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| Photo courtesy of the Toronto Star |
By Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor
On Friday morning, the Philadelphia Flyers welcomed another former player into a position of influence over hockey decisions, naming Rick Tocchet the club’s 25th head coach.
Tocchet arrived fresh from his escape of the Canucks, where he won the Jack Adams Award as the league’s top bench boss in 2024 before circumstances with the organization grew sour enough that he disengaged.
Tocchet, who was selected in the sixth round of the 1983 draft, made his Flyers debut in October, 1984 and played 621 games here in two stints until retiring in 2002. He posted 232 of his career 440 goals in orange and black along with racking up a franchise-best 1,815 penalty minutes.
But general manager Danny Briere and the rest of the Flyers front office is apparently looking at Tocchet as a kinder, gentler hand while continuing to embrace the familiar.
The 61-year-old, who worked with such talents at previous coaching stops like Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Phil Kessel, Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, gets his chance to work his magic for the club that took a chance on him as a scrappy 19-year-old out of Scarborough, Ontario.
With his hiring two days prior, Tocchet became the sixth former player to step up to the bench here. He follows Paul Holmgren, Bill Barber, Terry Murray, John Stevens and Craig Berube unto the breech. He’s only the second (after Murray, who came up through the ranks with the Washington Capitals) not to first ply his trade in assistantships or head slots somewhere in the Flyers organization.
But it’s still a familiar and friendly face in a familiar place, after a decidedly unfamiliar and unfriendly face in John Tortorella was summarily dismissed in March.
The connection with “past is prologue” as CEO of Comcast Dan Hilferty put it less than 2 years ago came into sharp focus when you consider on his May 16 public introduction, Tocchet had a hand in two memorable playoff moments coming up on five-and-zero anniversaries:
In 2000, 25 years ago, Tocchet’s two-goal effort helped the Flyers beat the Devils, 4-3, to even their Eastern Conference Finals series at a game apiece;
And in 1985, 40 years ago, his deflection score off a Mark Howe point drive in the first period was the opener (and eventual GWG) in a 3-0 series clinching win over Quebec in a Game 6 of the Wales Conference Finals.
So, let’s count. That’s former Flyers John LeClair, Patrick Sharp, Keith Jones, Danny Briere and Rick Tocchet holding sway over decision-making in Philadelphia. With an as-yet-undetermined number of other ex-Flyers who could fill two assistant coaching spots, now that Brad Shaw confirmed he would not return.
In the National Hockey League, it’s a fact of life: coaches are hired to be fired. These relationships are not long-term, hardly analogous to the real world and never remain lovey-dovey, even if the commitment is strong from the start.
And when one situation sours, there’s always another which offers a promise of renewal.
Call it the Coaches Carousel, Retread Roulette, The Old Boys Club, call it exclusive, call it unstable, call it whatever you want; but recognize that situations often change from one season to the next, personnel changes from one season to the next, injuries and discontent can change the on-ice chemistry on any given roster, so the sands quickly slip through the hourglass.
Add in the fact that, when coaches reach the level where they are considered for NHL jobs, their vision and philosophy has been finely tuned and is set in stone. The conditions which make a candidate a great fit on Day One often make a bad fit by Day One Thousand.
Here’s the Flyers’ quandary.
In Friday’s press conference, the question was never asked, nor did Danny Briere offer a response, as to what Tocchet’s long-term role as head coach would be.
We heard online ad nauseam about how ex-teammates such as Chris Therien (Flyers of the early 2000s, former players like Sidney Crosby (Penguins in 2016-17) and recent charges such as Travis Sanheim (Canada, 4 Nations) all lauded Tocchet as a “great communicator,” with Briere and Tocchet himself offering his credentials at the presser as a “teacher.”
Well, great.
That gets us through the first couple years.
But when you consider that no Flyers head coach has lasted as long as four whole seasons since Mike Keenan – and that was 37 years ago – and given the naturally short leash inherent in any NHL head gig, where does that leave the organization long term?
Whether it’s Tocchet or any other coach under consideration for the job, the hope with rebuilds are that the players develop properly, the coach is able to grow with the roster and the club progressed from an afterthought to a serious contender.
That’s the positive spin.
The downside is that, over the course of 3 to 4 seasons, players may not develop properly, the coach may wear out his welcome and the whole thing collapses sooner than anticipated. Then, the hockey braintrust is back to square one. The process is hardly ever linear.
From the perspective of the ever hopeful, the faith and belief is that Briere got it right. But from the view of the perpetually disappointed, it’s another turn in the spin cycle with the stains of the past still visible.
And Tocchet has certainly been subject to the soap-and-rinse as much as any other head coach thrown continually in the washer.
Hired and fired as an assistant in Colorado.
Hired and removed (unceremoniously) as an assistant in Phoenix.
Hired as an assistant in Tampa, promoted to head coach of that slo-mo train wreck, then fired.
Hired in Pittsburgh but left amicably to be head man in Phoenix, then fired.’
Hired out of the broadcast booth to Vancouver, then parting ways within 2 seasons.
Charlie O’Connor over at PHLY Sports floated his theory that Tocchet’s selection was motivated by a need to take all the good Tortorella offered while leaving out all the bad parts, i.e. the things that drove players crazy, might have driven others not to come here as free agents, those things which directly led to his firing.
If Charlie’s analysis holds any water – and G-d help him, he’s got a degree from the University of Pennsylvania and *still* chose to make a living in sports media – all the Flyers have done is to hire Dr. Jekyll and excised Mr. Hyde. You’re still getting the guy willing to experiment on himself, without the gruesome outcome of those experiments.
On the bright side, however, that theory tracks with what I believe to be Hilferty’s and the hockey ops’ focus: to goose interest, whether it be veteran free agents or season-ticket holders – many of whom due to the dearness of the professional league ticket are in Tocchet’s age range and remember his impact as a player.
Still, as a matter of practicality, suppose Tocchet is evaluated after three seasons and is found lacking?
Or blown out in the middle of a future campaign when injuries prove detrimental to the team’s record?
Briere and the Flyers braintrust would be forced to endure yet another round of deep digging and hand wringing and hopes and fears and the fate of the franchise teetering on the precipice to make another head coaching decision, with fans again seething at another fine mess. Why not make your intentions clear at the start?
Wouldn’t have taken much for Briere, or Hilferty or Keith Jones other than to say: “we have full faith in Rick to guide this team through the rebuild and beyond, to recapture the glory of the franchise.”
There. Expectations set.
Even if the contract, as reported by multiple sources, is in the range of $25 million for 5 years, a public statement cements a mandate to be in control at least that long.
“Bridge” coaches are few and far between in the NHL, those who are tasked at the start with taking over a young team and remain in place by enjoying a sustained run atop the standings. Joel Quenneville is one. Jon Cooper another. Stevens ended up being another but his rocket ride endured a steep parabolic climb before it cratered prematurely.
The Flyers need a guy like this. Right here, right now. And we didn't get a definitive answer either way.
History tells us Tocchet will most likely be punching his ticket elsewhere and updating his contacts and change-of-address forms before new terms are discussed.
Since Keenan, only Ken Hitchcock came close to hitting the four-full-season mark, with his tenure submarined by the cancelled season and then a radical shift to a youthful core which undermined his communication structure.
If Tocchet bucks the trend, great. It’s a badly-needed win on this regime’s ledger and a cause for celebration for the fanbase.
If he doesn’t, well…at least we can dig up YouTube clips of that time he beat up Bob Probert.
