After his second season as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, I wrote an article stating that John Tortorella would be the one to fix this team. He would be the one to take this team to the playoffs. I'd based that on the fact that in his first two seasons, the Flyers had improved in the win category in each season, played better defensive hockey, and had come close to reaching the postseason at the end of his second year.
Then things fell off the rails in year three. It happened in a way that every Flyers fan knew it would: internal turmoil and conflicts between the players and the coach escalated to a point where the whole situation became untenable. It was the same thing that happened in the previous administration of Alain Vigneault. It was predictable and unfortunate, as the team had made some progress in the seasons under Tortorella.
Now there is a new sheriff in town. Rick Tocchet is the head coach of the Flyers. Some decried the hire as Flyers' nepotism, as the team loves finding roles in its administration for former players. Perhaps it is. However, Tocchet will bring in a new style and a new attitude that should turn this franchise around. Let's take a look at what Tocchet brings to the table here.
How Tocchet's Teams Play
First, Tocchet's teams employ a strong defensive game. While it might not be a "defense first" mentality like Tortorella stressed, it should build off of what the old coach started. In Vancouver, Tocchet's teams became known for their defensive discipline, high-effort play, and physicality. He focuses on a forechecking, puck-possession game that creates offense through effort and forces opponents to make turnovers. His system prioritizes limiting high-danger scoring chances and maintaining positional discipline.
The teams also take on the identity that their coach was known for. Tocchet was one of the toughest players to play, but he could score as well as fight. His coaching style reflects his own playing career. He demands a high work ethic and expects players to compete relentlessly and play a physical brand of hockey. Unlike him, they aren't reckless like they were when he was younger. Take disciplined hits, draw penalties out from the other team, and cause them to make mistakes.
There are some concerns that his "dump and chase" style could limit the offensive output. Matvei Michkov has even expressed that he is not a fan of that style of hockey, although Tocchet downplayed those comments. His detractors will question whether he can adapt his system to maximize the potential of a team with significant offensive talent. We'll have to wait and see.
Relationship Building
Vigneault and Tortorella weren't big on relationship building. Not that they didn't work on that, but they were concerned with it. Some players will say how much they loved either one of them and how they really do care about the players. However, neither guy could ever be considered a "player's coach".
Tocchet, however, has an established reputation as such. He has balanced accountability with empathy, as he has "been there before". He's had the highs of winning a Stanley Cup and the lows of causing dumb penalties in which games have been lost. You don't last as long as he did as a player without learning. He preaches what he learned to his players, helping them improve.
He also builds trust through clear communication and is praised by players for his ability to teach and motivate. One of the biggest player complaints about Tortorella was his lack of effective communication. Players like Cam York and Sean Couturier were upset about being benched, scratched, and marginalized without any clear reason why. Hopefully, this will change.
Turning the Flyers Around
In 2011, the Canucks reached the Stanley Cup Finals and lost in Game 7 to Boston. After two first-round exits, the team declined for most of the 2010s, reaching the playoffs just one more time until the COVID playoffs. After that, the team went into a bad funk, trading off their best players: Tyler Motte, Bo Horvat, Travis Hamonic, and Nate Schmidt, amongst others. Not surprisingly, they fell into the lower depths of the Western Conference.
Tocchet was hired halfway through the 2022-23 season and would spend two more seasons in Vancouver. In his first season as coach of the Canucks, Tocchet resurrected the team and turned them from a next-to-last team to Pacific Division champions. They then battled the Oilers in a seven-game Western Conference Semifinals series, taking the Oilers to the brink by game five.
Part of the success of the Canucks was Tocchet's reputation for bringing out the best in both young players and veterans. Many players have credited him with helping them have career-best seasons over the last few seasons. It's one of the reasons that Noah Juulsen was excited to come to Philadelphia. Tocchet also has had a strong track record with the power play, something the Flyers have needed for a while.
Hope for the Future
Tortorella may have laid the foundations for what Tocchet will reap. The Flyers have a team filled with talented, young scorers and a defense that could become solid if deployed properly. Their goalies are good enough that with some confidence, they might actually surprise everyone.
More importantly, for the first time in a long time, Flyers fans have actual hope. There is a sense that this organization is starting to make the right sort of moves. The recent drafts the Flyers have had have been very promising. The team's future looks good for the first time in about 15 years.
Tocchet is a major part of that. If he can do what he did in Vancouver with the tools he now has in front of him, a new era of Flyers hockey can be born and established. The Flyers could come back to greatness. Let's see what happens in training camp first. But for the first time in a long time, there is real hope on the horizon.