Rick Tocchet Is Ready To Come Home And Become The Next Head Coach Of The Philadelphia Flyers
Len Redkoles. Getty Images.There are very few guys who know what it means to wear the Flyers sweater more than Rick Tocchet. He wasn't around for the full Broad Street Bullies era of the Flyers, but he perfectly embodied that spirit. He constantly played the game right there on the line. He would beat the shit out of you at center ice, and he'd also beat the shit out of you on the scoresheet. He's the NHL's all-time leader in career Gordie Howe Hat Tricks. He's the Flyers' all-time leader in career penalty minutes.
He's a guy who gets it. Torts was an intense guy for sure, but it's different when the fellas hear it from a guy who actually had the game to back it up. And he has the coaching resume to back it up as well.
He's just one year removed from winning the Jack Adams Award in 2024 as the best coach in the league. The Canucks had their best season in 10 years last year under Tocchet, and won the division for the first time in the post-Sedin era. Obviously this season was a bit of a disaster for Vancouver, but that had nothing to do with Tocchet. It's damn near impossible to keep a team on track when you have as much drama in the locker room as the Canucks had with JT Miller and Elias Pettersson. The Canucks didn't fire Rick Tocchet, he just decided it was time to get out of Vancouver.
He reportedly turned down the most money in the league to get out of Vancouver. Why would he do that? Well because his heart was clearly somewhere else during the negotiations. Clearly there's another organization out there with a coaching vacancy he'd rather be. Maybe somewhere where he's already a Hall of Famer
Tim Nwachukwu. Getty Images.
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I know David Carle is going to be everyone's top candidate and a flashy hire. He's done an incredible job with Denver and the USA U20 team over the last few years. When the team is trying to build around a young cornerstone like Michkov, it would be a good time to bring in a guy who is clearly highly successful at developing guys that age. But if you want true Flyers hockey back in Philadelphia, there's nobody available out there who knows how to make that happen more than Rick Tocchet.