Canucks president Jim Rutherford reveals not getting hold of captain Quinn Hughes after Rick Tocchet's decision: "Hope he is playing golf"

Vancouver Canucks president Jim Rutherford has been unable to get a hold of the team's captain, Quinn Hughes. It's an important time for the franchise, as they failed to retain Rick Tocchet.

The coach reportedly declined a deal that would've made him one of the league's highest-paid coaches. Instead, he's taking his chances on the open market, and Rutherford wanted to talk with his star player about it.

"I hope he's playing golf because he usually returns my calls right away, and I called within half an hour of talking to Rick, and he hasn't called me back," Rutherford said on Wednesday, via BarDown.

It was then revealed on Instagram that Hughes was at Madison Square Garden for the Detroit Pistons-New York Knicks playoff matchup on Tuesday. The Pistons got the better of the Knicks to force a Game 6 on Thursday.

There has been no word on Wednesday whether or not Rutherford and Hughes spoke about Tocchet's shocking decision. The Athletic previously reported that the questions about Hughes' future likely played a role in Tocchet's decision.

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Jim Rutherford opens up on shocking Rick Tocchet decision

Rick Tocchet declined a lucrative contract offer to remain with the Vancouver Canucks. He spent some time with management and ownership discussing how to best attack the future.

Rick Tocchet declined Jim Rutherford's offer (Imagn)

Canucks president Jim Rutherford talked about Tocchet's surprising choice.

"After a very long and thorough process, unfortunately Rick has decided to leave the Vancouver Canucks," Rutherford said on Tuesday, via ESPN. 'This is very disappointing news, but we respect Rick's decision to move to a new chapter in his hockey career. We did everything in our power to keep him but at the end of the day, Rick felt he needed a change."

The Canucks became the eighth team with a coaching vacancy, including the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers. Many of the other seven are expected to show interest in Tocchet's services.

Rutherford thinks that Tocchet "may have his mind somewhere else" and said that everyone did "a good job coaching this team this year" despite all the issues with J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson and the Canucks' loss of form.