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Jack Adams: Tocchet finishes 7th
Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet garnered three first-place votes, a pair of second-place votes and six third-place nods in the balloting for the Jack Adams Award. Overall, with 27 points, Tocchet finished seventh in the voting for the NHL’s coach of the year. Tampa’s Jon Cooper won the award with 226 points. Cooper narrowly edged out Buffalo’s Lindy Ruff (223 points) with Pittsburgh’s Dan Muse (199 points) placing third.
Meanwhile, Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour (20 points) placed ninth. Any of the aforementioned coaches would gladly trade places with him.
One of the inherent flaws of the typical vote patterns for the Adams is that it rewards overachieving teams but discounts the coaching job done for on-paper favorites who excel all season. Additionally, because the award weighs only the regular season, the results can quickly seem dated within six weeks of the actual balloting.
Muse’s third-place finish is a good example. He was arguably out-coached by Tocchet in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, especially in the first three games of the series.
Tocchet won the Jack Adams Award with Vancouver in 2023-24. He chose to leave Vancouver after one more season and ultimately accepted the Flyers’ job.
Overall, four Flyers head coaches have won the Award: Fred Shero (1973-74), Pat Quinn (1979-80), Mike Keenan (1984-85), and Bill Barber (2000-2001).
Tippett undergoes sports hernia surgery
Per Charlie O’Connor, Flyers winger Owen Tippett underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia. I was able to subsequently get independent confirmation but Charlie was the first to get the story.
Tippett is expected to be ready to start the 2026-27 regular season on time. Nevertheless, sports hernias often require patience before a player fully returns to form in his skating explosiveness. It is common for a player to take a quarter to half of a season to truly to get back to 100 percent. In Tippett’s case, the player also dealt with unrelated internal bleeding that forced him to miss the second round of the playoffs. He had the sports hernia late in the regular season but played through it.
Potential Flyers trade target: Mason McTavish
Anaheim Ducks center Mason McTavish has five seasons remaining on the six-year contract extension he signed last September. Ordinarily, a 23-year-old player drafted third overall (2021) is rarely available just five years later, especially within a season of signing a long-term extension. However McTavish’s case may be a little different.
Here’s why. The Ducks have to re-sign restricted free agents Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier this summer. While the team has the cap space to re-sign both players and keep McTavish ($7 million cap hit), McTavish is no longer the centerpiece of the Anaheim nucleus. Defenseman Pavel Mintyukov is also a restricted free agent this summer. Additionally, the Ducks have other roles to fill in their lineup.
The price tag for McTavish would not be cheap by any means. In fact, it’d likely have an “ouch” component: dealing a piece the trade partner would otherwise want to keep. McTavish has already had one 50-plus point season (2024-25) and has not approached his ceiling so far.
Pros:
- Combines size and strength (6-foot-1, 220 pounds) with a strong work ethic
- Shot-first mentality but also good ice vision: potential to grow established game
- Does not have no-trade protection the next four seasons. Flyers have traded multiple times with Anaheim in recent years.
Cons
- Is not a “true” franchise center
- Below-average skater (well below, in fact)
- Average to below-average defender
Flyers Alumni Charity Classic: Walk/Run/Ride
The annual Flyers Alumni Charity Classic weekend will be held from June 13 to 15, 2026: Three events, three locations over three days. On Friday, June 13, there is a pickleball tournament at Bounce Pickle bleball in Malvern, PA. The next day is the Walk/Run Ride in Conshohocken, PA. The three-day whirlwind concludes with the now sold-out Alumni Golf tournament at Dupont Country Club in Malvern, PA.
Charity Classic Weekend provides an exclusive opportunity to have a great time alongside Flyers Alumni from every generation of team history. Alumni taking part in some — or all — of the events include Hockey of Famers such as as Mark Howe and Mark Recchi, Flyers Hall of Fame members like Rick Tocchet, John LeClair, Brian Propp the Watson brothers and other fan favorites like the Sutter twins, Brian Boucher, Scott Hartnell, Bill Clement and many more.
Flyers Draft Party, Rookie Game
The Flyers will once again hold their NHL Draft headquarters at the Hard Rock Hotel in Atlantic City. Correspondingly, the organization will hold a public Draft part at Hard Rock on June 26 from 6:30 to 10:00 p.m. EDT. The Flyers currently hold the 21st overall pick of the first round.
The night includes a first-round watch party. Later in the night, there will be a live musical performance (artist TBA). Current Flyers management, Alumni, Gritty, the Flyers Ice Team and More will also make appearances during the night. Additionally, attendees will have the opportunity to enter raffles to win autographed Flyers and musician memorabilia.
Come September 12 and 13, the Flyers prospects will play their annual Rookie Game series against the New York Rangers prospects at the PPL Center in Allentown.
Flyers Daily: Special guest Christian Dvorak
Jason Myrtetus’ Exit Day interview series continues with Flyers forward Christian Dvorak as he discusses his season, betting on himself, planting roots in Philadelphia and more. Jason also takes umbrage at the notion that the discourse on social media makes things more difficult for Matvei Michkov. The host discusses how athletes can protect themselves fro getting too caught up in fan — and media — opinions online.
Team Toyota Draft Spotlight: Tynan Lawrence
In yesterday’s Team Toyota Draft Spotlight, we looked at USHL center Jack Hextall. In today’s installment, we’ll discuss Boston University forward Tynan Lawrence. One of the younger players in this year’s Draft, the Shattuck St. Mary’s product will not turn 18 until August 3.
Lawrence , a center, is a somewhat divisive prospect. The pundit consensus places him in the top-10 to top half of the first round. A few even have him top-five. A vocal minority, however, ranks him in the lower half of the first round. THN analyst and former NHL scouting director and general manager Craig Button rank him 21st. Central Scouting places him 7th among North American skaters.
A very smooth skater who can use more first -stride explosiveness, Lawrence can use added strength on his 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame. He has good two-way awareness for such a young player and has playmaking upside. He’s generally more of a finesse-oriented player. If you’re looking for a physical force, Lawrence probably isn’t your guy. However, he’s a hard-working player who competes for the puck.
Lawrence had a solid — but not overwhelming — Under-18 World Championship for Team Canada. Offensively, he produced six points (2g, 4a). Lawrence was dominating in his USHL stint as Muskegon Lumberjacks team captain and also held his own in his first NCAA experience at BU this season.
Cold War in Philly: Upcoming Showings
Each of the first four showings of the Cold War in Philly documentary have sold out, including the upcoming June 8 showing in Doylestown. Tickets remain for the following four screenings.
- June 9th: The Ambler Theater (Ambler, PA) — Post-screening Q&A moderated by Sam Carchidi with Flyers Hall of Fame brothers Joe and Jimmy Watson. Tickets are $13.50. Click here.
- June 16th: Newtown Theater (Newtown, PA) — Post screening Q&A with Joe Amodei and Bill Meltzer. Tickets are $14. Click here.
- June 18th: Bryn Mawr Film Institute (Bryn Mawr, PA) — Post-screening Q&A moderated by Sam Carchidi with Joe Amodei, Joe and Jimmy Watson. Tickets are $16.25. Click here.
- June 25th: White Rabbit Theater (Phoenixville, PA) — Post-screening Q&A moderated by Sam Carchidi with Joe Amodei, Joe and Jimmy Watson. Tickets are $18 or $20. Click here.
Collectors Corner: Clarke, Hextall and Vladar
Hall of Fame legend Bob Clarke is doing a private signing event at Carl’s Cards and Collectibles in Havertown, PA. Items for Clarke to sign are due by June 24. Clarke will be in the store that day to sign the items. For more info, click here.
Meanwhile, Flyers Hall of Fame goaltender and former general manager Ron Hextall is doing his own private signing for Carl’s on June 29. For info, click here.
Additionally, current Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar will do an open-to-the-public (tickets requires) in-store signing at Carl’s on Saturday, August 29. Autographs are $49 each. Photo ops are $39 each. Inscriptions are $20 each. For info, click here.
Guffaw Cigars
Five-time NHL All-Star and Flyers Hall of Fame inductee Brian Propp introduced his own line of top-quality hand-crafted Dominican cigars . The Guffaw Cigar collection is highly rated for its balanced boldness, sophistication and premium-aged tobacco. Brian himself is a longtime cigar aficionado. He wanted his signature line to reflect the qualities he values in a cigar.
