Foote focusing on increased offense as Canucks coach

VANCOUVER -- Adam Foote believes his familiarity with the Vancouver Canucks will ease the transition into his first NHL head coaching job.

Foote was named coach of the Canucks on Wednesday, promoted after being an assistant for parts of three seasons under Rick Tocchet, who stepped down as coach on April 29.

The 53-year-old already has the confidence of his captain and top defenseman Quinn Hughes, who during a post-game interview on TNT last season said that Foote "was the best coach I've ever had."

"I had two and-a-half years to develop good relationships with the players, the staff, I'm very familiar with how people like to be treated, how they tick, what makes them go, what doesn't," Foote said on Thursday. "I think that's a huge advantage for sure, the relationships I've had and developed in that time."

Foote, whose only previous head coaching experience was with Kelowna of the Western Hockey League (2018-20), worked primarily with the defensemen since joining the Canucks as part of Tocchet's staff on Jan. 22, 2023. So, it's natural his strongest relationships are with the defensemen, especially after Foote played the position for 19 NHL seasons, winning the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 1996 and 2001, and winning a gold medal with Canada at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.

"We have a great relationship, but I would say I got closer to some 'D' obviously being the 'D' coach, more conversations," Foote said of Hughes.

Hughes is key to the future in Vancouver after becoming the first player in team history to win the Norris Trophy voted as the NHL's top defenseman last season and being named a finalist for the award again this season. He is under contract for two more seasons before potentially becoming an unrestricted free agent after the 2026-27 season, and Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford said last month that Hughes has said before he wants to play with younger brothers Jack, a forward, and Luke, a defenseman, who both play for the New Jersey Devils.

Neither Foote nor general manager Patrik Allvin reached out to Hughes during the hiring process.

"I know Jim (Rutherford) informed [Hughes] when Rick (Tocchet) was leaving, but it's not about one player, it's about the team here, and we want to build and continue to grow as a team, and Quinn is a big part of it," Allvin said. "So, obviously, the trust and the relationship Adam has with Quinn, it's important for us to get off to a good start and continue to build. But again, Quinn was not involved in this process."

Foote had talked to Hughes by Thursday.

"I just had a great talk with him this morning, and we had some laughs and we're excited to move forward with this," Foote said.

Foote said he is planning more conversations with key players as the Canucks try to bounce back from finishing 38-30-14 this season, six points behind the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. That came after they won the Pacific Division and reached the second round of the playoffs last season, when Tocchet was voted the Jack Adams Award winner as NHL coach of the year, guiding Vancouver to a record of 50-23-9.

One conversation will be with center Elias Pettersson, who struggled in the first year of an eight-year, $92.8 million contract ($11.6 million annual average value), finishing with 45 points (15 goals, 30 assists) and a minus-10 rating in 64 games before being called out after the season by Tocchet and Rutherford for poor fitness levels. Pettersson was also at the center of reported internal issues last season, including a rift with forward J.T. Miller, who was traded to the New York Rangers on Jan. 31.

"'Petey' and I had some pretty good discussions this year and I really think he wants it and I really think he knows what he has to do and he's going to dial in," Foote said. "He's got a great group around him, supporting him and being a team for him, and I'm going to make sure that I have that conversation with him, and we continue that relationship, and I support him."

Among the other reasons for Vancouver's struggles this season were injuries that limited goalie Thatcher Demko to 23 games and a struggle to score at the same level they did last season. Foote said he'll be careful not to overplay Demko, who has missed significant time with injury in three straight seasons, and could employ more of a tandem with goalie Kevin Lankinen.

The Canucks still need to fill out the coaching staff with two more assistants, and at least one will be focused on offense, but Foote stressed that a career spent limiting offense as more of a shutdown defenseman does not preclude him from being able to help contribute as a coach at the other end.

"You study the game, you use the people around you to help you understand what offense is coming at you and I knew what I was uncomfortable defending," Foote said. "I knew what worked, what put me or my partner or our goaltender in a tough spot and I did that for a living for 20 years … I would say I'm very fortunate that I had to play against those top players and shut them down and it was a fun job and so we've got lots of ideas how to make that offense better."