Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet celebrated a special milestone on Thursday. During Vancouver’s matchup against the Kings, Tocchet became the 63 head coach in NHL history to hit the 600-game mark. Before his time with the Canucks, Tocchet spent time behind the bench with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Arizona Coyotes, picking up 267 wins during his first 599 games.
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Tocchet also joined an exclusive club on Thursday, becoming just the fifth person in NHL history to coach 600 games while also playing over 1,000 games. The other four on the list are Randy Carlyle, Bob Pulford, Red Kelly and Craig MacTavish. Of the five, Tocchet’s 1,144 games played ranks second, only behind Kelly, who played 1,316 from 1947-1967.
Regardless of Thursday’s outcome, Tocchet will have the 49th most wins through a coach’s first 600 games in NHL history. He will rank just ahead of Ron Wilson, who had 263, and behind Jacques Martin, Roger Neilson and Lindy Ruff, who had 269. As for his rank among active coaches, only nine had more wins through their first 600 games.
Tocchet currently ranks ninth all-time in franchise history with 89 wins in 161 games and is one of three coaches to take home the Jack Adams Award. Tocchet also ranks sixth in franchise playoff wins with seven.
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