Rick Tocchet blames Flyers’ struggles on ‘horny’ defensemen

“I can say it, they’re too horny, right?” Tocchet said. “They get up in the play, and they get too… so you have to just slow your skating down. The delay comes and then you scoot your skating, so you time it right, and then you get your shot. We were getting in too close.”

In other words, the blue-liners have been jumping into the attack too early and too deep, arriving on top of opposing defenders instead of finding open ice. Tocchet estimated the issue occurred four or five times against Seattle.

An extra two seconds of patience, he added, would have turned blocked shots into Grade A chances. The club worked on the timing the next day.

The diagnosis landed with predictable force. A winless Flyers club already short on goals and structure now has a coach who has publicly diagnosed excessive eagerness as the root problem. Whether the blue line can cool its impulses remains the more pressing question.

For now, Tocchet has made clear that the path to better offense starts with less rush and more restraint.