The Shocking Contract Offer Rick Tocchet Turned Down in Vancouver Leaks Publicly

The Vancouver Canucks made some massive changes to bring in Rick Tocchet as Head Coach, and just 2.5 years later, he now departs in what will signify another huge change for the organization moving forward.

While it's been a talking point for some time in Vancouver, on Tuesday it was made official, as the organization announced that Tocchet would move on in search of a different opportunity in hockey as they thanked him on his way out on social media.

Now, it's been revealed just how much he turned down to seek that new opportunity, and it's safe to say that Vancouver won't be losing Tocchet for a lack of trying.

According to a report from Rick Dhaliwal, the Canucks last offer to Tocchet was a five-year extension that carried with it a $5 million annual value, in a deal that would have made him the third highest paid coach in the NHL behind Mike Sullivan (now also free to negotiate a new deal) and Jon Cooper, a multi-time Stanley Cup winner.

Turning down this salary shows just how much Tocchet believes in himself on the open market, and it also shows that Vancouver were willing to spend big to keep him in town, but ultimately, with the way the media got to him this past season, it's no surprise to see him walk away.

With offers like that, there's no doubting that Tocchet will be behind a bench in the NHL somewhere in the very near future, and while it's unclear where exactly it will be, turning this massive deal down shows how confident Tocchet is that there's a better opportunity out there somewhere.