Former Flyers Rick Tocchet Inducted Into Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame

The two-stint former Flyers forward was recently inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.

Taking place remotely on Thursday, 16 people from different walks of Philadelphia sports life were inducted into the city’s Sports Hall of Fame. Among the list of inductees, Rick Tocchet was one of them. The former Flyers forward is currently the head coach of the Arizona Coyotes. He was inducted with the likes of the late Kobe Bryant, David Montgomery, and Cy Williams.

Tocchet was drafted by the Flyers in the sixth round of the 1983 NHL Entry Draft. He would make his debut with the team the following season, posting 108 points in his final year of juniors. The team would make it to the Stanley Cup Finals that season with Tocchet contributing 39 points during the regular season. He would grab seven points in 19 postseason games.

He was primarily known more for his penalty minutes early on in his career, amassing 100+ penalty minutes during the first eight seasons of his career. He did develop into one of the NHL’s top power forwards during the late 1980s. The best season of his career actually came when he was traded from the Flyers to the Penguins in 1992. Mark Recchi came the other way in the deal.

In his first full season with Pittsburgh, Tocchet posted 48 goals and 109 points. He went on to help the Penguins repeat as Stanley Cup Champions that season. He grabbed 19 points in 14 games. He went on to play for the Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, and Phoenix Coyotes.

Tocchet would return to the Flyers during the 1999-2000 season and would end his career with the team two seasons later. An injury-plagued final season saw him appear in just 1sts 14 games. He is the franchise’s all-time time leader in penalty minutes with 1,815. Tocchet also leads the franchise in Gordie Howe Hat Tricks with nine.

During an 18 season career in the NHL, Tocchet amassed 440 goals, 512 assists, and 952 points in 1,144 regular-season games. In 145 postseason games, he posted 52 goals, 60 assists, and 112 points.

Retiring after the 2001-02 season, Tocchet went on to become an assistant coach for the Colorado Avalanche. He became an assistant coach for the Coyotes in 2005, briefly stepping in as interim head coach for five games. After serving as the associate and interim coach for the Lightning, he earned the permanent tag in May of 2009.

He only lasted until April of 2010, however, when new ownership relieved him of his duties. Before resuming his coaching career a few years later, Tocchet served as an analyst on the Flyers Postgame Live panel. He served as an assistant coach with the Penguins from 2014-2017, winning his first two cups as a coach in 2016 and 2017. Tocchet was then hired by the Coyotes in 2017 and there is where he has remained to this day.

Tocchet joins a length list of Flyers that have been inducted. Bobby Clarke was a member of the 2004 inaugural class along with Bernie Parent. Eric Lindros was inducted in 2012 with John LeClair following the next year. Eric Desjardins was a part of the 2019 ceremony.