Flyers closing in on Rick Tocchet as next head coach
Flyers Alumni Orange and Black game, Team Holmgrens plays Team Tocchets Rick Tocchet, center during the first period at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Monday, November 15 2021. (Steven M. Falk/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS)
The Flyers are closing in on their 25th head coach in franchise history.
The team is “closing in” on hiring Rick Tocchet as their next head coach. The deal is yet to be finalized, and could be later Wednesday or Thursday. However, all signs are headed in that direction.
According to Anthony SanFilippo of On Pattison, the deal is for five years and will cost $25 million in total.
Tocchet parted ways with the Canucks after his three-year contract expired after this season. Vancouver owned a club option for 2025-26, but the team chose not to exercise it. They finished fifth in the Pacific with 90 points, missing the playoffs by just six points. Tocchet finished his three-year tenure with the team with a record of 108-65-27, including a Coach of the Year Award in 2023-2024 when he led the Canucks to a 50-23-9 record.
Before Vancouver, the 61-year-old Tocchet spent two seasons as the head coach of the Lightning (2008-2010) and four seasons with the Coyotes (2017-2021). Tocchet is 286-265-87 in his head coaching career.
Daniel Briere and the Flyers have been linked to Tocchet almost immediately after firing John Tortorella back in March.
Tocchet, of course, has his ties to Philadelphia, as he spent 11 of his 18 seasons donning the orange and black, including stints from 1984-92, and 2000-02. Tocchet ranks 16th in franchise history in scoring with 508 points in 621 games as a Flyer, including 232 goals and 276 assists. He was an All-Star with the Flyers for three straight seasons, spanning from 1989-91.
Tocchet appeared in 1,144 games over his 18-year career with the Flyers, Penguins, Kings, Bruins, Capitals, and Coyotes from 1984 to 2002. Tocchet tallied 440 goals and 512 assists in his career and won a Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 1992.
This type of situation is not new for Tocchet. The Flyers are in the late stages of their rebuild with young talent, like Matvei Michkov, and solid veteran players as Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier, who are just looking for that next step. Tocchet was in nearly the same spot when entering both Arizona and Vancouver.
Tocchet’s staff at the moment is unknown. The Flyers let go of two assistants and their skills coach after the season ended. Brad Shaw, who took over as interim head coach for the final few weeks of the season, is expected to stay on as an assistant.
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Benjamin Goldstein
Benjamin has been covering Philly Sports for Philly Sports Reports since 2017. He is a podcaster, writer, and founder of Philly Sports Reports. Benjamin is also an intern at the WBCB Sports Network on 1490AM. Through Philly Sports Reports, Benjamin has gotten the opportunity to meet Phillies owner John Middleton in his suite and be honored as the Philadelphia sports fan of the week for KYW News Radio. He hopes to be reporting on Philly sports as a full-time job in the future.
