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Cue the Rick Tocchet Flyers Speculation After Vancouver Departure
By Kyle Pagan
Published:
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but the Flyers are looking like they’re hiring another former Flyer. Rick Tocchet axed his relationship with the Canucks on Tuesday and is already being linked to Philly, according to a couple of sources that spoke to Greg Wyshynski at ESPN.com:
It’s not 100% locked that he’s leaving Vancouver,” another NHL source said. “This is a confusing one because there’s a strong push to keep him. But I’ve also heard that in a week he’ll be with the Flyers.”
“I don’t see how he doesn’t end up back in Philly, barring something unforeseen,” another NHL source said.
“He loves Philly,” another source said. “But he’s going to have to be able to sign off on their plan and their timeline.
This would be the most Flyers move of all-time.
Now listen, I’m gonna look at this with a pink hat perspective. The guy who jumps on the bandwagon when the Orange & Black are on a crash course towards a playoff spot. Sometimes Flyers fans need someone like me to provide some rationale because the fanbase seems like it’s all over the place from what I see on social media. In my astute opinion (a childhood of street hockey) this doesn’t feel like the move that makes sense. You’re hiring another guy in his 60s that coaches with intensity. Isn’t this a guy who is going to want to win now? Aren’t the Flyers trying to lose to acquire talent? Why hire a guy who is going to make them play balls to the wall night in and night out when you want a high draft pick? Sure, he won the Jack Adams a couple seasons ago, but hiring Tocchet doesn’t seem like it fits into the Flyers’ current plan at all. Danny Briere has already said they’re rebuilding. They were sellers the last two deadlines. The last coach quit because of this. But they have seven picks in the first two rounds this year. Is Tocchet gonna be on board with that?
The only thing that would make sense is Briere and Keith Jones are trying to bridge the gap between the part of the fanbase that wants the team to rebuild and the part of the fanbase that wants to get the Flyers back to playing Flyers Broad Street Bully Hockey. Satisfy the rebuilding side with the fact that Tocchet has made the playoffs twice (one being a COVID year) and has finished higher than third in the division once. Satisfy the old school hockey side of the fanbase with the fact that he’s the all-time leader in Gordie Howe Hat Tricks:
That’s what we call a win-win. Can’t wait for Rick Tocchet Bobblehead Night when the Flyers are three points out of a playoff spot but also three away from the top-5 in the lottery! Flyers hockey: It’s just one endless circle of misery!
Kyle writes blog posts and does Man on the Street-style videos all around Philadelphia. He graduated from Temple University (a basketball school) in 2015. contact: k.pagan@sportradar.com