Has Rick Tocchet's message with the Philadelphia Flyers grown stale since the team's unlikely trip to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs? With little time to cover and little roster upheaval, there aren't many more answers for why the team is 0-4-2 to start the 2026-27 season.
It may not be fair for a head coach who led the team to so much success last season, but Tocchet's time may be running short. If Philadelphia doesn't turn it around soon, the season could be lost, and the disappearing act from some of their top offensive players might tell a deeper story for a coach with a mixed history of coaching offensive talent.
The head coach might still have some runway, and the team has an easier schedule after facing the defending Stanley Cup Champions on Sunday night, but if things go south in this portion of the schedule, it might be time to start looking at some head coach candidates.
Bruce Cassidy
The NHL's top head coaching free agent could've landed in Edmonton with Connor McDavid this offseason, but the Vegas Golden Knights blocked him from joining their rival. It leaves him working alongside Paul Bissonnette and the TNT crew until he finds another job, and you have to believe the Flyers will at least kick the tires on him if Tocchet eventually gets fired.
Cassidy is a former Stanley Cup Champion with the Golden Knights and came one win away from doing it twice when he reached Game 7 of the finals with the Boston Bruins in 2019. He has been one of the top X's and O's guys for nearly a decade, which is something the Flyers need compared with Tocchet. The question is whether he believes Philadelphia is a good opportunity or if he holds out for something more.
Jay Woodcroft
Hiring Jay Woodcroft may have to wait until the offseason, as he is currently an assistant with the Anaheim Ducks, and they may not want to let him go midseason. However, after getting a bad rep for his departure from the Edmonton Oilers, Woodcroft is a valuable offensive mind who could help the Flyers' young players reach another level.
Woodcroft was in the running for the Toronto Maple Leafs' job this offseason and will eventually get another chance at leading a team. The Flyers make sense if they can find an interim coach for the rest of the season or keep Tocchet and let him finish out the year.
John Tortorella
Come on, Danny Briere, have a sense of humor. If you need a coach to come in and shake up the locker room after a Tocchet firing, bringing back Tortorella out of the bullpen for a one-year tenure, as he did with Vegas last season, would be quite the story.
Danny Briere has the chance to do the funniest thing possible pic.twitter.com/48zgYzSk9I
— PHLY Flyers (@PHLY_Flyers) October 10, 2026
We can wonder if Tortorella would be the guy to come back, but the other potential scenario is Craig Berube, as the former Flyer might be the sentimental choice for the fanbase. After 11 years of coaching in the organization, with two as the head coach and seven years as a player, Berube might be welcome to give it one more try with his old team. However, unlike Tortorella, he might be looking for something more than a year.
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