What ex-Canucks coach Tocchet said after leading Flyers to surprise playoff berth
Rick Tocchet and the Philadelphia Flyers just pulled off a miracle.
Never mind their long playoff odds to begin the season. On March 18, Philadelphia had just a 2.8 per cent chance of making the postseason, according to MoneyPuck.
At the time, they were six points out of a playoff spot and seven back of third in the Metropolitan Division, with just 15 games remaining.
Since then, they’ve gone 11-4-0, and their 22 points over that span are tied for first in the NHL.
On Monday night, they officially clinched their first playoff berth since 2020 after a shootout win over the Carolina Hurricanes. They’ll host playoff games at home for the first time since 2018.
So far, it looks like their big, five-year bet on Tocchet has paid off.
And, as much as it might pain Canucks fans to admit, perhaps Tocchet made the right call by ditching Vancouver for his former NHL team.
The former Jack Adams winner from 2024 spoke about leading his team to a long-awaited playoff berth after their Monday night victory.
“I was emotional,” Tocchet quickly interjected when asked about the emotions in the locker room. “I didn’t talk very much, though.”
Last season, the Flyers finished 29th overall in the NHL. Outside of signing Tocchet, their offseason moves were minimal. They took a flier on the struggling Trevor Zegras, acquiring him in a trade from the Anaheim Ducks. Philadelphia also signed career back-up goalie Dan Vladar and third-line centre Christian Dvorak in free agency.
Those moves didn’t have many believing in the Flyers this season, and Tocchet used that as motivation for his club.
“We put up a preseason prediction board [in the dressing room], and a lot of people had us last,” he revealed postgame.
“I put it up there to make guys understand the position we’re in,” he said. “It was all them. Really proud of the way they stuck together since training camp.”
Philadelphia is a notoriously intense sports market, and he admitted that it was a challenge for his team entering the season.
“We really tried to block it out,” he said. “I’m not gonna lie, there was a lot of negativity, sarcasm, and we grouped together, and we just believed.”
“It’s hard, you have to have that thick skin, and this is pro sports. I thought they did a really nice job of shielding that stuff.”
If only his Canucks players from the 2024-25 team were able to block out the noise. Could things have been different?
Tocchet has seemingly learned from some of his coaching mistakes in Vancouver as well. The Canucks were consistently one of the worst NHL teams in terms of offence created off the rush.
In Philadelphia, the Flyers were league-average off the rush entering the Olympic break. Since the Olympics, they’ve ranked first.
Some might argue that there was an element of luck for the Flyers, along with benefiting from the loser point. Philadelphia won just 26 games in regulation this season, which is third-worst among playoff teams, ahead of only Anaheim and the Los Angeles Kings. They also have a league-high 10 shootout wins.
But after waiting eight years to see a home playoff game with fans in the stands, Flyers fans probably don’t care.
“It’s been a lot of years,” Tocchet said when asked about the playoff drought. “I feel for them, I really do.”
“We can only do our part to build this thing, and I get their angst. Hopefully, this gives them a little bit of belief. A lot of young guys contributed…and they’re growing under these circumstances.”
The Flyers will battle against another unlikely playoff team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, in Round One.