NHL Rumour Roundup: Why is Rick Tocchet a fit in Vancouver?

The Vancouver Canucks' roller coaster of a season took another few loops over a weekend that began with an internal investigation into how Tanner Pearson's injury was handled, continued with two blown leads in a loss to Florida, and ended with a wholly unexpected win against the best team they played on their five-game road trip. On a back-to-back, no less.

Meanwhile we wait from the outside for the first move of many that must come to this broken and non-playoff roster. There are several trade candidates, but of course not everyone can be dealt in-season before the March 3 deadline. And there's the coach, hired by the previous regime and without commitment from the current front office. Bruce Boudreau's days are numbered, and have been since, oh, late-October or so. The Canucks, 18-22-3 and 12 points out of a playoff spot, have six more games until a nine-day break takes them through all-star, after which it's entirely possible someone else is at the helm.

The worst kept secret in hockey right now is that Rick Tocchet will be that replacement, it's just a matter of when.

"Here's the best info I can give you," Elliotte Friedman said on Friday's 32 Thoughts podcast. "I think earlier this season when things showed a sign of going off the rails in Vancouver the Canucks started reaching out and saying 'if we do make a change what roads can we go down?'

"I do believe the Canucks are in a position where they know what they have to do if they want Rick Tocchet as a coach. They know what he wants, they know what they want, they know what the philosophy is going to have to be. I think quite simply it's Vancouver's decision."

Tocchet has been an NHL head coach for six seasons -- two in Tampa Bay and four in Arizona -- with just one playoff appearance. So what would make him the right fit for these Canucks, and what would that move indicate about the front office's intentions to roster building?

From 2014 to 2017 Tocchet was an assistant coach on Pittsburgh's bench when Jim Rutherford was the GM and the team won two Cups, so there is familiarity and a history of success there. More than that, Tocchet's style may be what the underachieving Canucks require right now.

"You need people on your team who can be pricks," Friedman said. "But you also need people in your organization who are going to say enough is enough and we have to dial it back. And I think that's one of the reasons Rutherford and Allvin are looking at Rick Tocchet because I think they know he's not going to be afraid to handle personalities. And it's not always 'I'll fight you in the corner to get you to bend to what we need you to do.' He also used the velvet glove with a guy like Phil Kessel. He was the Kessel whisperer. So I think Tocchet has a lot of those skills to understand how to motivate people."

In an interview with Craig Morgan after being let go by the Coyotes in 2021, Tocchet himself talked about the importance of connecting with his players, and how he'd want to do things differently if he landed another job as an NHL head coach.

"I think there are better ways to coach nowadays," Tocchet said. "I think there are some new approaches and things I would change. There's more out-of-the-box ways to coach today's athlete and I want to dive into that more. I think sometimes coaches do too many team meetings and it's gotta be more individual based. More than ever. I think you have to meet with a player almost every three days, whether it's just spending 20 minutes, or two minutes with them."

Tocchet's last stop was with a Coyotes team that wasn't designed to win and though the Canucks aren't going to make the playoffs in 2023, the expectation for this group was to at least challenge for a spot late into the season. And while the crushing disappointment of this step-back season has many in the market clamouring for a tear-down rebuild -- hoping for a Connor Bedard miracle -- bringing in Tocchet may pour cold water on that idea.

Interestingly, in that interview with Morgan, Tocchet indicated what type of situation he would be open to joining should another NHL team come calling for a head coaching gig.

"I have been a coach for five-and-a-half years in some trying circumstances. I'm not going to take any job or the first job that comes up. There had better be stability. There had better be strong leadership. You've got to have a somewhat talented team and a commitment to winning. Those things have to be there for me to be involved."

WHY THE SEATTLE KRAKEN ARE A TRADE BUYER TO WATCH

One of the best stories of the season so far has been the Year 2 Seattle Kraken breaking through and really making the Pacific Division playoff chase an interesting one. At 26-12-4, the Kraken start the week second in the group, fourth in the conference, and with the sixth-best goal differential in the league.

This could lead GM Ron Francis, after a conservative expansion draft, to push some of his chips in and make an acquisition designed to position the Kraken as more of a post-season threat.

"We've been talking about are they going to go get another centre, I know one thing some teams suspect is they will go and try to find another defenceman," Friedman said on Friday's podcast.

In this regard, the Kraken have a few things going for them. One is cap space. While over half the NHL's teams are using LTIR, Seattle is accumulating and according to CapFriendly, will have roughly $5.14 million in cap space to use by the March 3 deadline. Another are draft picks. While the Kraken have only their own first-rounder (and still must be mindful of building out organizational depth), they also own three second-round picks (SEA, TOR, WPG) that could be useful assets.

"Second round picks this year, high second round picks, might be worth more than first-rounders next year because it's a better draft," Friedman said.

WILL MATT DUMBA TRADE RUMOURS COME TRUE THIS TIME?

It's a yearly tradition to see Matt Dumba's name pop up in the rumour mill. Whether it's a trade rumour around the deadline, or expansion draft rumours around both Vegas and Seattle, Dumba has come through all of it still a member of the Minnesota Wild.

So...will that change this time?

Here's what's different in 2023: Dumba is on an expiring contract, set for unrestricted free agency this summer, and Minnesota is already pressed for cap space. The buyouts to Ryan Suter and Zach Parise hit their peak penalties (($7.371 million in dead cap each) and the team just invested a $7 million AAV in Matt Boldy.

At the moment, the Wild have $9.3 million in projected off-season cap space with 14 players signed. It just doesn't look like Dumba will be able to fit in.

So, here we are again and the Wild are considering all options. But make no mistake, this team is 24-14-4 and fifth in the Western Conference by points percentage. They want to be making a playoff push, and not selling off someone of Dumba's calibre for picks and prospects.

"I think a whole bunch of teams have called at various times," Friedman said. "What I've heard Bill Guerin has told people is if you want to talk about Matt Dumba, make me an offer that makes me think. Because Bill Guerin and the Minnesota Wild are trying to win the Stanley Cup.

"I think it's totally right Ottawa has called. I think it's totally right Vancouver has called. I'm sure other teams have called too, but I don't get the sense it's ever been anywhere close."

Dumba has four goals and 11 points in 42 games this season, averaging 21:14 of ice time per game without a spot on the power play.