Rick Tocchet barely had a chance to get accustomed to the Pacific time zone when the newly hired Canucks coach wondered what exactly he had just gotten himself into in late January 2023.
Four days and two games into his tenure, Tocchet recalled the feeling of dread he experienced standing on a Vancouver street corner at 3 a.m. after the team returned home from Seattle following a 6-1 loss, in which the coach referred to the Canucks being “soft.”
“I felt like I got hit by a bus,” Tocchet told The Associated Press this week. “And actually, my assistant coach, Sergei Gonchar, pulled me aside and said, `Listen, we just got here. You just got to relax.’”
The memory stands as a moment of validation for Tocchet, who at the time was second-guessing his decision to leave what he called “a nice comfy job” in broadcasting to take on a Canucks team on its third coach in three seasons.
Emiliano Martinez is shown TWO yellow cards but little
China advocates for equal and orderly multi
President Xi engages in lively discussion with deputies
Ministry: U.S. practice disrupts normal business activities
France asks retailers to alert customers to cases of 'shrinkflation'
Minister pledges to improve security of State benefits
Minister pledges to improve security of State benefits
DPP 'responsible' for hindered cross
Claire Danes carries umbrella for bundled
Weaponization of human rights slammed