Philadelphia Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet had a rough ride at times this season. Without getting into the whole situation with one specific player than got far more attention than it deserved, Tocchet juggled a lot of things in his rookie year as Philadelphia’s coach and now that they’re in a playoff spot, he deserves some recognition.
Philadelphia entered the season with little to no expectations, unless those relegating them towards the bottom of the league, and certainly near the Metropolitan Division’s basement. Yet, after 82 games, and an incredibly stellar sprint to the finish, the Flyers find themselves prepping for the playoffs. And the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tocchet had (and still has) this Flyers roster humming. They had 43 wins this year, or eight more than all of last year. They also have 13 fewer losses than in 2024-25. The goal differential was plus-7, or a 55-goal improvement over last season.
Yet with the regular season done, and the Flyers in the playoffs, Tocchet has rarely been mentioned among pundits and experts looking at nominees for the annual Jack Adams Award for coach of the year. That’s not to say Tocchet should be a lock to win it, or even be one of the top nominees for consideration. A lot of people will point towards the resurrection of the Buffalo Sabres and perhaps rightfully believe Lindy Ruff has already earned it.
But rarely has the Flyers coach entered the conversation while Pittsburgh’s Dan Muse name was routinely tossed out. One would believe the Penguins were 30 points up on the Flyers in the standings given Muse’s ingenuity, but they ended the year tied with 98 points with Pittsburgh. Of course Pittsburgh gets the second seed due to more regulation wins, but a tie is a tie. Tampa’s Jon Cooper also deserved kudos, yet his lineup is rife with high-end talent.
Tocchet kept the Flyers focused despite their flaws
Whether through good fortune, or working with what he had, and maximizing their potential, Tocchet had the Flyers still looking like the hunter for most of the season. More than likely they’ll be the underdog to the Penguins among more experts, the same experts who predicted the Flyers being last in the division back in September. This Flyer club probably prefers to prove people wrong. Either way they don’t seem to care one bit. As Tocchet crudely said during the team’s homestretch after another much-needed win, “F— everybody!” If you bet against them, they not going to lose sleep. In fact, they probably welcome it.
Philadelphia were in the position before down the stretch in past years, needing to stack wins together in order to stay alive. And they were in pressure games, pressure situations. In previous years they failed miserably and imploded quickly. This year was different. The games looked similar to those where the Flyers would traditionally choke, yet they didn’t fold. And there were a few instances of that the last few weeks.
When Philadelphia had a 4-0 lead against Detroit on March 28, Detroit stormed back. The Flyers held on, but even last season that would’ve been a game the Flyers coughed up, if not in regulation than most likely in overtime. The same can be said for the April 5 tilt against Boston, a 2-1 overtime win thanks to Porter Martone’s first goal. Even in New Jersey two nights later, that would’ve been a game the last few seasons the Flyers would’ve overlooked, and most likely would’ve blown to a rather underwhelming Devils team. There’s a resilience or mental toughness there that John Tortorella could’ve only dreamed of. Tocchet and his staff enabled the team of youthful hopefuls and a few aging veterans to believe, to coalesce, and to make the most of the opportunity.
All of this despite having the worst power play in the league (which Tocchet has taken the blame for and needs to overhaul), as well as a backup goaltender who has one of the lowest save percentages and underlying metrics in the league. The 5-on-5 play has been stellar, leaving Philadelphia with more than a puncher’s chance every time they hit the ice. The power play has gained some life in the recent weeks, which should only give the Flyers more potency heading into this coming weekend. Again, Tocchet and his staff shouldn’t be happy with the power play, but there aren’t many coaches who could take a team this bad with the man advantage to the playoffs.
Worked with what he had on the roster
Tocchet hasn’t been everyone’s cup of tea in Philadelphia, and that’s okay. What he was most of the year was a rather level-headed coach. He didn’t play a lot of mind games with his roster. Nobody was a healthy scratch just for the hell of it this season. He generally put players in position to succeed more often than not. And he was also flexible enough to see when something wasn’t working and made the necessary adjustments, even if it was a little too late for some fans or experts.
Looking back, the four lines which started the season against Florida back in October look nothing like they do now. The top line heading into the opener against the Panthers was Sean Couturier between Christian Dvorak and Matvei Michkov. The first line heading into game 81 was Trevor Zegras between Tyson Foerster and Owen Tippett. Couturier was repurposed as a fourth-line center who took his share of faceoffs and killed penalties. He bought in. And looked quite cozy in that role.
Meanwhile the “hybrid” idea of Zegras veering between the center and wing went out the window; Zegras was a center the last several weeks, and flourished. The fourth line last October was Nic Deslauriers, Rodrigo Abols, and Garnet Hathaway. Deslauriers is in Carolina, Abols is injured, and Hathaway is now with waiver claim Luke Glendening and Couturier on a line that has boosted the club. And we haven’t even mentioned the dismantling of the team’s most consistent line last year (Tyson Foerster, Noah Cates, and Bobby Brink), with Cates now between Michkov and either Alex Bump or Barkey.
There were a lot of changes made, and Tocchet put the puzzle pieces together for a glorious stretch run. And they fitted about as well as anyone could’ve hoped for. More importantly, he managed to have everyone buy into that change, something that could’ve splintered a lot of teams during the last few weeks of the season. He had three wingers, all rookies, who after Tuesday’s game against Montreal have a combined 69 games of National Hockey League experience among them. And they weren’t sheltered much, if at all. It was trial by fire, but Martone, Bump, and Barkey rose to the occasion. For nearly the entire season, Tocchet had 12 forwards and six blueliners pulling in the same direction.
Goaltending + Tocchet’s system = success
When the Flyers signed Dan Vladar, it was considered a low-risk move. If he didn’t pan out, join the line of recent Flyer goalies who have been a bust. However, Vladar had 50 starts this season, with a .906 save percentage. He was stellar from start to finish. A lot of the credit goes to Vladar, but some of it also has to go to Tocchet and his staff. They became incredibly stingy with shots against (25.5 per game) and were fourth in that category with their regular season done. Vladar made some unbelievable saves over the year, including the late save in overtime against Carolina which eventually enabled the victory. Yet he was rarely peppered throughout the season. The defensive coverage was a five-man unit. Generally they weren’t hemmed in for long stretches of time. And they made the neutral zone a virtual swamp for opponents when they led after two periods.
The fact they stuck around the playoff hunt with Sam Ersson as the backup is proof the defensive system or structure worked. Ersson had a .870 save percentage, which, by rights, should have eliminated the Flyers a long time ago. Yet he was solid down this stretch, winning four of his last five starts in the last month. He was marginally better in some aspects, but Philadelphia’s tight-checking blueprint made things easier for him.
Young and fun
The Flyers will have over a dozen players on the roster with 0 playoff games at the National Hockey League level. Tocchet will dress a good share of those players when they play Pittsburgh this weekend. The trial by fire might not go well. It might go swimmingly. Only time will tell. What is certain is Tocchet had these young players prepared to win big games the last six weeks. They were playing six weeks of playoff hockey before game one. So while the atmosphere and experience is a different level, the pressure should be the same to them.
Without going into the career seasons a lot of players had under Tocchet such as Jamie Drysdale, Noah Cates, Owen Tippett, and Trevor Zegras, the coach had them all contributing both with or without the puck. Michkov scored a lot down the stretch, but his play without the puck was leaps and bounds over the first half of the season. And the additions of Porter Martone and Tyson Foerster late were as seamless as anything you will see on a National Hockey League club so late into a season.
Tocchet might be seen as an old-school coach. But what he did in year one with a team so young and in their infancy in terms of development was nothing less than a great coaching job. It’s for those reasons he should receive some consideration, at the very least, for the Jack Adams.
