The Tocchet fit was odd from the start because throughout his entire HC career his teams were never offensive juggernauts. Now, the argument is Tocchet really never had a chance to coach a really good team. Well, with the shelf life of HCs in the NHL lasting 2 years, one would think a playoff team would have looked at Tocchet as a must have coach to put them over the top if he was viewed that way.
For a team that relies on undersized wings to drive offensive play to use a system which is not dependent on generating speed into the offensive zone seems like a bad fit. I had no issue not making Shaw the HC over the summer. My personal choice was Ferschweiler because Carle was a pipe dream. Just because Hakstol did not not work does not mean close the door on college HCs. There were some good options at the AHL level which were intriguing. Alas, the Flyers hire a retread with 1 true playoff appearance in 9 years. Torts made 12 playoff appearances in his career. I am no fan of Torts, but firing a HC who was probably on his last HC job to replace him with a HC on probably his last HC job in a rebuild seemed like an odd choice.
That’s because it’s not a rebuild. The Flyers have been trying to make the playoffs all along. Viewed through that lens it all makes sense. Remember it wasn’t until towards the end of his final season as coach that Torts accepted that this wasn’t a playoff caliber roster. Michkov and Martone were a product of organizational failure, not planning on the Flyers part.
I tend to agree. After Torts was fired, I really was skeptical with all the Tocchet bluster to the Flyers, even after he left VAN. If they were going retread route, I thought they would have pursued Sullivan a lot harder. It does seem like an old boy Flyers hire, which is sad. Rick Bowness came back to coach Columbus this year. 4 out of his last 5 years as HC his team made the playoffs. The ultimate win now coach with a better track record. A month after Tocchet was hired, Peter Deboer was fired by DAL.
For a front office that likes to show a public perception of being quiet and not say a lot, they sure seem to like to have HCs who do not know when to just shut up. Its a weird mixture. The Flyers will finish better in the standings then last season, but I find this team to be a hard watch most games. Just my opinion. The offensive output still stinks, so the concerns about the Tocchet hire do seem to be justified. Vladar has stolen them points this year and the goalie is part of the team. What track record is there to suggest Tocchet can turn the offense around? 1 year in now 10 years as HC his offense was not even middle of the road. The argument can be made well he never got to be a HC of a good team. Well, this is a league where HCs last about two years, so why did no good teams at the time hire Rick Tocchet. Seems like the relationship between Arizona and himself was mutually beneficial, both sides going nowhere. VAN ownership is known as not really stable. I would have thought that would have been more of a red flag for the regime.