There’s at least one hockey observer who hasn’t been surprised by the Flyers’ quick start under new head coach Rick Tocchet.
His name is Robert Earle Clarke.
Of course, he’s known by his friends and fans as Bob and, back in the day, as Bobby with the Flyers when he led the team to a pair of Stanley Cups.
The team has missed the playoffs a franchise record-tying five straight seasons but, while it’s only been 10 games or so for this season, the prospects for ending that streak appear encouraging.
Those who track the team on a regular basis point to better structured play, improvements to the personnel and a higher level of goaltending as key reasons for the hopeful start.
Clarke, a senior advisor for the team these days, said Tocchet’s career as a player from 1984-2002 laid the groundwork for his success behind the bench.
Tocchet’s combination of fighting toughness and scoring finesse were and are rare in the sport. That could be why he commands instant respect when he walks into a locker room like the Flyers, even decades after he took off his skates.
Back in the ‘80s, Clarke made the transition from player to general manager of the orange, black and white and was in the GM’s chair when Tocchet made his debut at the start of the 1984-85 season.
“In the ’84 camp he was physically involved constantly,” Clarke said in an interview from his home in Florida on Friday night. “He obviously had a work ethic that allowed him to put up with (coach Mike) Keenan, who was demanding.
“That never bothered ‘Toc.’ That was him. He was a worker but very physical. Later on, in maybe his fourth year, I finally told him you can’t fight so much. You’re too good a player. I said “look, just because somebody hits you, you can’t retaliate all the time.’ Too much time in the penalty box.”
The show-stopper might have occurred on Nov. 19, 1986 when the Flyers went to Toronto to play the Maple Leafs.
There was the perception of bad blood between the two teams and that became reality when Tocchet and the Leafs’ Wendel Clark squared off exchanged haymakers for over a minute. When it ended, they got a standing ovation.
Eventually, teams weren’t so anxious to stir up Tocchet’s emotions.
“He settled down into becoming a really hard player,” Bob Clarke said. “Hard to play against, he was really the top winger during the era when he played for us.
“His skills improved because of his work ethic.”
Which brings us to his coaching career, now in its 17th year.
“He’s tough,” Clarke said, “but not cruel. Keenan was cruel to people but he wasn’t tough. They called him ‘Iron Mike’ but that wasn’t so. Anybody who’s cruel to people isn’t tough. Tocchet’s tough but he isn’t cruel.”
Clarke said the careers of Tocchet and current Toronto coach Craig Berube, a former teammate of No. 22 and a Stanley Cup winner as coach of the St. Louis Blues in 2019, have followed similar paths. Both were intimidating on the ice and both have become excellent strategists of the game today.
“They’re buddies and they’re both really smart guys,” Clarke said. “Not just hockey. They’re smart men.”
That intelligent approach to the game seems to be a big factor in getting the current-day Flyers to play a smart brand of hockey.
“Well, first, (GM) Danny (Briere) and (president Keith) Jones did a really good job. . .they added some of the parts (such as Trevor Zegras and Christian Dvorak) we were missing,” Clarke said. “We’re now more skilled and some of these guys are moving into their third, fourth years.
“I think Rick’s got more to work with. Plus the goaltending, especially the kid from Calgary (Dan Vladar) has been awfully good.”
Clarke believes the team has had the right players for the past few years. It just seems to be coming together now.
“They’re workers and the team is better,” he said. “I think ‘Toc’ and the coaching staff deserve credit for that.”
It’s a long season but Tocchet has proven he can turn a team around in one year. He did that with the Vancouver Canucks a couple seasons ago. The fun now will be watching to see if he can do it again with the Flyers.
Be the first to comment