Flyers Get Their Guy; Rick Tocchet to Be The Next Head Coach

The search is over, the Philadelphia Flyers got their guy. Rick Tocchet will be the 25th head coach in franchise history.

The two sides had been linked for a long while, including while Tocchet was still actively coaching the Vancouver Canucks.

Multiple reports confirmed that things were growing close before Elliote Friedman reported that Tocchet will be the Flyers coach.

Now, multiple reports have Tocchet heading to the Flyers. Philadelphia will be the fourth stop in Tocchet’s coaching career, where he has a record of 286-265-87.

Tocchet has made the playoffs twice in his career, including in his 2023-24 Jack Adams Trophy winning season in Vancouver, and with Arizona back in 2019-20 season.

While a talented roster was sure to be a help in 2023-24, making the playoffs with the Coyotes roster in 2019-20 is mighty impressive.

Per Anthony SanFilippo, Tocchet is getting a five-year, $25 million contract.

After a long search, Danny Briere and company got their guy.

What Are the Flyers Getting in Tocchet

Rick Tocchet may be one of the most polarizing options to fill the vacancy.

Some fans love Tocchet, as it helps get a different generation back in touch with the Flyers. Others will dislike the hire because he is a former Flyer, and some of his schemes.

However, there is plenty of good about Rick Tocchet.

The Flyers biggest weakness has been their power play, and it’s been like that for a long time. Tocchet can help change that. The Canucks power play consistently sat around 22.6% while Tocchet was there. While a lot of that had to do with talent, including Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson, Tocchet’s coaching played a role as well.

Seeing the monster that Hughes turned into both on the power play and at 5v5, one can only assume that Tocchet will help bring out the best in Cam York and Jamie Drysdale. I am not saying either will turn into Hughes, but significant improvement could be on the way.

One major area of concern for Tocchet and the Flyers was the impact the hire could have on Matvei Michkov. To that, I would say that Tocchet generally has a fantastic relationship with his stars, and lets them play their own game. I would expect the same for Michkov.

The lack of playoff experience and the overall record is more of a concern to me than the fact that he is a former Flyer.

Despite that, it’s worth keeping in mind that coaches can change their schemes and style based on the roster that they’re coaching. With that, it’s too early to write Tocchet off.

He is a well respected coach around the league, one that his players typically love.

I’d bet on Tocchet getting the best out of this Flyers team, and getting playoff hockey back in Philadelphia.

Is This the Turnaround of the Flyers Rebuild?

It was reported multiple times that Tocchet was interviewing teams, not the other way around. A chance to win right away was likely a big criteria for the coach.

While the Flyers current roster may not offer that yet, the Flyers brass likely sold the coach on their plan.

To me, that indicates an aggressive offseason ahead for the Flyers, shifting this team into contention mode.

Now that the Flyers have their coach, they can shift their focus on making those moves.

Tocchet will now assemble his staff coaching staff as he and the Flyers prepare for the coming season.

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Flyers Get Their Guy; Rick Tocchet to Be The Next Head Coach

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