Just over two months remain until Rick Tocchet's contract with the Vancouver Canucks expires on June 30.
Whether Tocchet ultimately stays in Vancouver or goes, the Canucks will be best off making a quick decision on the veteran coach.
Canucks captain Quinn Hughes has already verbally, openly advocated for Tocchet to stay on as the Canucks' bench boss, but Hughes himself can turn around and bolt for New Jersey to join brothers Jack and Luke in 2027, two seasons from now.
Tocchet may not want to stay on a Canucks team that is more likely than not losing its franchise player. His franchise center, Elias Pettersson, just had the worst year of his NHL career by far. Goalie Thatcher Demko just slogged through an injury-marred season and is going into a contract year after suffering a chronic knee injury in 2024.
Time is working against the 61-year-old head coach, who might be more inclined to join another organization that's on the rise rather than clinging to one in a free fall.
It is worth noting that Flyers general manager Danny Briere claimed in his end-of-season press conference that his club did not have an official shortlist of candidates internally, which might suggest they are waiting on a coach, like Tocchet, to become available.
The longer this situation draws out, the further Tocchet will turn towards alternate options. The Canucks have already said that, wherever this thing goes, both sides want to be on the same page heading into the summer.
For the benefit of Tocchet and the Canucks, a quick resolution to the question that's on everyone's mind will be ideal.