Canucks Fire Adam Foote & Assistants Scott Young, Kevin Dean and Brett McLean

The sweeping structural overhaul of the Vancouver Canucks continued in earnest Tuesday morning. Newly appointed general manager (GM) Ryan Johnson announced that the club has relieved head coach Adam Foote of his duties after just one season behind the bench.

In a total erasure of the previous coaching staff, assistant coaches Scott Young, Kevin Dean, and Brett McLean were also dismissed.

The decision arrives less than a week after the organization restructured its front office, promoting Johnson to the GM role and naming franchise icons Daniel and Henrik Sedin as co-presidents of hockey operations. The management trio inherits a roster in transition following a dismal campaign that saw Vancouver finish at the bottom of the league standings, hampered by extensive injuries and the mid-season trade of captain Quinn Hughes.

Foote, who previously served as an assistant under Rick Tocchet before taking over the head coaching duties last May, struggled to establish defensive stability. The Canucks allowed the highest average of goals per game in the league and finished at or near the bottom in several key special teams categories, including the penalty kill.

While the on-ice results were disappointing, management acknowledged that the coaching staff was dealing with an uphill battle from training camp onward.

“It was a challenging year on several fronts and truthfully, Adam and his staff were dealt a very difficult hand,” Johnson said in a statement released by the team. “That said, as we head into a rebuild, our group feels new coaching voices are needed to chart the path forward.”

Previously, Johnson had noted the difficulty of fairly assessing Foote’s tenure given the roster volatility, stating that “there were so many variables that changed the course of the season, so to evaluate Adam just on that is unfair.”

Ultimately, the desire for a completely fresh slate under the new executive regime won out. The search for the next head coach will begin immediately as the front office prepares for the NHL Entry Draft in late June. Speculation suggests Abbotsford Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra could be among the internal candidates considered for the vacancy.

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