Tocchet loved getting booed as a player.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ll be honest with you. . . I played better on the road,\u201d he said. \u201cHow do I coach better if I get booed? I don’t really think of that, but it’s kind of funny because, honestly. . . when you go into another team’s building when you get booed or something, actually a lot of guys love it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Will it hurt if it happens tonight after Tocchet went 108-65-27 in Vancouver and took the Canucks to their best season in more than a decade?<\/p>\n
\u201cI think most people understand I tried,\u201d he explained Tuesday morning. \u201cYou know, I tried my hardest when I was here. I tried to turn things around, and then you just make life decisions. I’m sure the person that’s booing, probably in their life, had to make a decision, too, right? But I understand it.\u201d<\/p>\n
A coaching free agent last spring, Tocchet chose to leave the Canucks for several reasons, including a private one related to family. But one of the obvious hockey factors was uncertainty about the Canuck lineup after an exhausting season of upheaval that saw centre J.T. Miller traded 11 months ago.<\/p>\n
Eighteen days ago, Quinn Hughes, another core player who was one of the reasons Tocchet agreed to join the Canucks in January 2022, was traded to the Minnesota Wild.<\/p>\n
Tocchet, at least, knew what he was getting with the Flyers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, it’s part of it, you know,\u201d Tocchet said of the uncertainty. \u201cI still talk to J.T. today. We communicate. I love J.T., and you know my relationship with Hughes. But I’ve been in the NHL. . . a lot of years, and things happen for whatever reason, and you\u2019ve just got to pivot from it.<\/p>\n
\u201cLosing in Game 7 (against the Edmonton Oilers two seasons ago), I remember being in my office. You know, you had Miller, and then Hughes, and then everybody’s gone. You know, it’s like, wow, what happened, right? But there’s things that happen that you have to kind of pivot through and change directions.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said it was difficult seeing the Canucks regress so quickly after what seemed like a breakthrough 109-point season in 2023-24.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it’s tough, you know, being here and being a part of the community and the team and trying to build it,\u201d Tocchet admitted. \u201cBut saying that, I think sometimes you\u2019ve got to make a right turn and I think they they’re doing the right thing. I thought the (Hughes) trade was great for both teams. I think the team’s playing better. They\u2019ve got some young players, an enthusiastic group. You know, sometimes you can turn something not well into something that in the long run could work out.\u201d<\/p>\n
So far, things are working out well for Tocchet and the Flyers.<\/p>\n
![\"32](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/32-Thoughts-podcast-Elliotte-Friedman-Kyle-Bukauskas-640x360.jpg\")
32 Thoughts: The Podcast<\/p>\n
Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.<\/p>\n