The Philadelphia Flyers‘ front office appears to be steps away from bringing back a fan favorite and former Stanley Cup-winning coach to lead the team.
Here’s everything hockey fans need to know about the Flyers possibly bringing back Rick Tocchet.
According to NBCSports Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Flyers will soon hire Rick Tocchet to coach the team.
Advertisement
Tocchet would become the 25th coach in Flyers‘ franchise history, and would replace the fired John Tortorella and interim coach Brad Shaw.
“The Flyers are in the process of tabbing Rick Tocchet as their new head coach, a source confirmed Wednesday [May 14],” read NBCSports Philadelphia’s website. “The team is working to finalize the steps to get it done.”
The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli confirmed news of Rich Tocchet’s impending hire in a post on social media platform X:
“Sources say #Flyers are closing in on hiring Rick Tocchet as their next head coach,” read Seravalli’s post. “Not official yet and still steps to go in the process, but definitely trending as if it will get done in short order.”
Who is Rick Tocchet?
Rick Tocchet played two stints for the Philadelphia Flyers, according to the National Hockey League: from 1984 through 1992, and again from 1999 to 2002.
Advertisement
Tocchet is perhaps best known for his play during the Stanley Cup Final in 1987, becoming a key player on a team that eventually lost to the Edmonton Oilers in a seven-game classic.
The Flyers selected Tocchet in the sixth round of the 1983 NHL Entry Draft.
Tocchet played in 621 games for the Flyers, scoring 232 goals and accumulating 276 assists, according to Hockey Reference.
Tocchet has career totals of 440 goals and 952 points in 1,144 NHL games while taking 2,970 minutes in penalties.
Tocchet also scored 52 goals and 112 points in 145 playoff games.
“After retiring, Tocchet was an assistant with the Colorado Avalanche and Coyotes and an associate coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning,” read the NHL’s bio on Rick Tocchet. “He was promoted to coach of the Lightning on Nov. 16, 2008 but was fired after the 2009-10 season.
Advertisement
“He rejoined the Penguins as an assistant in June 2014 and was part of Pittsburgh’s Cup-winning teams in 2016 and 2017 before being hired to coach the Coyotes on July 11, 2017.”
Damon C. Williams is a Philadelphia-based journalist reporting on trending topics across the Mid-Atlantic Region.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Will Rick Tocchet be the new Philadelphia Flyers’ coach? What we know