Rick Tocchet gets hired and comes off the coaching market!
THIS JUST IN: the coveted head coach has made his choice. Full story below:
Rick Tocchet is off the coaching market and the head coach has made his choice on where he will go next. According to several reports, including from Frank Seravalli, Pierre LeBrun and Elliotte Friedman, Tocchet has decided to join the Philadelphia Flyers.
Per LeBrun:
“Deal is still not finalized yet but Flyers are zeroing in on hiring Rick Tocchet as head coach. Again, still not quite done yet. But headed in that direction. Could be finalized later today or tomorrow.”
Seravalli also posted: “Sources say Flyers are closing in on hiring Rick Tocchet as their next head coach. Not official yet and still steps to go in the process, but definitely trending as if it will get done in short order.”
Later on Wednesday afternoon, the Flyers made the official announcement:
Last month the Vancouver Canucks announced that coach Rick Tocchet would not be re-joining the team for the 2025-26 season after two-and-a-half seasons with the club.
“After a very long and thorough process, unfortunately Rick has decided to leave the Vancouver Canucks,” said President Jim Rutherford. “This is very disappointing news, but we respect Rick’s decision to move to a new chapter in his hockey career. We did everything in our power to keep him, but at the end of the day Rick felt he needed a change. He is a good friend, a good coach, and we can’t thank him enough for all he did for our organization. Toc is a stand-up guy, and we wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”
The rumors are that Tocchet simply didn’t line up philosophically with Canucks management and so he chose to move on.
And on to Philly it is.
