Assistants Scott Young, Kevin Dean and Brett McLean were also fired.
"We would like to thank Adam, Scott, Kevin, and Brett for all the work they did for us this season," said Ryan Johnson, who was hired as general manager on May 14. "It was a challenging year on several fronts and truthfully, Adam and his staff were dealt a very difficult hand.
"That said, as we head into a rebuild, our group feels new coaching voices are needed to chart the path forward. Establishing the proper environment and culture is a vital first step in creating a solid and authentic connection throughout the entire organization. At the start of next season, our coaches will need to do a lot of work with our players, to instill in them the traits and habits they will rely on moving forward. The process to bring in a new staff begins immediately."
The Canucks were last in the NHL two seasons after going 50-23-9 to win the Pacific Division and advance to the Western Conference Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a seven-game loss to the Edmonton Oilers. This season, they were the first team eliminated from playoff contention, on March 22.
"People are aware of what happens," Foote said before a 4-3 overtime win against the Los Angeles Kings in Vancouver on April 14. "I don't think about that. I think about the now. We're playing hockey, we have L.A. tonight. That's just noise that is not in my control. I control what I do here every day and that's how I played, that's how I was raised, that's how I come to work. That kind of thing, I just kind of keep it away.
"I'll let the players, the game, the way they play, the way they carry themselves, others talk about that," Foote said. "I'm not going to try to defend myself to some noise, or things that I can't control."
Defenseman Quinn Hughes was traded to the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 12 for forwards Liam Ohgren and Marco Rossi, defenseman Zeev Buium, and a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. The Canucks went 14-32-5 without their former captain and this season, averaged 2.56 goals per game (tied for 30th) with a League worst minus-100 goal differential.
Forwards Kiefer Sherwood (San Jose Sharks) and Conor Garland (Columbus Blue Jackets), and defenseman Tyler Myers (Dallas Stars) were traded for draft picks and prospects prior to the NHL Trade Deadline on March 6.
Foote played 19 NHL seasons as a defenseman with the Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche and Blue Jackets. He won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 1996 and 2001, and the gold medal with Canada at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. He was the final active player to have skated for the Nordiques when he retired in 2010 after he had 308 points (66 goals, 242 assists) in 1,154 regular-season games and 42 points (seven goals, 35 assists) in 170 playoff games.
He is the seventh coach to be fired this season. Rick Bowness was hired by the Blue Jackets to replace Dean Evason on Jan. 12; D.J. Smith took over the Los Angeles Kings after Jim Hiller was fired March 1; John Tortorella replaced Bruce Cassidy with the Vegas Golden Knights on March 29; Peter DeBoer was hired by the New York Islanders after they fired Patrick Roy on April 5; Craig Berube was fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 13, and Kris Knoblauch by the Oilers on May 14.
