The Philadelphia Flyers made their first significant summer addition after hiring Rick Tocchet as their new head coach. Tocchet, a former Flyer from his playing days, finally returns to his old stomping grounds for the first time in his coaching career. It’s a special day for Tocchet, and he broke the silence on his return via Flyers reporter John Clark.
“I’ve always been a Flyer at heart and have taken that passion and energy that embodies this city and organization with me throughout my career. I want to thank Danny Briere, Keith Jones, and Dan Hilferty for this honor and opportunity. I couldn’t be more excited to lead this team back among the NHL elite, where we belong. We have a lot of work to do and much to accomplish, but I am confident in the direction we are heading and determined to get us there.”
Tocchet started coaching with the Colorado Avalanche before joining Wayne Gretzky’s staff with the Arizona Coyotes. He took some time off before returning in 2008-09 with the Tampa Bay Lightning. After stops with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Coyotes, and Vancouver Canucks, Tocchet now returns to Philadelphia for the first time since 2001-02.
Rick Tocchet’s Flyers career
The Flyers drafted Tocchet in the sixth round in 1983. He was a long shot to carve out an NHL career, but he finished with 1144 games over 18 seasons. It all started in Philadelphia, where he played eight seasons and eventually became an assistant captain with the franchise. In 1991-92, the Flyers traded him to their rival Penguins, where he won a Stanley Cup.
Tocchet bounced around five teams before returning to the Flyers at the trade deadline in 1999-2000. Instead of finishing his career there with Philadelphia, he played two more seasons, which ended in his final year after only 14 games. Tocchet wasn’t out of the game for long, as he started coaching the following season.
The Flyers have a proud history with their hockey team. Tocchet’s history will give him some leeway, but they won’t take long to turn on him if the results don’t come. His head coaching career hasn’t had much success, but he did win back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Penguins as an assistant coach in the mid-2010s. Can he bring the same success to their Pennsylvania brothers?
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