The Vancouver Canucks dismissed head coach Bruce Boudreau and hired Rick Tocchet in his stead, the team announced Sunday.

Tocchet, who's now the 21st bench boss in franchise history, is joined by assistant coach Adam Foote and defensive development coach Sergei Gonchar. Assistant coach Trent Cull was also relieved of his duties.

"We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Bruce and Trent for their contributions to this organization," general manager Patrik Allvin said in a press release. "We appreciate their dedication and wish them nothing but the best moving forward. This was not an easy decision to make but one that we felt was necessary for this franchise."

Tocchet was most recently the head coach of the 2020-21 Arizona Coyotes, who finished in fifth place of the realigned West Division with a record of 24-26-6 during the pandemic-shortened campaign. He and the Coyotes mutually agreed to part ways at the conclusion of that season.

He joined TNT as an analyst at the beginning of the 2021-22 campaign.

"Rick Tocchet brings a wealth of knowledge to this team from both a coach and player perspective," Allvin said. "He has had more than two decades of coaching experience, guiding teams of various styles."

Tocchet compiled an all-time coaching record of 178-200-60 over six seasons, including four in the desert. Two of his teams (the Coyotes in 2018-19 and 2019-20) finished their campaigns over .500.

The 58-year-old has only made the playoffs once, losing in the opening round to the Colorado Avalanche in 2020 after eliminating the Nashville Predators in the qualifying round.

Tocchet began his NHL head coaching career with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2008-09. He won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017 as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Canucks have struggled mightily this season and lost 10 of their last 12 games. They occupy sixth place in the Pacific Division at 18-25-3 and sit 14 points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Vancouver went 50-40-13 with Boudreau at the helm. He led the Canucks to a stunning turnaround last season after taking over for the fired Travis Green in December 2021. They went 32-15-10 after the coaching change and only missed the playoffs by five points.

The 68-year-old became a fan favorite during the run and retained that status amid the Canucks' struggles this season. Fans started chanting, "Bruce, there it is," in his honor in 2021-22. They did so again Saturday night during Boudreau's final game behind Vancouver's bench, after which he was clearly emotional.

Reports of Boudreau's imminent firing had been circling for the past couple weeks. The veteran head coach posited his own theory for the delay Saturday.

"I don't know the reasoning why I'm still here. Maybe it's because the next games are Chicago, Seattle, and Columbus for the new group," he said. "Good luck."

Seven of the Canucks' last eight opponents are currently in a playoff spot.

The incessant rumors contributed to a tumultuous time for the Canucks. Defenseman Tyler Myers told reporters that the outside noise impacted his team's performance during Friday's 4-1 loss to the Avalanche, while rearguard Luke Schenn said his teammates were "speechless" after failing to get a win for Boudreau against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.

Boudreau has had to navigate his way through a handful of emotional media availabilities about his future over the past few days. He told reporters Friday he'd "be a fool" to say he didn't know about his precarious job status before tearfully cutting the scrum short.

The grizzled bench boss was in his 15th season as an NHL coach. He piloted over 1,000 games and earned 10 playoff berths. Boudreau took the Anaheim Ducks to the Western Conference Final in 2015.

He owns an all-time coaching record of 617-342-128.

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Saturday's 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers might've been Bruce Boudreau's last game behind the Vancouver Canucks' bench, but he hopes it isn't his final run in hockey.

"I don't think there's anybody that loves the game more than me and will miss the game when I'm out of it - and I hope I never get out of it," Boudreau said after the emotional contest.

He added, "I used to watch every game, I'm sure I'm gonna watch every game. I want to get back into it somehow, whether it's doing TV again or - I still got the passion to do this. I never missed a practice that wasn't an optional ... so hopefully something works out. I hope this isn't my last hurrah."

The Canucks are expected to announce Rick Tocchet as their new head coach Monday, putting an end to a lengthy saga that Canucks defenseman Luke Schenn deemed "a roller coaster of emotions."

"Guys enjoy playing for Bruce. In this room, we feel like we let him down," Schenn said. "We wanted to continue to try to do better for him."

Connor McDavid opened the scoring less than two minutes into Saturday's clash, and the Canucks found themselves down 3-0 midway through the second period.

Vancouver would make it 3-2 thanks to Andrei Kuzmenko and J.T. Miller, but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins iced the contest with an empty-netter.

"We're all talking amongst ourselves, 'Let's do whatever it takes.' ... The only thing you're thinking, really, win aside, is to get it for Bruce," Schenn said. "That’s what guys were fired up for, and we fell short again."

Boudreau received a touching send-off while time wound down on the contest as fans serenaded him with chants of "Bruce, there it is."

The Canucks' dressing room, however, was quieter.

"Guys were sitting around here and kind of almost speechless," Schenn said. "A lot of times after a game, a loss, guys are mad or ticked off or whatever about the way they played. But this was not even about the game. It was more the feeling for Bruce."

Fans and players alike have criticized the Canucks' handling of Boudreau's situation. The veteran bench boss quipped that he didn't know the "reasoning why (he's) still here" when his fate has been reported on for some time, but he once again expressed gratitude for the Canucks faithful.

"You'd certainly like to see the city of Vancouver get a playoff team," Boudreau said. "If we could've won these last two games, that would've put them a little bit closer. Maybe they could find lightning in a bottle with the next guy."

The Canucks sit in sixth place of the Pacific Division with an 18-25-3 record and are 14 points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin sat out his first game of the season Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights due to a lower-body injury.

Ovechkin has missed 48 games in his 18-season NHL career. Only 28 of those have been the result of an injury.

The 37-year-old's 30 goals this season rank sixth league-wide. He has 52 points through 48 contests.

The Capitals are fourth in the Metropolitan Division with a 25-17-6 record.

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Bruce Boudreau saga in Vancouver appears to be coming to an end.

The Canucks are expected to name Rick Tocchet head coach on Monday, according to Sportsnet's Jeff Marek.

Tocchet has featured on TNT's hockey panel as an analyst since the beginning of the 2021-22 season. He was most recently on an NHL bench in 2020-21 with the Arizona Coyotes.

The 58-year-old posted a 125-131-34 record as the Coyotes' head coach over four seasons. Tocchet made the playoffs once, losing in the first round to the Colorado Avalanche in 2020 after knocking off the Nashville Predators in the qualifying round. He parted ways with Arizona following the 2020-21 campaign.

Tocchet won back-to-back Stanley Cups as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

Speculation over Boudreau's future has been rampant in recent days. Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers commented on the impact it has had on the team, while Avalanche forward Andrew Cogliano criticized Vancouver's treatment of Boudreau.

The 68-year-old was emotional on Friday when discussing the uncertainty of his future.

Sergei Gonchar and Adam Foote are expected to join Tocchet in Vancouver as assistants, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Gonchar coached alongside Tocchet for two seasons in Pittsburgh. The 48-year-old was last on an NHL bench in 2020 as an assistant with the Penguins. He's been an assistant coach with the Russian national team this season.

Foote spent parts of two seasons as head coach of the WHL's Kelowna Rockets before being fired in 2020. Previously, the 51-year-old was a team consultant with the Avalanche from 2013-17.

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield will miss the remainder of the season with a right shoulder injury, the team announced Saturday.

Caufield will undergo surgery in the near future. The team will provide an update on his recovery timeline after the procedure.

Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis told reporters on Saturday that Caufield sustained the injury earlier in the season and had been playing through it.

"He was getting evaluated every game. It was something he had to deal with," St. Louis said. "We got some information late last night that sent us down this path."

Caufield leads the Canadiens with a career-high 26 goals and ranks second on the team with 36 points in 46 games.

He logged 17:41 of ice time and put up three shots on goal during the Canadiens' 6-2 loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday.

The 22-year-old can become a restricted free agent this summer. He confirmed Friday that his agent, Pat Brisson, opened preliminary contract talks with Montreal.

Though Caufield noted that he isn't in any rush to put pen to paper and would leave the heavy lifting to his representatives, he said the contract negotiations are still "in the back of (his) mind."

General manager Kent Hughes said Wednesday that the team wants to sign Caufield to a long-term deal, according to NHL.com's Sean Farrell.

The Canadiens selected Caufield with the 15th overall pick in 2019. The Wisconsin native put up 84 points in 123 NHL games since entering the league in 2020-21.

His 53 goals in that span are the most on the Canadiens despite the fact that he's played in 61 fewer games than Nick Suzuki, who has the second most.

Montreal is in last place of the Atlantic Division with a record of 19-24-3.

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Canucks bench boss Bruce Boudreau garnered sympathy from Colorado Avalanche forward Andrew Cogliano as his coaching career in Vancouver hangs precariously in the balance.

"I don't know what's going on here, but I love Bruce," Cogliano told reporters after his team's 4-1 victory over the Canucks on Friday night, according to The Athletic's Peter Baugh. "I think he's a great man. He cares about players, he cares about his team, and he's a good coach.

"I have my thoughts on what's going on here with him on a personal level, and I don't think it's warranted. He's done a good job throughout the league."

Boudreau coached Cogliano for five seasons with the Anaheim Ducks. Anaheim missed the playoffs only once during Boudreau's tenure and finished first in the Pacific Division four times.

Cogliano potted a career-high 21 goals with Anaheim in 2013-14, Boudreau's second full campaign behind the Ducks' bench.

"We had a lot of success in Anaheim, and I actually attribute a lot of my success in the league to him," Cogliano said. "So I owe him a lot. ... And I think he'll come out on top of all this."

Cogliano, 35, opened the scoring Friday with his seventh goal of the season.

It was a dramatic night for the Canucks, who Boudreau said looked "a little disenchanted at times" during the loss. The off-ice noise surrounding the team has become deafening as Boudreau's firing appears imminent. It's been speculated that Rick Tocchet will replace Boudreau in Vancouver.

As for the Avalanche, they've won four straight games as they continue to fend off the injury bug while staying in the playoff hunt.

Colorado holds the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with a 24-17-3 record. The Avs are tied with the Calgary Flames with 51 points, but the defending Stanley Cup champions have two games in hand.

The Avalanche will take on the Seattle Kraken Saturday at 10 p.m. ET.

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

We're bringing the NHL weekly betting guide to life for a loaded Saturday on the ice. Let's start with a pair of matinee games as those north of the border celebrate "Hockey Day in Canada," even if most of the value is south of the border.

Ducks (+215) @ Sabres (-260)

It's never easy to start a day with a bet that'll probably lose, but that's the reality with an underdog this big. The Ducks are too big of an underdog. My numbers give Anaheim a 38% chance of winning in Buffalo.

The Sabres have run hot and cold this season, compiling a cold spell running eight contests and a six-game winning streak over the campaign. They've won just two of their last seven games, generating an average 50% high-danger chance rate at five-on-five over that time.

There's very little to like about the Ducks, as they sit last in the NHL in goal differential. They also own a league-worst expected goal (XG) share over their current 6-10 stretch. However, Anaheim is being priced as high as +240, which is an implied win probability of less than 30%. That makes the Ducks an ugly but long-term profitable play.

Pick: Ducks (play down to +200)

Lightning (+100) @ Flames (-120)

Later in the afternoon, we've got a more palatable underdog. I have the Lightning - available at +100 - as a slight favorite of 52.7% to win in a game lined like a coin flip.

After winning at a 62.5% rate before the Christmas break, Tampa Bay has since won nine of 12 games and are second in the NHL in both XG and high-danger chances shares at even strength.

Flames backers have been waiting for Jacob Markstrom's play to improve to his previous high level. His GSAx has dropped thanks to a minus-1.69 rate since the break. Meanwhile, Andrei Vasilevskiy is as steady as ever, with negligible difference in his home/road splits.

Pick: Lightning (play up to -105)

Wild (-105) @ Panthers (-115)

The Panthers' even-strength metrics are good enough to make them the sixth-best team in my ratings. But for much of the season, they've refused to win games - largely due to terrible goaltending from Spencer Knight and Sergei Bobrovsky. Florida demoted Knight, and Bobrovsky left Thursday's game with an injury.

If the Panthers can get replacement-level goaltending from either Bobrovsky or Alex Lyon on Saturday, they can continue a push that's seen them go 6-3 with a trio of excusable road losses in Dallas, Vegas, and Toronto. Now just four points out of a playoff spot, Florida should edge the Wild. Minnesota is just 6-6 since the Christmas break, with sub-50% even-strength metrics in that time.

Pick: Panthers (play up to -135)

Kings (-105) @ Predators (-115)

We don't like to rely on the finicky nature of goaltending in a one-game sample size. But in another 50-50-type game, we'll take Juuse Saros over whomever the Kings put in between the pipes.

The Predators netminder is second in GSAx this season, and his home splits are favorable with a 2.55 GAA and .921 save percentage. L.A. may have thought it found the answer to its horrendous goaltending in Pheonix Copley. However, his above-average December stats have turned into below-average January numbers.

Pick: Predators (-115)

Blackhawks (+215) @ Blues (-260)

Like our first game, we have another scary underdog that provides about 6% of value over a 100-game sample size. Unfortunately, they're only playing one contest Saturday night, but at odds longer than +200, the Blackhawks have to be the bet.

Since losing Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O'Reilly (and later Torey Krug), the Blues are 6-3, which makes no sense. The team's even-strength metrics have been among the worst in the NHL over that time. Chicago is also down near the bottom but has won five of its last six contests.

In a game between two bad teams whose recent results are over their heads, we'll take better than 2-to-1 odds on something closer to a coin flip than the market suggests.

Pick: Blackhawks (play down to +200)

Avalanche (-105) @ Kraken (-115)

Unlike the bets above, this is less a numbers play and more about the situation. The Avalanche are coming off a win in Vancouver last night and will be turning to backup goaltender Pavel Francouz for their final road game until after the All-Star break. While Alexandar Georgiev boasts a plus-7.55 GSAx this season, Francouz has played just moderately.

The Avs' even-strength metrics have been average this campaign. Maybe their power play can be the difference against the Kraken's weak link - the penalty kill. But Seattle has consistently found ways to beat better opponents since the calendar turned to 2023.

Pick: Kraken (-115)

Matt Russell is a betting writer for theScore. If there’s a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on Twitter @mrussauthentic.

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers acknowledged that rumors of head coach Bruce Boudreau's imminent firing impacted his team's performance for the first time during Friday's 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

"It kinda seems like the mindset and the mood got to us tonight," Myers told reporters postgame. "You can tell guys are down. It's not easy times right now, a lot going on. Gotta find a way to stay positive and keep working."

Prior to becoming a Canuck, Myers suited up for the Buffalo Sabres and Winnipeg Jets. Despite his wealth of experience navigating high-pressure markets, Myers said the speculation surrounding Boudreau's job status over the past couple of weeks is "the most noise" he's experienced in his career.

"It's hard to know what to want right now," Myers said when asked if he wants the other shoe to drop so the team can move on. "Honestly, I haven't thought about that much at all, just trying to keep everyone in a good mood. ... We have a chance tomorrow night to get things moving back in a positive manner. That's what our main focus should be."

Not all the noise during Friday's clash was negative.

Fans at Rogers Arena regaled Boudreau with supportive chants of "Bruce, there it is." The veteran bench boss was choked up by the warm reception and tapped his heart.

Canucks faithful first started the chant when Boudreau took over behind the bench in December 2021. Vancouver rattled off seven straight wins to begin his tenure last season.

"Oh, it's unbelievable," Boudreau said of Friday's moving moment. "I've only been here a year, but it'll go down in my memory books out of the 48 years I've played and coached as the most incredible thing I've experienced on a personal level - other than winning championships, of course. It's very touching."

Boudreau noticed his team looked "a little disenchanted at times" against the reigning Stanley Cup champions. The shots were even at 29 apiece, but Colorado ultimately pulled away after scoring three times - including two power-play markers - in the second period.

It's been widely reported that Rick Tocchet is in line to replace Boudreau behind the bench. Boudreau was too emotional prior to Friday's contest to reflect on what it means to be an NHL coach, but he had more to say after the game.

"I'm really passionate about it," Boudreau said. "This is what I've done my whole life from the time I could walk until now. ... It's everything. When everything is finally over, you're gonna miss it like crazy, so those are the things you think about."

Vancouver will take on the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET.

Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.