Insider: Tocchet Could 'Rocket to the Top' of Flyers Coaching Candidates

3 days ago  /  NHL Trade Rumors

With Rick Tocchet in the final year of his contract with the Vancouver Canucks, and the firing of John Tortorella by the Philadelphia Flyers this week, speculation has ramped up to a deafening roar about whether Tocchet would be interested in taking his talents back to the City of Brotherly Love. The Canucks coach was a fan favorite in Philly for 11 seasons as a player, and it's only natural that the connection has been made by hockey pundits and on social media. The big question, though, is does he want to move on from Vancouver after what was a chaotic year on the Canadian West Coast?According to insider Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast, the speculation must be killing Tocchet, but if  he were interested, he'd be No. 1 with a bullet for the Flyers' job. He would hate the idea of anyone thinking that he has one foot in Philadelphia while he's trying to coach the Vancouver Canucks to a playoff berth... Whether or not it happens at the end of the year... I think this: If it doesn't work out with Vancouver, yes, he rockets to the top of the contenders for that (Flyers) job. Tocchet is the reigning Jack Adams Award winner as top coach in the NHL after a terrific season in Vancouver last year, when the team posted 109 points and won the Pacific Division title, while going two rounds deep into the playoffs. But this season has been a struggle, largely due to the feud and the chaos surrounding their top two centers Elias Pettersson and JT Miller (the latter of whom is now a New York Ranger after a blockbuster trade). Despite all that, the Canucks are within spitting distance of the final playoff berth, but are now five points back of the St. Louis Blues who have ripped off an 8-game winning streak to take a firm grip on the last spot. The Canucks have a team option on Tocchet, and GM Patrik Allvin made it pretty clear last week, per Pierre LeBrun, that he wants to extend him: “I sure hope that he’s going to be part of this organization moving forward. That’s a conversation that I hope we’ll get to the finish line here sooner rather than later.”But if Tocchet expresses a desire to leave, it's hard to imagine they'd insist on keeping him around. And at that point, while the Flyers' job would be front and center, as LeBrun notes, "the reality is that he would be an attractive brand for several clubs."Photo: © Bob Frid-Imagn Images...

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