Philadelphia Flyers hire Rick Tocchet as coach, turning to alum to end their playoff drought

STEPHEN WHYNO

Wed, May 14, 2025 at 8:12 PM UTC

1 min read

Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet speaks during the NHL hockey team's end of season news conference, in Vancouver, B.C., Friday, April 18, 2025. (Darryl Dyck /The Canadian Press via AP)

The Philadelphia Flyers hired Rick Tocchet as their coach Wednesday, hoping his return to the franchise will push them out of an extended rebuild and into playoff contention.

Tocchet spent 2 1/2 seasons in Vancouver and won the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year in 2023-24 for guiding the Canucks to a 50-win season and first place in the Pacific Division. He did not have a contract moving forward and decided not to sign another with the Canucks two weeks after they missed the playoffs.

Now 61, Tocchet won the Stanley Cup as an assistant with Pittsburgh in 2016 and ’17 and played more than a decade with Philadelphia in separate stints at the start and end of his career. This is his fourth head-coaching job after time with Tampa Bay, Arizona and Vancouver.

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