As a player, Rick Tocchet once returned to the Flyers and helped them get all the way to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.
As a coach, would he attempt another Tocchet 2.0, looking for a similar performance?
That’s the million-dollar question as the Flyers continue their search for someone to coach their team for the 2025-26 season.
A number of teams are said to be interested in Tocchet’s services, particularly after he led the Vancouver Canucks to a 50-win season in 2023-24.
Count the Flyers as one of them.
The odds-makers in Vegas seem to think that Tocchet would make a good fit for teams like the Chicago Blackhawks or the Pittsburgh Penguins, who combined have won five Stanley Cups since 2010 but aren’t really happy about being out of the playoffs for the past several years.
For those hoping Tocchet returns to the Flyers, there was some good news on Friday when the New York Rangers quickly signed ex-Penguin coach Mike Sullivan less than a week after Pittsburgh let him go.
The betting line people also believe the Boston Bruins might have their eye on Tocchet.
It might all come down to whether Flyers general manager Daniel Briere wants to go with an established coach such as Tocchet or try an unproven (at the professional level) commodity such as University of Denver’s David Carle, who just led the Pioneers to the NCAA Division I title.
If Briere asks Flyers president of hockey operations Keith Jones for a recommendation on Tocchet, he’s likely to get a positive one.
Tocchet and Jones were teammates on that 2000 Flyers outfit which never should have lost the way they did to the New Jersey Devils that year.
The Flyers jumped to a 3-1 lead in that series and were one win away from the Stanley Cup Final and a favorable matchup with the Dallas Stars.
But the whole Eric Lindros controversy, one which saw the team split over his hasty return from injury for Games 6 and 7, proved to be the death knell. As many will recall, Lindros was knocked silly by a Scott Stevens bombshell in Game 7 and the Flyers never recovered in that ultimate deciding game.
Briere and Tocchet have their own connection. They played together for the Phoenix Coyotes.
If Briere and Jones do decide to make a pitch to Tocchet (if they haven’t already), it has to be about whether they believe the coach can continue this rebuild and developing the organization’s young talent. It won’t be a quick fix because the Flyers are at least a couple years away from serious contention.
As for Tocchet’s resume, he’s been on board teams which didn’t really have much talent to work with.
Previous stops at Tampa Bay and Arizona never gave Tocchet a chance to show what he can do. That opportunity came along when he was hired by Vancouver. In 2024, the Canucks finished up with those aforementioned 50 wins, 109 points and a first-place finish in the Pacific Division.
They did win a playoff round and then took Edmonton to a seventh game in round two.
To top it off, he took home the Jack Adams Award for the NHL’s coach of the year.
It also should be worthy of mention that Tocchet has lifted the Stanley Cup three times – once as a player and twice behind the bench as an assistant with Pittsburgh.
From a style standpoint, Tocchet runs a tight ship, one similar to outgoing coach John Tortorella.
The difference might be that Tocchet supposedly takes a more patient approach and that could be vital in the way he handles youngsters such as Bobby Brink, Tyson Foerster and Jamie Drysdale.
Should the Flyers decide to go with Tocchet, it would be a public relations coup. He’s one of the most popular figures in franchise history – a multi-tool player who could get fans out of their seats with a goal, a pass or a fight.
Unless there’s a wild card lurking in the weeds, this hire should come down to either Tocchet, interim head coach Brad Shaw or a newcomer such as Carle or Jay Woodcroft.
Hiring Tocchet would restore faith to a Philadelphia hockey fan base which is rather skeptical at the moment.
