The Chicago Blackhawks are among the many teams looking for a head coach. When considering their next bench boss, the Blackhawks should leave no stone unturned.
Denver head coach David Carle was at the top of Chicago’s list, but he pulled his name out of the hat. Mike Sullivan is the top name available now, but he will have his pick of the litter. Now, Sullivan won’t be the only one in that elite tier.
A new top name that became available is Rick Tocchet as the news has come out that he won’t be returning to the Vancouver Canucks. He was incredibly successful there, but this latest season did not go well.
Some off-ice drama between players made things difficult for Vancouver in 2024-25, and their play reflected that at times. They ended up missing the playoffs by 6 points following their second-round appearance in 2024.
Tocchet is 286-265-87 over his career spent with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Arizona Coyotes, and Vancouver Canucks. He received the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year at the end of 2023-24. There is no doubt about his ability to lead at a high level.
The Blackhawks are looking for a coach who can help young offensive players improve. Tocchet has done that with guys like Clayton Keller, Elias Pettersson, and Brock Boeser.
When you hire a coach like Rick Tocchet, you know you are getting someone who will establish a culture. He has been known to be a great mentor while holding people accountable. That’s just what Chicago needs.
The Hawks also have many talented young defensemen. In addition to turning forwards like Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar into stars, they’d like to see it on the back end, too.
Tocchet’s history of helping in the development of guys like Quinn Hughes and Jakob Chychrun makes him attractive when thinking about players like Sam Rinzel, Artyom Levshunov, and Alec Vlasic, amongst others.
Whether it's pushing the right buttons to get the most out of players or building a winning culture around the team, Rick Tocchet can do it.
Like every other top coach available, Tocchet would have to look at Chicago and decide it’s a good fit. The money will be there, so it’s a matter of buying what Kyle Davidson and his staff are selling.
Rick Tocchet is one of those guys who should be in the “must-interview” category to see if he’d at least consider the job.
