Flyers hire former Capitals head coach Todd Reirden to lead their defense and penalty kill
Reirden compiled an 89-46-16 record (.642 points percentage) as the head coach in Washington from 2018-20. Dylan Crawford has also been hired as an assistant coach in charge of video.
After a flurry of NHL signings and a trade over the last few days, Flyers fans have been waiting for some news.
And they got it, although it probably wasn’t the news they were looking for. The Flyers have hired former Washington Capitals head coach Todd Reirden as an assistant coach and Dylan Crawford as an assistant coach, video.
“I’m happy to have rounded out my coaching staff by bringing Todd and Dylan on board,” new Flyers bench boss Rick Tocchet said in the team’s press release. “Todd’s extensive experience across all levels of coaching, as well as his success throughout his career, will play a pivotal role in all facets of our game.
“Dylan adds another level to our video team in an area that is rapidly expanding and becoming more critical in the outcome of games and the way teams prepare.”
A source has confirmed to The Inquirer that Reirden, 53, will take charge of the defense and run the penalty kill. The former Caps boss will join Jaroslav “Yogi” Svejkovský and Jay Varady as assistant coaches. Svejkovský, who worked with Tocchet last year in Vancouver, will run the power play, while Varady will have an all-encompassing role on the staff.
» READ MORE: Q&A: New Flyers coach Rick Tocchet talks systems and strategies, his ideas for fixing the power play, and more
Reirden, a former NHL defenseman, compiled an 89-46-16 record (.642 points percentage) as the head man in Washington from 2018-20, and has spent 2020-24 as an assistant, including three years as associate coach, with the Pittsburgh Penguins under Mike Sullivan.
With the Penguins, Reirden oversaw the defensive corps and ran the power play. A graduate of Bowling Green State, Reirden played in 183 NHL games as a defenseman with the Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Atlanta Thrashers, and Phoenix Coyotes. He was a teammate of former Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger in St. Louis, Flyers scout Dany Heatley in Atlanta, and former Flyers goalie and current analyst Brian Boucher in Phoenix.
The Illinois native has won two Stanley Cups, one after being part of the extended staff in Pittsburgh in 2009 while coaching in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League, and the other with the Capitals as an associate coach under Barry Trotz in 2018. Reirden spent six seasons with the Capitals, with the team going to the Stanley Cup playoffs every season.
Reirden began his NHL coaching career with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2010 and was behind the bench as an assistant coach for four seasons under Dan Bylsma. The Penguins made appearances in the playoffs all four seasons, including a trip to the Conference Final in 2013. He started with the organization as an assistant coach to Bylsma with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2008-09 and was promoted to head coach after Bylsma took over in Pittsburgh.
Crawford, 35, spent the past three seasons working with Tocchet in Vancouver as the video coach. He has seven years of experience, including four with the Chicago Blackhawks, where he began as an assistant video coach before being promoted after three seasons.
He will join Vincent Yula, the assistant video coach, who is a holdover from the John Tortorella era. Adam Patterson, the current Flyers assistant coach in charge of video, is shifting to an all-encompassing organizational role.