Quinn Hughes and Rich Tocchet had a great relationship and the former was a loud proponent for his head coach remaining in Vancouver.
However, the Canucks decided to go another way, with the team and Tochett splitting Tuesday morning.
When asked if he’d gotten the chance to talk with Hughes about Tocchet leaving, Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford was brutally honest.
“I hope he’s playing golf because he usually returns my calls right away, and I called him within half an hour after I talked to Rick. So he hasn’t called me back yet,” said Rutherford “Knowing how he feels about the coach and that he’s a sensitive guy, I would suspect that he feels like I do. We’re disappointed. But knowing the maturity of Quinn, he will make the adjustment necessary.”
“But they did have a very strong relationship, a very good one, and Quinn had a lot of respect for him and Tocch had a lot of respect for Quinn, so there will definitely be an adjustment there.”
It’s not clear what Hughes was up to, but the star defenseman will need to be a big part of the Canucks’ plans going forward — regardless of who is head coach.
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The Canucks missed the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons. Hughes is due for a massive contract raise from his current $7.85-million cap hit. He won the Norris Trophy last season and is one of the best players in the NHL.
