also previously coached the Bruins for two years in the mid-2000s. They should be considered a realistic spot.
Sullivan does not figure to be out of a job long and should be able to pick his next spot given his reputation and resume. He seems to have already narrowed it down if Rutherford is to be believed.
