Tocchet on 97.3 ESPN: ‘I Love the Plan and I Think There’s No Better Place to Coach’

In the midst of the Stanley Cup Final, which continues on Saturday night with Game 5, the Flyers are preparing for their own version of the playoffs during a rebuild. The NHL Draft and free agency are around the corner, just a couple of weeks away from taking place.

That’s when most of the Flyers business will be done in preparation for next season, but one of the main pieces was taken care of a month ago. On May 14, Rick Tocchet was named the 25th head coach in Flyers history.

One month after his hiring, Tocchet was a guest on The Locker Room with Billy Schweim on 97.3 ESPN on Saturday morning. 

Tocchet is tasked with helping the Flyers get back to contention, to a time when he was a player. The presence of the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final once again brings back memories of Tocchet’s time with the Flyers in the 80s, but also provides a reminder of the Flyers drought and how long it’s been since their own success. 

“You love memories and you learn from your memories,” Tocchet said. “That [1987] team is one of the closest teams I’ve ever been with. A lot of injuries, guys just bandaged together. I remember Dave Poulin before every game getting his ribs frozen with a needle. Just things like that, just the play. Obviously, the heartbreak in 2010, with Chicago, so they’ve been close. Hopefully we can change the narrative around here.” 

Tocchet’s return to Philadelphia also brings back memories of his arrival as a draft pick in 1983. 

“I was 18, 19 getting picked up at the airport, had no clue what the city of Philly was about,” Tocchet said. “Obviously I knew the Flyers and the Bobby Clarkes, the Billy Barbers, and [Bernie] Parents of the 70s and 80s. Didn’t know anything about it. As a young kid, the way that the Flyers…it’s a family atmosphere and it really helped just as a kid. I’m only 19. So they really helped shape who I became. I owe a lot to the Flyers, especially in my early years as a 20-year-old.”

Tocchet also got to play with and against all-time greats in his career. After playing in Philadelphia, he won a Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh with Mario Lemieux. He also played alongside Wayne Gretzky in Los Angeles for two seasons.

Tocchet uses his experiences with those players to help coach in today’s NHL. He’s been behind the bench as an assistant in Pittsburgh with Sidney Crosby, and as an assistant coach at 4Nations this year, also got experience coaching Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon.

“These guys don’t get rattled,” Tocchet said. “You look at the star players, even in today’s game, sometimes you can’t tell the temperature of the game. They’re not rattled. I remember at 4Nations being behind the bench just watching Connor McDavid and Crosby and MacKinnon, when he was on, it was 1-1 in overtime against the US, there’s not a lot of panic. And I saw that with the Gretzkys and Lemieuxs. I’ve seen these guys score a lot of big goals in their career. 

“The one thing I’ve learned from them is they don’t get rattled because they’re prepared. They prepare themselves for these moments and I think that’s the key to athletes is to prepare yourself for these key moments.”

‘It’s Not About Rick Tocchet. It’s About the Emblem.’

Tocchet returns to the Flyers in the middle of a rebuild and during a stretch where the team has missed the playoffs in five straight seasons. The franchise just marked 50 years since its last Stanley Cup. Tocchet joins the likes of Keith Jones and Danny Briere in trying to get the team back to the promised land. So is there added pressure?

“Obviously, there’s pressure. To win, you’ve got to face pressure, whatever city or whatever team. But coming back, honestly, it’s really not about me. It’s not about Rick Tocchet. It’s about the emblem. It’s about the Flyers crest. Hopefully I can be part of that solution of turning the narrative around. 

“From what I’ve been told, the locker room is very tight. The guys love each other in that room. When you have that belief, anything can happen. I mean, listen, we’ve got a lot of work to do. Danny and Keith Jones and Dan Hilferty, they haven’t shied away from it, even when I was going through the process of interviewing. There’s some work to be done. You’ve got to get lucky in some things, but the one thing is they have a plan. I love the plan and I think there’s no better place to coach, especially if you can have success, than Philadelphia.”

‘I Want to See Him Attack the Net’

On the ice, the most focus goes to Matvei Michkov. The Flyers 2023 first-round pick is fresh off his rookie season, which certainly featured its share of ups and downs. 

Despite some prolonged scoring droughts, Michkov finished with 63 points in 80 games. Michkov was not named a finalist for the Calder Trophy, but was named to the NHL’s All-Rookie team.

Tocchet sees similarities in Michkov’s game to Nikita Kucherov, and wants Michkov to use his skill to his advantage even more, particularly on a power play that has struggled for several years.

“I’ve talked to his agent a few times. We’re going to set up a call. He’s over in Russia. Trying to get to know Michkov, he really wants to be great,” Tocchet said. “I think I’ve said this a few times, he looks like Kucherov. I’m not saying to emulate, but just his idol, the way he plays, the way he prepares. 

“We’ve got to figure out a way, especially on the power play – I know the power play has been a sore spot around here – to get this kid the puck on the power play and let him attack. You look at the McDavids and the Draisaitls, you watch their power play, they beat pressure, there’s not a lot of plays, they just use their skill and they attack. That’s the thing I want to see with Matvei. I want to see him attack the net. I think there’s another level of a brain that he’s ahead of everybody offensively. We really want to maximize that brain power for us, especially on the power play.”

Tocchet also expressed that these are the types of players that the team is looking to add via the draft. The Flyers have three first-round picks and 11 total picks in the 2025 NHL Draft, and adding more dynamic game-changing players is a must.

“If you can find those guys, guys that it’s a 2-2 game with 10 minutes left that can make that play under pressure,” Tocchet said. “Draisaitl’s got four overtime goals this year and the other [overtime] goal [for Edmonton] is an assist. These guys are hard to find. So if there are dynamic guys there, you’ve got to take a shot at it, the guy that can just make those plays.”

But that’s not all that goes into making a championship-contending team. You also need players that bring character and also knowledge of the game in a way that other skilled players may not. It’s finding the right balance that can help get a team over the hump.

“If you look at all the great teams, you’ve got to draft character and IQ,” Tocchet said. “Sometimes that can overcome, say an average skill guy, if you have those other two things you can pay the mortgage in the NHL. You want to sprinkle a lot of that on your team. You can’t just have an abundance of one or the other. I think that’s something that Danny and the scouting staff are going to look for.”

‘I Really Want to Teach Our Guys Body Position’

Tocchet also spoke of the changes in today’s game from his days as a player. He speaks constantly from experience in his playing days, and watching many of today’s star players. 

A key area is body positioning. It’s something Tocchet wants his player to learn, both through his own teaching and from others around the league.

“Today’s game is about body position and hockey IQ,” Tocchet said. “If you can really have those two things, and I hate bringing up Sidney Crosby, but I coached him for about three years. I watched him practice, and he used to practice little subtle things. 

“I really want to teach our guys body position, being able to get in situations and know how to handle it. Look at [Leon] Draisaitl, one of the best body position guys in the league, you can learn from these guys. That’s what I tried to do when I played. I wasn’t the greatest skater, but from A to B I could get there fairly quick, and then obviously you try to win your position whether it’s in front or anywhere in the corner or neutral zone.”

‘I Want My Goalie to Play Half the Net’

Goaltending. It’s a constant area of question in Philadelphia, and has been long since Tocchet was a player. Now as the head coach, he has to help find the solution. 

Some of that falls on management to find a netminder who can do the job. But Tocchet also wants his team to defend in a way that aids the goalie.

“It’s important, our play without the puck. I always say I want my goalie to play half the net,” Tocchet said. “I don’t want him playing post to post. That means you’re letting a lot of seam plays go through, you’re getting a lot of back-door goals, weak-side goals. Those are goals we’ve got to clean up, and that will help the goalie out. If you can get in a system where they are playing half the net, it makes a huge difference. It’s on myself and the team to figure out a way to keep those dangerous shots on the outside, not in the middle of the ice.” 

Tocchet noted that the Flyers have prospects Carson Bjarnason and Yegor Zavragin in the pipeline that they need to develop. He also focused on Sam Ersson, calling him a “good goalie” who is “just developing, trying to get his legs underneath him.” 

‘Really Good Signings, Really Good Players’

Since taking over as head coach, the Flyers have signed Tyson Foerster and Noah Cates to contract extensions, firmly establishing them as part of the future. Tocchet has heard about how much the organization likes both players, and also spoke to people outside the organization that have given them praise.

“Just from listening inside the organization, they love these guys. I’ve talked to people outside the organization asking them what they think of those two guys, and they’re very well thought of,” Tocchet said. “You know why? I think it’s their hockey IQ. I know Foerster was over at the World Championships and he played with Sidney Crosby and Nate MacKinnon on a line and he scored some goals. And then Cates as a two-way type of guy, centerman, can supply that brain for us. Really good signings, really good players, and they’re going to be a part of the future.”

‘It’s Got to Be One of the Top in the League in Turnout’

The ultimate goal is winning a Stanley Cup. Tocchet has achieved the goal once as a player and twice as an assistant coach, all three times coming in Pittsburgh. But to do it with the team that drafted him, that would be something special.

And how would the city react to a Stanley Cup at long last?

“I’ve been around the block. Fortunately, I’ve won three Cups in Pittsburgh. Unbelievable seeing the parade. I’ve seen other parades. If Philadelphia won a Stanley Cup, it’s got to be one of the top in the league in turnout, the passion of the fans,” Tocchet said. “I don’t think there’s many cities that could duplicate. You look at the Eagles when they won, that city is just buzzing. There’s a lot of fans out there and they want to celebrate. Philly’s probably one of the best cities to celebrate a championship.”