Rick Tocchet Named to Canada’s Coaching Staff for 4 Nations Face-Off

Fresh off winning the Jack Adams Trophy for the NHL’s top head coach, Rick Tocchet has been named to Team Canada’s coaching staff for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

“It was quite an honour,” said Tocchet when he heard from Jon Cooper that he was being considered for Canada’s staff. “It’s the same feeling coaching as it is playing for your country. There’s obviously a lot of pride and the whole country will be backing us. I’ll have to take the Vancouver jersey off and be honed in for Team Canada and help the players in whatever capacity.”

The tournament will be held from February 12-20th in Montreal and Boston and will see Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States battle in a round-robin format followed by a one-game final between the two top teams.

Bruins’ General Manager Don Sweeney is the GM of Canada for the tournament and named Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper the head coach of Canada on June 25th.

Though this won’t be the first time Tocchet has represented Canada, but it will be his first time behind the bench for his home country.

Tocchet played for Canada and won two Canada Cups (1987 & 1991). He also played for Canada at the 1990 World Championships in Switzerland. The Canucks’ bench boss was teammates with legends like Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Ray Bourque, and Steve Yzerman during his time wearing the Maple Leaf.

“Back then, it wasn’t just a hockey game. It was country against country,” said Tocchet about the 1987 Canada Cup. “The Russian team had been training together for years and years, and they were incredible. We really wanted to be the best and every single shift was so intense. I go back and watch it every once in a while, and if it was today’s rules, there’s like two or three penalties on every shift.”

Tocchet reminisced about that series and remembered the most nervous he had ever been in a hockey game.

“We were down three-to-nothing, we had a five-on-three, and Mike Keenan sent me out there. But honestly, I didn’t go out there and he yelled at me again. So, I go out there and thank God I scored. I was so nervous because we had Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux on the bench. I don’t care who you are, that should never happen,” said Tocchet with a laugh.

“They put me out there again on a regular shift and we scored again. We got back into the game and then Mario and Gretz took over. Those things are about doing whatever it takes as a role player. That was my memory of it though, being so scared when I got called out on to the five-on-three.”

The return of best-on-best competition is exciting for Tocchet and he believes we will be seeing quite a few Canucks representing their countries at the event. He did also admit that maybe he’s a bit biased.

Tocchet is excited for the players, the fans, and the league to be able to have this type of tournament with the best players in the world facing off against each other as they represent their countries.

“It’s exciting because you want the best players to go against the best players, and the fans want to see how it goes. The United States has great goaltending and defencemen, and Sweden and Finland are always dangerous in international competition. Any of these four teams can win this tournament. Just getting this number of world-class players together for a tournament is incredible,” said Tocchet.

The NHL named six players from each country at the end of June. The only Canuck named to a 4 Nations team is Quinn Hughes with the United States.

When asked about how to game plan for Hughes, Tocchet laughed.

“I don’t know if I have the answer and I see him every day,” he said. “To be honest, I don’t have the answer. That’s the one thing though. I bleed Vancouver Canucks, but I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do for my country. I’ll do my best as an assistant coach. But it will be tough because we will probably have a bunch of Canucks on other countries. I’m pretty biased, but I think there should be a bunch of Canucks on other teams.”

Tocchet has had a busy summer and is in constant communication with his players and assistant coaches. He recently got an opportunity to work with and learn from the New York Jets of the NFL as they go through their training camp. A friend brought him into Jets’ training camp and Tocchet spent time with Jets' Head Coach Robert Saleh and his coaching staff.

Now, Tocchet is forcing himself to take a bit of time to relax before he gets set for the busy month of August as players will begin to ramp up their workouts in preparation for Canucks training camp.

As much as Tocchet is excited about the Vancouver Canucks’ 2024-25 season, the 4 Nations tournament is going to be a fun event that will bring great competition and a showcase of the sport of hockey.

“It's a really exciting time," said Tocchet. “I’m really humbled by the opportunity, and to take advantage of the moments and learn from the other coaches. I mean, I'm going in there as a sponge. So, it's an exciting time for me.”

Things to know for the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off...

Canada will begin the tournament with a matchup against Sweden on February 12th. They will then play the USA on February 15th and Finland on February 17th before the Championship Game on February 20th at the TD Garden in Boston.

All games at the 4 Nations Face-Off will be played with NHL rules. Each team will play three tournament games in a round-robin format. A regulation win will be worth three points in the standings, an overtime/shootout win will be worth two points, an overtime/shootout loss will be worth one point and a regulation loss will net you no points.

The two teams with the best record will advance into a one-game final.

There’s a bit of a twist in overtime at this tournament as round-robin games will be three-on-three sudden death but with a 10-minute period. That period will be followed by a three-round shootout if a winner is not decided.

The overtime period for the one-game final will be five-on-five sudden death through 20-minute periods just as we see in the NHL playoffs.