Rick Tocchet hired as Philadelphia Flyers coach

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From nearly the moment that John Tortorella was fired on March 27, speculation on who would become the Philadelphia Flyers’ next coach focused on one of their former great players, Rick Tocchet.

Turns out, that speculation had merit. Tocchet, 61, was named as the 25th full-time head coach in Flyers history on Wednesday, a little more than two weeks after he officially parted ways with the Vancouver Canucks, with whom he had spent the previous two and a half seasons.

Tocchet, who has a tight relationship with Flyers president of hockey operations Keith Jones, takes over a team that still considers itself in the midst of a rebuild, but is hopeful to start turning the corner and getting better as soon as next season. While the demanding Tortorella was viewed as the right man to help establish a strong culture and foundation of accountability and hard work, Tocchet will be tasked with building from that foundation with what is still one of the youngest rosters in the league, and making the Flyers the perennial playoff team they ultimately expect to be.

It’s a tall task, particularly given that the Flyers finished with the fourth-worst record in the NHL this season, and lack depth at both the center and goaltender positions, in particular. General manager Daniel Briere, though, has hinted at the possibility of some major moves this summer. And, there could be an influx of younger talent coming sooner rather than later, with prospects such as Alex Bump and Jett Luchanko on the cusp of the NHL; 2023 draft picks Oliver Bonk, Denver Barkey and Carson Bjarnason all likely to be key players on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL) next season, and seven picks in the top 50 of next month’s draft — including the No. 6 overall pick.

One area in particular in which Tocchet could give an immediate and much-needed boost is on the power play. During his time overseeing the Pittsburgh Penguins’ power play as an assistant coach for three seasons from 2014-15 through 2016-17, they had a success rate of 20.3 percent, fifth in the NHL over that span. In his two full seasons in Vancouver, the Canucks’ 22.6 power play percentage was 13th in the league.

While the Flyers don’t yet have the same talent level as those teams, their power play has looked utterly confused and disjointed for years. They’re now gone four straight seasons with one of the worst power plays in the league — 30th overall this season, and last for the three previous seasons.

The Flyers fired associate coach and power-play overseer Rocky Thompson, and assistant coaches Darryl Williams and Angelo Ricci, on April 23. Tocchet will have an opportunity to build his own staff. That may or may not include Brad Shaw, who has overseen the Flyers’ defense and penalty kill for the last three seasons, posted a 5-3-1 mark as the interim coach after Tortorella was fired, and has said he might be willing to return to his previous role. Goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh will also remain, a team source confirmed last month.

The Flyers will be Tocchet’s fourth stop as a head coach. He replaced Barry Melrose in Tampa Bay in 2008-09, coaching the Lightning for 66 games that season and the entirety of the 2009-10 season, posting a 53-69-26 record before he was let go after an ownership change.

After serving as an assistant coach for Mike Sullivan on the Penguins for three seasons, from 2014-15 through 2016-17, the latter two of which ended with a Stanley Cup championship, Tocchet became the head coach of the Arizona Coyotes for four full seasons, from 2017-18 through 2020-21. The Coyotes made the playoffs in the 2020 bubble, winning the qualifying round before losing in the first round to Colorado in five games. Tocchet’s record with what was generally a young, inexperienced Coyotes roster was 125-131-34.

Tocchet joined the Canucks midway through the 2022-23 season, replacing Bruce Boudreau. Vancouver missed the playoffs that season, but Tocchet helped to engineer a quick turnaround, as the Canucks captured the Pacific Division championship in 2023-24 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs, losing to Edmonton in seven games. Tocchet won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach.

The Canucks finished with a disappointing 38-30-14 record in 2024-25, missing the playoffs. The season was beset by internal strife, injuries to key players such as goalie Thatcher Demko and, later in the season, Quinn Hughes, and an underperforming No. 1 center in Elias Pettersson. Tocchet’s record with Vancouver was 108-65-27.

Tocchet, drafted in the sixth round in 1983 by the Flyers, quickly became a fan favorite after debuting in the 1984-85 season. He was essentially the embodiment of the late-era Broad Street Bullies, scoring 174 goals and accumulating 1,116 penalty minutes during one five-year stretch from 1985-86 through 1990-91. He’s still the NHL’s all-time leader in Gordie Howe hat tricks with 18.

Tocchet was traded to Pittsburgh midway through the 1991-92 season as part of the deal to acquire Mark Recchi, and later played for the Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals and Phoenix Coyotes before returning to Philadelphia in 1999-2000. He retired after the 2001-02 season, finishing with 440 goals and 952 points — and 2,972 penalty minutes, 10th all-time in league history — in 1,144 career games. More than half of those games (621) came with the Flyers.

While some fans may bemoan the hiring another individual with deep ties to the Flyers organization, Tocchet hasn’t ever worked directly for the club in a non-player capacity. His coaching career began as an assistant in 2002-03 in Colorado, under Bob Hartley, and he also has worked in television, including as a Flyers studio analyst for then-Comcast SportsNet after leaving the Lightning, and on the inaugural NHL on TNT panel in 2021 prior to joining the Canucks.

(Photo: Bob Frid / Imagn Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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