VANCOUVER — Rick Tocchet isn’t sure what kind of reaction he will receive when his Philadelphia Flyers visit the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.
Tocchet’s return comes almost eight months to the day since he opted to leave his role as Canucks coach after 2 1/2 seasons, which included winning the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year in 2023-24, when he led the Canucks to the Pacific Division title.
Although Tocchet still had one year remaining on his contract, the Canucks declined to exercise the team option once they knew he wanted a change. Vancouver president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford made that announcement on April 29, and Philadelphia announced the hiring of the former longtime Flyers forward as coach on May 14.
“I honestly don’t know,” Tocchet said of what the response from the fans might be. “I’ll have business mode on anyways. Trust me, I played 18 years in the League, I’ve been booed a lot of places, so it’s all right.”
Tocchet gave Vancouver fans plenty to cheer about during his 2 1/2 seasons in Vancouver. He replaced Bruce Boudreau as coach on Jan. 22, 2023, and went 108-65-27 with the Canucks. That included a 50-23-9 record in 2023-24, when Vancouver won the Pacific Division for the first time in more than decade and reached the Western Conference Second Round for just the second time since losing in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2011.
That season, along with Tocchet winning the Jack Adams Award, Quinn Hughes was also voted the Norris Trophy winner as the League’s top defenseman, the first in team history.
However, the Canucks slipped a bit last season, going 38-30-14 and finishing six points behind the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card from the West. Tocchet left soon after.
Now, the 61-year-old will return with the Flyers to face a Canucks team that is last in the NHL in both points (33) and points percentage (.446) and traded Hughes to the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 12 after he too let them know he did not intend to stay after his current contract expires following the 2026-27 season.
“Listen, tough breaks,” Tocchet said. “I know people don’t want to hear it, the injuries are incredible, there’s been a couple things that have hit the team. You hate to see it, because I think [Adam Foote] is a great coach. (Owner) Francesco (Aquilini) was great to me, (general manager) Patrik (Allvin) and Jim (Rutherford), so it’s hard for me. I do feel sorry for the fans. This is the last thing you want to see, but I think they have a plan and they’re going to go in the right direction. Obviously, get some young players in and I think they’re going to stick to a plan.”
Just as he did in Vancouver, Tocchet has Philadelphia in a good position to return to the playoffs for the first time in six seasons. Despite a 4-1 loss at Seattle on Sunday, the Flyers (19-11-7) are third in the Metropolitan Division.
“He’s somebody you can trust right out of the gate just because of how long he played and the type of career that he had. Especially playing for the Flyers and coming back coaching Flyers, he knows what it means to be in the room,” said forward Trevor Zegras, who leads the Flyers in goals (15) and points (37). “He’s so knowledgeable about the game, and he brings a lot in terms of learning and teaching. The 1-on-1 stuff is great, definitely makes guys feel more like we’re in this together as opposed to a working relationship, and that’s how the meetings are. They’re very interactive and, ‘What do you guys see? What do you guys think?’ which is something I’ve never really been a part of. So, it’s fun.”
That approach also endeared Tocchet to many of the Canucks players, and Tuesday won’t be the first time he’s seen them since leaving. Vancouver played in Philadelphia on Dec. 22, a 5-2 Flyers win, and seeing the players and management there will make this first trip back easier, Tocchet said.
Still, there was a little nostalgia upon arriving late on Sunday.
“You fly in last night and you take the bus and you see how beautiful the city is. The scenery is incredible, and then the memories come back,” Tocchet said. “I was only here 2 1/2 years, but it was a lot of fun, and it’s a great place to live and coach.”
As for the fans, he had nothing but praise, even if he doesn’t know what to expect from them on Tuesday.
“This fan base, they’ve endured a lot, right?” Tocchet said. “The people are great to me, I’ve never had any problems. We just went to the second round (in 2024), we lost in seven (to the Edmonton Oilers), and there’s a party on the streets, 50,000 people in Surrey (British Columbia). That’s how starved they are and how they’ll support a winner. How can you not love a fan base like that?”
