Confirmed with Link: Adam Foote Named Head Coach of the Vancouver Canucks

[Vector]

So what is this dudes resume?

He’s coached u14 in Colorado out by Cherry Creek because his son was on the team

He’s coached in junior……. But again, his son was on the team

I’m not seeing any drafted players he turned out

Where are any outcomes?

Biggest feather in his cap is that the players love him and he's turned the Canucks defence from one of the worst in the league to one of the best.

 

[Killer Orca]

I pray we don't play the same boring defensive hockey under him. This is a disappointing hire, as I was hoping for an offensive-minded coach with some pedigree of winning.

 

[JT Milker]

Ya I would guess this has a lot of Hughes input.

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

Why do we hate this so much? Legit don't get the uproar. He wasn't my first choice but I fail to see how this is an automatic fail? Give the guy a chance, I know I will.

Adam Foote has no real HC experience other than a dismal stint in Kelowna. You also sense that management scrapped their search and made a desperate last minute pitch when they found out Tocchet was going to Philly and was going to bring Foote with him.

 

[Vector]

Official team statement.

Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the team has hired Adam Foote as the 22nd Head Coach in franchise history.

“Adam is a strong leader, good teacher and person who knows what it takes to build a great culture and winning attitude,” said Allvin. “His past experiences on the ice have translated nicely into a coaching style that fits our organization’s goals and vision. He has worked extremely hard the past few years, gaining our players respect and trust for his strong communication and honest straight forward opinion. He knows this group better than anyone else we interviewed and has inside knowledge and understanding of what it will take to get us back to where we want to be. Adam brings structure, accountability, and a detailed orientated approach to his coaching, a process that will send a clear message to our group about the way we want to compete, practice, and play hockey. We are very happy to have him take over as the new Head Coach of the Vancouver Canucks.”

Foote was hired as an Assistant Coach for the Vancouver Canucks on January 22, 2023. He spent the past two seasons working with the team’s defencemen, helping players such as Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek have career seasons, strengthening the team’s penalty kill and developing a cohesive unit on the back end.

Foote began his coaching career in 2011.12 with the Colorado Avalanche as a Development Consultant and Defensive Coach, spending four seasons in that role. He was also the Director of Player Development for Team Canada at the 2017 Spengler Cup, winning a Gold Medal. Before his arrival in Vancouver, Foote spent parts of two seasons as the Head Coach of the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League, compiling a record of 48-49-12.

Prior to his coaching career, the Toronto, ON native spent parts of 19 seasons in the NHL after being selected by the Quebec Nordiques in the second round, 22nd overall, in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. He skated in 1154 career games, posting 308 points (66-242-308), 1534 penalty minutes, and a +99 plus/minus rating. Foote also appeared in 170 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, registering 42 points (7-35-42) and 298 penalty minutes, capturing the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 1996 and 2001. Internationally, he was named to Team Canada for the 1998, 2002, and 2006 Winter Olympics, winning gold in 2002, as well as the 1996 and 2004 World Cup of Hockey, winning gold in 2004.

 

[timw33]

A lot of people want to see a change away from what they see as Tocchet's system and believe, probably correctly, that Foote will carry on the same system. They also don't think that he can get Pettersson going. On top of those issues, Foote has the weakest head coaching resume with his only real professional experience coming in Vancouver and his WHL gig left a lot to be desired.

I really hate that he has not cut his teeth at the AHL level coaching high level professional mens hockey. A ton of high quality coaches first show their success at the AHL level.

To me this just seems like another of the Canucks' "thorough" coaching searches where they cast their nets far and wide*

*hire whatever guy already has their stuff nearby and start the search with tunnel vision

 

[Canucker]

Dislike. Not the call I’d make, but let’s see where this goes.

 

[Goatlender]

I’m at the point where this news is just received as

 

[Vector]

 

[HairyKneel]

Quinn Hughes, basically the President of Hockey

I'll reserve total judgement til I see the team actually play but Malhotra seemed like a better choice and hopefully this just wasn't done to Appease QH. Hopefully he brings in a strong supporting cast around him.

A very adult like response to things brother.

It's cool to read

 

[bossram]

Maybe, but unless it's spin it sure sounds like they wanted Tocchet ... couldn't get Tocchet ... so went for what they viewed as the next best thing ... his most involved assistant.

I'm getting the impression Manny wasn't really even in the running, but guess it could be because he said early he wasn't interested. Sure sounds like it was Foote's job unless he didn't want it.

Their definition of "next best thing" is questionable.

It's evident of more bad process from the club. No due diligence. No curiosity. Just anoint the WHL fail-out because he was Tocc's bro.

 

[Vector]

Skip to 3:10.

 

[credulous]

i wasn't a quinn doomer before but i think i am now. this hire makes zero sense unless they're scrambling to convince him to stay

 

[Josepho]

This reminds me so much of the Raiders hiring Antonio Pierce.

 

[TruGr1t]

Their definition of "next best thing" is questionable.

It's evident of more bad process from the club. No due diligence. No curiosity. Just anoint the WHL fail-out because he was Tocc's bro.

I mean, they obviously really wanted to keep Tocchet, didn't want any sort of systems or culture change, and so they hired his right-hand guy. Looks pretty straightforward in retrospect.

If anything this reveals just how much they wanted to keep Tocchet around.

 

[Deeds26]

Pros:
- Hughes and team love him, lots of praise from the locker room
- Listens, speaks his mind when applicable, easy to get along with
- Best nose in the game?

Cons:
- Least experienced option
- Possible lack of offensive gameplans
- Guy spells his last name wrong, its Foot, not Foote

 

[Breakers]

a lot of teams swing to polar opposites in coaching searches

Players coach, over to hard tyrant

We’re clearly in the players coach realm still hoping to make a player happy to stay.
But winning makes a player stay over being comfortable

 

[timw33]

Huh thats interesting, let me just google "Cal Foote" and see what an upstanding young gentleman he's turned out to be. Ah....oh....I see

 

[Hansen]

How much should we be charging for hotdogs Quinn? Ignore what Steamer says, this is all you buddy

 

[MS]

Why do we hate this so much? Legit don't get the uproar. He wasn't my first choice but I fail to see how this is an automatic fail? Give the guy a chance, I know I will.

1. Foote has no professional head coaching experience and his only head coaching experience of any kind was a short, failed tenure in the WHL.

2. He feels like a worse version of the guy we already had. Hiring a different kind of coach to replace Tocchet could have felt like a good thing but this just fully feels like a step back.

3. This doesn't feel like the sort of hiring to fix our offensive problems or Pettersson.

4. It feels like this was a hiring made by the players instead of by management.

Essentially the didn't hire either a coach who was young/dynamic/up-and-coming nor a coach with experience/credibility/track record. They hired an old guy with little experience because Quinn Hughes likes him.

 

[Baby Pettersson]

So sound sounds like the issue is he doesn't have anyhead coaching coaching experience? To me that's a positive. A rookie head coach is raw and has a chance to implement his own system of something we have never seen before. Everyone mad about "he's going to implement the Tocchet system" is putting the cart in front of the horse.

Him being a rookie is a strength. Perfect mix of familiarity (which is a good thing) and wildcard of a rookie coach.

Let him cook!

 

[I am toxic]

I think Manny stays, one more year before becoming HC

Either return to Abby this year, or AC to Foote

As long as ownership remains unchanged, I think Manny is guaranteed to someday be Canucks HC

Pure speculation on my part

 

[EpochLink]

Hire offensive assistant coaches

 

[bossram]

I mean, they obviously really wanted to keep Tocchet, didn't want any sort of systems or culture change, and so they hired his right-hand guy. Looks pretty straightforward in retrospect.

If anything this reveals just how much they wanted to keep Tocchet around.

They wanted maximum continuity from a completely disjointed, dysfunctional, and disappointing season.

Yeah, I think we can question their judgement on this one.

 

[Goatlender]

I think this is ultimately going to come down to what assistant coaches are hired. They need to fix the offensive system and PP, so it’ll be interesting to see who they go with. Hopefully not that Yogi guy again