VANCOUVER — When Adam Foote was announced as the 22nd head coach of the Vancouver Canucks on May 14, 2025, his inherited team was at a bit of a crossroads.
Former head coach Rick Tocchet chose to depart Vancouver just one season removed from leading the team to a Pacific Division title, the Canucks had just missed the playoffs by several points and a non-insignificant chunk of the season was characterized by palpable tension between two highly paid star players.
Of course, Quinn Hughes was still the captain and the prevailing hope was that 2024-25 was enough of an outlier that it could convince the franchise defenceman to remain in Vancouver. There was a lot riding on the season — anything less than success would mean the end of this era of Canucks hockey as we knew it.
Eleven months later, well, we know how this story ends.
The Canucks are playing their final home game of the 2025-26 season Tuesday night, nearing a merciful end to a tumultuous year that’s seen one of the worst records in franchise history (20-48-8), the worst home-ice record in franchise history (just eight wins) and their best defenceman in franchise history departing for greener pastures. The only silver lining of this season is likely still ahead, at the May 5 draft lottery, where their odds of winning the first-overall pick sit at 25.5 per cent.
Coaches have been fired for less. In fact, it’s happened multiple times this year. The New York Islanders fired Patrick Roy earlier this month as they pushed for the post-season and the playoff-bound Vegas Golden Knights dismissed Bruce Cassidy, their Stanley Cup-winning coach, in favour of John Tortorella, at the end of March. In 320 games behind the Golden Knights’ bench, Cassidy had a .600 winning percentage, but lost seven of the 10 games leading up to his firing.
It’s the nature of NHL coaching, to an extent. Job security is contingent on winning and when that’s not happening, nobody is safe — not Stanley Cup winners, and least of all the bench boss of a team that entered the year with playoff aspirations and instead will finish last in the league.
So, given the way this year has played out, does Foote feel the heat?
“People are aware of what happens (around the league),” Foote said before Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings (10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, Sportsnet, Sportsnet+).
“I don’t think about that. I think about the now. We’re playing hockey, we have L.A. tonight. That’s just noise that’s not in my control. I control what I do here every day and that’s how I played, that’s how I was raised, that’s how I come to work.
“I’ll let the players, the game, the way they play, the way they carry themselves, others talk about that,” he continued when asked if he believes he’s done enough to show the organization he’s their guy going forward. “I’m not going to defend myself to some noise, or things that I can’t control.”
In fairness to Foote, some of the Canucks’ early-season struggles weren’t entirely in his control.
Injuries up and down the lineup, particularly to their centremen, meant their ability to generate offence suffered significantly and by the time the Canucks could play at full-strength, it already felt too late.
Granted, their play — particularly on home ice — wasn’t doing them any favours and with just eight wins at Rogers Arena this season, Foote and his players understand the importance of capping their home schedule with some success.
“If we can at least go out on a high note, and get a win for (the fans) that would be awesome, so we’re going to try to keep this thing rolling,” forward Brock Boeser said. “It’s been a rough year at home. We’ve talked about that a lot, so we’ve got to make sure we have the right mindset going into tonight.”
“We haven’t been able to take care of business at home,” added Aatu Raty. “We’re going to give a really hard effort today and give ourselves a good chance to win.”
As for Foote, any talk of home-ice failures or conjecture over his future won’t change the way he approaches their final home game. For him, the preparation for Game 81 looks much the same to that of Game 1.
“Every game we want to win,” Foote said. “We’re approaching it the same way as we always do.
“We play the game the same way, you prepare the same way. There are things in your control that you grind out, and just do your job. I wouldn’t approach this any different than if it was that we had to win for a playoff spot. … My brain doesn’t go to places where the noise is. I just stay focused on my task, my job and my role. It’s all you can control.”