Vancouver Canucks fire coach Bruce Boudreau, hire Rick Tocchet as replacement

After weeks of speculation, the struggling Vancouver Canucks have fired head coach Bruce Boudreau.

The Canucks announced the move on Sunday, saying in a release that the 68-year-old veteran NHL coach has been replaced by Rick Tocchet, former head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Arizona Coyotes.

"Rick Tocchet brings a wealth of knowledge to this team from both a coach and player perspective," general manager Partik Allvin said in a statement. "He has had more than two decades of coaching experience, guiding teams of various styles. As a player, he displayed a high level of character, grit and intensity, while recording impressive offensive numbers."

Assistant coach Trent Cull was also let go.

The team has added Adam Foote as an assistant coach and Sergei Gonchar as a defensive development coach.

"Both individuals enjoyed long, successful playing careers as NHL defencemen and together provide a wide range of expertise on both sides of the puck," Allvin said.

"Tocchet, Foote, and Gonchar all bring a championship pedigree to the organization and we look forward to welcoming them to Vancouver."

The changes comes after the Edmonton Oilers handed Vancouver a 4-2 defeat Saturday, marking the Canucks' third loss in a row and their ninth in the last 10 games.

Vancouver (18-25-3) has given up multi-goal leads in eight losses this season and sits sixth in the Pacific Division, 14 points out of a playoff spot.

Boudreau was hired on Dec. 6, 2021, replacing former head coach Travis Green. Under Boudreau's guidance, Vancouver went 32-15-10 to close out the campaign and missed the post-season by five points.

The 68-year-old Boudreau holds a 617-342-128 coaching record over 15 seasons.

Talk has long swirled that the Canucks were