NHL News: Canucks star hits HC Rick Tocchet with blunt 7-word confession about his future after playoff elimination

It’s been a chaotic NHL season for the Vancouver Canucks, and while fans’ disappointment after missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs is immeasurable, it may be a relief that the end is finally near. The season finale could also mark the end of an era, as a star on Rick Tocchet’s team revealed his future plans with a blunt, seven-word statement.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and Brock Boeser’s face after the Canucks were eliminated from playoff contention said it all. Still, the veteran star offered a brief statement that painted an even clearer picture of his mindset heading into the NHL offseason, where he’s set to become a free agent.

The Canucks’ Stanley Cup drought continues, as the franchise missed the postseason for the eighth time in the last ten seasons. This year’s frustrations hit even harder for Rick Tocchet’s squad, with a season filled with drama that ultimately led them to a dead end.

To make matters worse, the tension remains present in the locker room and within the team’s facility in Vancouver heading into the offseason, as Boeser seems nowhere near to extending his stay with the team that drafted him with the 23rd overall pick in 2015.

When asked about his future, the 28-year-old forward issued a blunt statement, signalling towards the exit door ahead of a frantic offseason in The Couve.

“Honestly, it’s unlikely at this point,” Boeser told Sportsnet Canada about potentially signing a new contract with the Canucks. “It sucks, it’s unfortunate. I’m just trying to play good hockey, and then I’ll worry about everything after that. We all know it’s been a roller coaster of a year. There’s been a lot of different things.”

Pivotal distractions

The deafening noise around the Canucks during the season was unbearable, for both fans and the organization. The dramatic relationship between Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller far outshined the Canucks’ performance in the media, and Boeser admitted it played a role in the season’s disappointing end result.

“It hurts,” Boeser admitted. “We wanted to be in the playoffs again so bad. If you get in, you never know what can happen. We were playing some good hockey when we had everyone in the lineup, and then we ran into more injury problems.

“We’ve had the distractions this year and injuries throughout the lineup all year. Yeah, it’s been a rough year. But there’s no excuses; we didn’t win hockey games when we were supposed to.”

Crucial hours

While the Canucks still have four games left on the schedule, they find themselves stuck in the NHL’s no man’s land — out of playoff contention and without any meaningful lottery draft implications to play for.

Regardless, these final games may serve a different purpose. Amid this truly testing time in Vancouver, Tocchet can use the stretch to evaluate how the team responds to adversity — and whether the locker room still believes in his system. What he sees could influence his decision to either stay or move on before next season.

General Manager Patrik Allvin has made it clear he wants Tocchet to remain with the Canucks. While the team does hold a club option to keep him for another year, Allvin hopes to secure a long-term extension — one that comes with Tocchet’s full support and desire to stay. For now, though, the head coach is steering clear of contract talks, arguing his main and only focus lies in the current season.

“I’ve said several times, my hope is to have Rick Tocchet here as the coach next year and beyond that,” Allvin said. “That’s something we will continue to talk about. That’s my hope. But my intention is to negotiate term with him and have a coach here that wants to be here.”