Canucks elevate assistant Foote to head coach

The Vancouver Canucks have named Adam Foote as their new head coach, the team announced Wednesday.

Foote, 53, had served as an assistant coach under head coach Rick Tocchet for the last three seasons. His only previous head coaching experience was one season behind the bench of the WHL Kelowna Rockets, going 29-28-6 in 63 games in 2019-20.

He's the 22nd head coach in franchise history. TSN reported that Foote agreed to a three-year deal.

Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the team has hired Adam Foote as the 22nd Head Coach in franchise history. pic.twitter.com/dJTDh8XoHb

Tocchet stepped down after his three-year contract expired at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season. The Canucks opted not to exercise their contact option on Tocchet, having instead offered him a large contract extension. Team president Jim Rutherford said the Canucks "did everything in our power" to retain Tocchet but that "he may have his mind somewhere else."

Sources told ESPN on Wednesday that Tocchet will be the next head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, with whom he played for 11 seasons.

Foote won two Stanley Cups as a player with the Colorado Avalanche (1996 and 2001) and was considered one of the NHL's premiere defensive defensemen during his 19-season career. Foote also played for the Quebec Nordiques and Columbus Blue Jackets.

"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," said Canucks GM Patrik Allvin.

Foote wasn't the only internal candidate interviewed for the Canucks head coaching job. AHL Abbotsford head coach Manny Malhotra was also under consideration.

Foote takes over a Canucks team that that failed to make the playoffs after advancing to the second round in 2023-24. Vancouver has only made the postseason twice in the last 10 NHL seasons. The Canucks face a series of questions heading into next season, from the fate of free-agent winger Brock Boeser to how to get 26-year-old star center Elias Pettersson back on track offensively. But the hiring of Foote might serve to address another one of Vancouver's uncertainties: The fate of captain Quinn Hughes.

The defenseman is signed through the 2026-27 season, but Rutherford recently sparked speculation that Hughes might seek to eventually leave Vancouver to play with brothers Jack and Luke, who are currently with the New Jersey Devils.

"He's said before he wants to play with his brothers, and that would be partly out of our control," said Rutherford.

Foote spent the past two seasons working with the team's defensemen. They were the two best seasons of Quinn Hughes's NHL career, winning the Norris Trophy in 2023-24 and being a finalist for the award again this season. Now, the man who got the best out of the captain is sticking around as their new head coach.

His son, Cal Foote, is one of five players from Canada's 2018 world junior championships team facing sexual assault charges from an incident in a London, Ont., hotel room. The trial is ongoing. All five players have pleaded not guilty.