In hiring Rick Tocchet, the Flyers are getting a ‘great communicator’ and a coach players ‘want to play for’

This story was initially published on May 9 before Rick Tocchet was officially hired on May 14.

Rick Tocchet may have left Philly more than 20 years ago, but as New Jersey rocker Jon Bon Jovi once asked: “Who says you can’t go home?”

The Flyers Hall of Famer, who played 621 of his 1,144 NHL games on Broad Street, accumulating 508 points and a franchise-record 1,815 penalty minutes across two stints, is looking for his next coaching job after parting ways with the Vancouver Canucks in late April.

And the Flyers happen to be looking for a new head coach after firing John Tortorella in late March.

» READ MORE: Who will be the Flyers' next head coach? Meet the candidates

“When I think about loyalty, I think about the Flyers, and I thought about Rick Tocchet,” said former Flyers forward Wes Walz, an assistant coach on Tocchet’s staff with the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2008 to 2010.

“He’s just a loyal guy. He’ll go to bat for you if he loves you. ... He’s as loyal as loyal can be, so I would not be surprised at all if the Flyers were interested in bringing that guy back.”

According to TSN insider Pierre LeBrun, Tocchet spoke with the Anaheim Ducks about their coaching vacancy before they hired Joel Quenneville, and Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported he’s talked to the Seattle Kraken.

The 61-year-old has also been linked with the vacancies in Boston and Pittsburgh, two cities where he has deep connections dating back to his playing days. Finally, there is speculation that Tocchet could leave the coaching ranks altogether and return to TV. The former Flyers TV analyst will assume his old spot on the TNT panel for this weekend’s playoff games.

But the biggest head-scratcher from LeBrun’s report is that the Flyers have not reached out to Tocchet — yet. It’s expected the two parties will speak soon, but it’s interesting because Tocchet has long been speculated to be the guy Philly wants.

“The Philadelphia Flyers have a reputation for being hardworking and hard to play against,” said Tony Granato, who had Tocchet as an assistant in Colorado.

“Torts tried to instill that there, and made a good push to bring back that style of play, or that reputation of what the Flyers are. Rick Tocchet lived it. He was one of the perfect examples of what that was. He’s the same way behind the bench, and he expects the same of his players.”

So, why wouldn’t the Flyers want the 2024 Jack Adams Award winner as the NHL’s best coach?

Yes, he played for the Flyers and is an honored member of the organization’s hallowed halls. Sure, he played with president Keith Jones and general manager Danny Brière in Philly and Phoenix, respectively.

But he’s not a nepo baby. He’s put in the work to build a strong coaching resumé. And while naysayers will note the limited postseason experience as a head coach — two playoff appearances and two series wins in nine seasons— he has often taken over teams in transition. Plus, there are several reasons Tocchet is one of the most in-demand coaches on the market.

After retiring, Tocchet first served as an assistant coach with the Avalanche (2003-04), running the forwards and the power play for Granato. In Tocchet’s first season, Peter Forsberg won the Hart and Art Ross Trophies, while the Avalanche power play ranked third in the NHL at 20.5% in Tocchet’s season and a half there.

Tocchet moved to Phoenix after the 2004-05 lockout to coach under close friend Wayne Gretzky. But by February 2006, he was suspended by the NHL for his involvement in a New Jersey-based gambling ring. Tocchet pleaded guilty to conspiracy and promoting gambling and was sentenced to two years of probation. He was reinstated by the league in February 2008 and joined Barry Melrose’s staff with the Tampa Bay Lightning as an assistant for the 2008-09 season.

» READ MORE: Six things to know about Rick Tocchet, a top contender to be Flyers' next coach

But Melrose was surprisingly fired 16 games into the season, and Tocchet was promoted to bench boss. After he lost the interim tag the following season, Tocchet’s Lightning remained in the hunt until a March collapse. New ownership cleaned house afterward, even though Tampa had the eighth-best power play (19.3%) and young star Steven Stamkos jumped from 23 goals to a league-best 51.

“He’s always been a great communicator, and he was when he was on the coaching staff,” recalled Walz recently. “... And the one thing I‘ll say about Rick is he’s open to listening. As hard and as tough as he is mentally, and was as a player, he wants assistant coaches around him, and he wants people around him who are not yes guys. He loves ideas. He loves people who think outside the box.”

Tocchet also knows how to handle superstars, especially budding ones, like Matvei Michkov. He played with and coached with Gretzky, and he played with and worked for Mario Lemieux, who owned the Pittsburgh Penguins when Tocchet joined Mike Johnston’s staff for the 2014-15 season.

Although Johnston was gone 28 games into the next season, Tocchet and the new bench boss, Mike Sullivan, would go on to lead the Penguins to two Stanley Cups, with the help of future Hall of Famers Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Marc-André Fleury.

And how good was the Penguins’ power play from 2014 to 2017? It went from tied for eighth in Tocchet’s first season (19.3%) to No. 3 in 2016-17 (23.1%).

» READ MORE: Flyers prospect Alex Bump won an NCAA title with Western Michigan. Could his coach join him here?

“I was sitting in these rooms, one-on-one meetings, and these players would leave the room, and you could see why guys wanted to go to war for him,” Walz said. “He had a way about his words, and he had a way of making you feel like you were the most important guy on the team. He was really good at it, and that was a talent that he [had] and I‘m sure he still has it today.”

Walz also got a chance to see Tocchet work closely with youngsters and squeeze the most out of players regardless of their slot in the lineup. He was quick to point out the impact Tocchet had on former Flyers draft pick Steve Downie in Tampa. Downie had nine goals in his first 61 NHL games, before exploding for 22 under Tocchet’s close eye in 2009-10. Tocchet also had a profound influence on Stamkos’ early development.

Tocchet continued to do that in Arizona when he got the top job in 2017-18. The roster had only three guys over the age of 30, and, while the team finished 29-41-12, Clayton Keller was a finalist for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie. The next season, the Coyotes won 10 more games and, despite a mediocre roster, went from eighth to fourth in the Central Division, and missed the postseason by just four points.

“I love being coached by him and we have a great relationship where we can talk about certain goals,” Keller told reporters in 2019. “He’s hard on me, definitely, but he wants the best out of me, and he knows what I can do.”

The Coyotes continued their upward trajectory in 2019-20, making the playoffs and winning a round. But the next season, with unstable ownership that eventually led to the team’s being relocated, and one of the league’s lowest payrolls, the organization fired Tocchet, who had improved the power play from 26th to 13th.

While Tocchet’s career points percentage of .516 won’t jump off the page, the context surrounding the jobs he took over in Tampa and Arizona is relevant. Those experiences, particularly in Arizona, where he had limited resources and support, have probably made him a better coach.

“Intense, competitive, pushes, he’s learned from every place he’s been,” Granato said.

» READ MORE: The Flyers might reach into their past to hire Rick Tocchet. Fear not.

“Tocch’s a worker, Tocch’s a grinder, Tocch’s a guy that’s going to be there early in the morning,” he added. “He’s going to be working on the ice, early with players. He’s going to be there until the wee hours and whatever, just to help and be ready and prepare.”

And there’s no denying Tocchet’s ability to lead. Across two-plus seasons in Vancouver, he posted a 108-65-27 record (.608 points percentage) and had a top 15 power play each year. This season, despite locker room problems that predated him, a depleted roster, and no practice facility — which was reportedly a major sticking point for his return — the Canucks were still in the playoff picture deep into March.

“He’s an amazing coach,” Vancouver captain Quinn Hughes, who won the Norris Trophy last season, told Sportsnet in April. “You look at me individually and my game, he’s been amazing for me — amazing for a lot of guys. He’s just a great person, first of all. That’s a guy you want to compete for, you want to play for. And he’s a terrific coach."

Generally speaking, teams try to hire someone who has a different approach than the guy they just fired. While Tocchet is someone who will maintain the same hard-nosed style of play that Tortorella brought back to Philly, he has a different demeanor and approach to things. He is also a strong communicator and teacher — two things Brière said he was looking for.

Is Tocchet the guy for the Flyers? Will he make a return to Broad Street? Time will tell, but as they say, once a Flyer, always a Flyer.