Flyers' Rick Tocchet addresses claims of giving up on Canucks following disappointing season - "I'm not a quitter"

It's been exactly three weeks since Rick Tocchet made the decision to not return as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks.

Despite a lucrative contract extension on the table, Tocchet felt it was best to step away from the organization and move forward with his career in hockey.

We know it took just over two weeks for the 61-year-old to land his next coaching gig in the city where he began his NHL playing career. Tocchet was hired as the 25th coach in the Philadelphia Flyers franchise history, officially marking the end of an era in Vancouver.

Rick Tocchet has already had his introductory press conference as a Flyer, but on Tuesday, he spoke about leaving the Canucks for the first time in depth on the Donnie and Dhali show. Donnie and Dhali posted the clip on X (formerly Twitter).

"I understand it; I can explain to them I'm not a quitter. But I understand where they're coming from. Sometimes in life, you have decisions you gotta make. And the crossroads, you gotta go right or left. Sometimes you make the right decisions, sometimes you don't. And you gotta with your conviction. It wasn't a quit thing; it was just something I felt for me to evolve, and just in my life, this was the right decision," Tocchet said.

"And there's other things; I'm not gonna dive into it. I just feel like this was the time. But I understand, they're a passionate fan base, and they want to win. You want to be in a pressure cooker because the rewards there, if you can win in that town. If you win a Stanley Cup in all the 32 teams, I would say the top 3 or 4 cities, Vancouver is in one of them, if you won the Stanley Cup," Tocchet added.

Rick Tocchet signed a five-year, $26,250,000 contract with the Philadelphia Flyers to become their next head coach.

Vancouver Canucks insider shared more of Rick Tocchet's comments

There was much more discussed with Rick Tocchet during his appearance on the Donnie and Dhali show on Tuesday.

Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal posted more of Tocchet's key remarks from the interview on X.

"I thought I would have been in VAN long term, you wonder why I wanted a 5-year deal, you need security. I would be lying to you if practice facility wasn't a reason. I had no issues with VAN media. I do expect Petey to have a bounce-back year," Tocchet said.

It will be interesting to see how it all plays out the rest of the offseason in Vancouver as several other key figures face uncertain futures with the team.

On the other hand, Tocchet will look to help bring the Philadelphia Flyers back into contention starting in 2025-26.