Ex-Canucks HC Rick Tocchet names the 'most intimidating' NHL arenas throughout his playing career

Former Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet named some of the most intimidating NHL arenas he played in during his 22-year NHL career.

Tocchet left his position as head coach with the Vancouver Canucks last month. Speaking on NHL on TNT, Tocchet highlighted the old Boston Garden, the Philadelphia Spectrum, and the Buffalo Auditorium as some of the toughest road games.

"Well, for me, the old Boston Garden, the Philadelphia Spectrum, I mean, I think I was on their team, that was an intimidating building, you go in those type of places, even Buffalo Auditorium, small, more, more band box, you know, fans were over top of you,” Tocchet said.

"Those were intimidating, you know, it felt like fans were over top of you,"

The 61-year-old played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals and Phoenix Coyotes over his NHL career spanning 1984 to 2002.

Tocchet joined the Canucks as head coach in 2023. The Canucks, who won Pacific Division title last season, failed to qualify for the playoffs after finishing 6 points shy of a wild-card spot in the West with a 38-30-14 record.

NHL analyst Frank Seravalli on Rick Tocchet's next team

NHL analyst Frank Seravalli believes Rick Tocchet will have his pick of teams and contracts this offseason. Speaking on Friday at the "DFO Rundown" podcast, Seravalli reported that multiple teams are prepared to offer Tocchet a "mega" contract, with the Boston Bruins among those interested.

"I think that Rick Tocchet has the coaching world eating out of the palm of his hand. And I think that he will have multiple mega offers that are game changers for the coaching pay scale," Seravalli stated.

In addition to Boston, Seravalli noted teams like the Seattle Kraken, Philadelphia Flyers, and Pittsburgh Penguins are also in pursuit of Tocchet's services. Seattle has already interviewed and offered Tocchet their head coaching job.

Given the high demand, Seravalli projects Tocchet will land a contract north of $6 million per year over 5 years or more.

“I'm going to project that Rick Tocchet is on at least a five-year deal, and north of $6 million per year.” Seravalli added.

Over his career, he has amassed a record of 286-265-87 as a head coach.