Mike Yeo, 50, recently spoke about his departure from the Vancouver Canucks after serving as the assistant coach for the past two seasons.
In an interview on the Donnie and Dhali Show, he said that his end-of-season meeting with Canucks GM Patrik Allvin was good. Yeo also declared that he has never left an organization on such good terms as he did with the Canucks.
It was previously reported that the Canucks and Yeo mutually agreed to part ways, and Yeo's words about this meeting with Allvin seem to indicate this was an amicable break. The bridge was not burned so Yeo and the Vancouver powers-to-be could reunite at some point in the future.
Yeo was prepared to take a hockey break in 2024
Mike Yeo indicated that he was prepared to take a break from the sport he has played or coached for many of the past 34 years. (Yeo played from 1990-2000 and coached from 2011-2019 and 2022-2024. The assistant coaching opportunity with Ottawa happened organically and somewhat unexpectedly, and he is grateful for it.
Bench bosses secured ✅
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) June 4, 2024
The #Sens have announced that Mike Yeo and Nolan Baumgartner will join Daniel Alfredsson and Ben Sexton as Assistant Coaches on Travis Green's staff. pic.twitter.com/m7KKayjgy2
Yeo's role as Canucks assistant coach has been taken over by Jarislov 'Yogi' Svejovsky who has been working in skills coaching capacities for the team for the past three seasons.
It is unclear what prompted Yeo's departure from the Canucks as the team was coming off a Pacific Division winning season and playoff run that was unexpected. The expectations are now firmly fixed on this team in 2024 and with coaching changes and inevitable roster changes due to free agency, fans want the Canucks to deliver bigger results in 2024.
Yeo will be challenged in Ottawa. The Senators finished next to last (in front of the Montreal Canadians) last season. Ottawa finished with the seventh lowest points tally in the NHL with 78.