While the Flyers have not officially announced it, recent reports have them hiring Rick Tocchet as the team’s next head coach.
Tocchet's coaching career began in 2008 when he was hired as the head coach, which, shy of a four-game interim stint with the Rangers, is where John Tortorella also started.
He had much less success than Tortorella with the Bolts, though, failing to achieve a winning record in either of his seasons there before leaving the team in 2010. After a seven-year gap, he returned behind the bench of the Arizona Coyotes, where he remained from 2017-2021.
Tocchet started to get his coaching legs under him with the Coyotes, but it wasn't until he joined Vancouver in the beginning of 2023 that he really hit his stride, earning a .608 points percentage in his 200 games behind the bench there.
Concluding the 2023-24 season, Tocchet won the Jack Adams award for the league's best coach. That season was only the second and final time one of his teams made the playoffs out of his nine seasons as a head coach.
In November, 2024, The Hockey Writers explored Tocchet's coaching style.
"As a player, Tocchet was known for his hard-nosed style. As a coach, he expects his players to bring the same level of grit. Players on his teams are expected to compete relentlessly, play physical hockey, and engage in all aspects of the game."
This is a mindset that the Flyers have struggled to abandon for a half century. Grit and toughness were hallmarks of John Tortorella's coaching style. Unfortunately, it has a short shelf life and, when it expires, things go south quickly. It became clear that Tortorella's coaching style became ineffective at the end of his tenure in Philadelphia. The team saw new life under the much more open approach of Bran Shaw. How the players will respond to this is anyone's guess.
John Buccigross initially “broke” the news on Tuesday night.
The Canucks were prepared to make Tocchet the highest paid coach in NHL history, but he turned down the offer. Tocchet had this to say, according to a Vancouver Canucks press release:
“I'm choosing to move on from the Vancouver Canucks,” said Tocchet. “Family is a priority, and with my contract lapsing, this becomes the opportune time. While I don't know where I'm headed, or exactly how this will play out for me over the near term, I feel like this is the right time for me to explore other opportunities in and around hockey."
Earlier on Tuesday, Darren Dreger speculated that white smoke might soon rise from the former Flyers' chimney and that Habemus Taccham would be announced.
Our own Ariel Melendez suggested that the it would behoove the Flyers to go a different route, and Scott Cole gave good options to consider.
The hockey world has speculated about the next moves by Tocchet and the Flyers but, most recently, it looked like the two sides were heading in different directions.
At this time, it is unclear whether interim head coach Brad Shaw will remain with the team as an assistant or move on to other options. He previously mentioned he would be happy to return to his assistant coaching position.