"After a very long and thorough process, Rick has unfortunately decided to leave Vancouver. This is sad news, but we respect Rick's decision", says club manager Jim Rutherford to Vancouver's website.
Tocchet believed after the end of the season that Pettersson – who scored 45 points in 64 regular season matches – must train better for next season.
I think he will say himself that his preparations must be better. If you want to be a fantastic player, you must prepare almost extremely, said Tocchet.
The Swede was brief in his response after the coach's comments in mid-April.
I have good resources here and good resources back home in Sweden. I will stay here to train a bit extra before I head over to Sweden, said Elias Pettersson.
Who will take over the coaching job in Vancouver is not official.
