The Philadelphia Flyers are brining back a former fan favourite player as their new head coach. Reports have emerged that Rick Tocchet has been hired as the team’s next head coach. News of the deal was first broken by Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. The insider said a deal isn’t complete, but should be finalized by Wednesday or Thursday.
Report: Rick Tocchet Hired as New Philadelphia Flyers Head Coach
Tocchet was most recently the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks, but the two sides recently parted ways after they couldn’t reach terms. His three-year contract expired and Tocchet is likely heading back to his old stomping groups.
The 61-year-old won nearly 60-percent of his games behind the bench in Vancouver with a 108-65-27 mark. He also won the Jack Adams Award for the league’s top head coach in the 2023-24 campaign. The Scarborough, Ontario native also had coaching stints with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Arizona Coyotes along with the Canucks. He racked up a record of 286-265-87 for the total of his tenures.
Tocchet also had a storied NHL career, which began and ended with the Flyers. He appeared in 1,144 games over 18 seasons with the Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals and Coyotes from 1984 to 2002. The veteran forward totaled 440 goals and 512 assists.
What It Means
Tocchet returns home to a team that he’s got a long history with. Flyers General Manager had seemingly zeroed in on Tocchet as soon as his tenure with Vancouver ended. Briere has his man that he hopes will get Philadelphia moving up the Metropolitan Division standings.
Tocchet replaces John Tortorella, who was fired with nine games left in the season. Brad Shaw served as the interim coach to finish out the season.
We’ll see if Tocchet can capture the magic that won the Canucks the Pacific Division title in 2023-24.
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