Mixed Bag: Reaction to the Hiring of Rick Tocchet as New Philadelphia Flyers Head Coach

In a not so surprising move, the Philadelphia Flyers named former Vancouver Canucks bench boss Rick Tocchet as their 25th head coach on Wednesday afternoon. The move comes after a month of speculation as to whether the former Flyer would stay in NHL coaching circles or return to the media after departing the Pacific Northwest. All eyes were on Voorhees, NJ and Flyers HQ once it became clear Tocchet was going to continue his coaching career. A former Jack Adams winning coach, Tocchet’s hiring has certainly drummed up a variety of reactions from the media and fans.

Here’s what the fans and media saying about the Philadelphia Flyers hiring Rick Tocchet as their new head coach.

The Experts & Media React to the Flyers Hiring Rick Tocchet

ICYMI: My appearance on @973espn yesterday discussing the Rick Tocchet hire. #Flyers https://t.co/YDTHEQQhYE

— Kevin Durso (@Kevin_Durso) May 15, 2025

Tocc has a lot of work to do. Hockey Ops has just as much to do in order to put him in position to succeed. I can separate that cold, hard reality from the sentimental side. But I am personally thrilled for Rick Tocchet coming full circle.

— Bill Meltzer (@billmeltzer) May 15, 2025

Happy for my buddy Rick Tocchet. The @NHLFlyers are in good shape for the foreseeable future. A well respected and well liked figure by all in the NHL circles. He will do a great job here in Philly.

— Chris Therien (@ctherien6) May 14, 2025

“Agents respect this guy [Rick Tocchet], players respect this guy. So if there is a situation where Philadelphia can be a potential destination for certain players, they’re counting on, ‘you know what, I like Tocc, Tocc’s a guy I want to play for.’

Players have had good… pic.twitter.com/wRWHfJ5fsv

Michkov going from John Tortorella to Rick Tocchet https://t.co/0UIW6kmtFQ pic.twitter.com/klnTXl3yDF

— Nathan “Grav” Murdock (@NathanGraviteh) May 13, 2025

— 97.5 The Fanatic (@975TheFanatic) May 15, 2025

Philly go get ur guy!!! Rick Tocchet and Philly are a match made in heaven…Again!!! pic.twitter.com/4iwaP0RzCg

— Matthew Barnaby (@MattBarnaby3636) May 13, 2025

Terrific hockey guy and Rick Tocchet a great choice by @NHLFlyers . https://t.co/OTWBblrK4B pic.twitter.com/4S15dcDjg5

— Howard Eskin (@howardeskin) May 14, 2025

Again I don’t know if he is or is not the right coach to hire. I share a lot of his core beliefs in systems preference, accountability and non negotiables for players. I don’t give 1 tenth of one shit that he was a former player here. If he is hired I hope he has a ton of success…

— Jason Myrtetus (@jasonmyrt) May 14, 2025

My reaction: Eh🤷🏻‍♂️

I was hoping for a bigger/more creative swing.

Seems more like someone who will “build culture” before inevitably moving on to the next guy like every retread

I also hate the optics of ANOTHER former Flyer. They’re in that same cycle again to appease fans https://t.co/OcQdojBft5

— Hunter Brody (@Brodes81) May 13, 2025

Rick Tocchet literally looks like the villain in a low budget spy thriller pic.twitter.com/RycJmkwEJf

— Phil Stiefel (@Beardaknowledge) May 14, 2025

“I like/dislike the hiring of Rick Tocchet as Flyers head coach.” – media heads who don’t even entertain talking about the team. ever.

— Russ Joy (@JoyOnBroad) May 14, 2025

Hiring Rick Tocchet signals the Flyers are headed into the next phase of the rebuild, meaning taking significant steps towards contention https://t.co/8TkWLftoW5

— Jamey Baskow (@JameyBaskow) May 14, 2025

RIGHT IN THE LABONZA!

I might be all in on Rick Tocchet after watching this pic.twitter.com/G9OXJwib2U

— Kyle Pagan (@CBKylePagan) May 14, 2025

I love that it’s the old heads, team-paid shills, journalists w/ no integrity, and the typical “the Flyers can do no wrong” section of the fans that are pro-Tocchet.

Meanwhile pretty much everyone else w/ an IQ above room temperature realizes Tocchet isn’t the right choice https://t.co/F0FAs19LzF

— Dan the Flyera Fan (@DanTheFlyeraFan) May 14, 2025

The overall consensus from the media types is Tocchet is the right hire at the right time for the Flyers as they continue to rebuild. Whether they’re correct or not will be answered over the next few seasons. As for the fans, the fan reaction to the hiring of Tocc –as was predicted– has been all over the place!

Enjoy…

The Fans React to the Flyers Hiring Rick Tocchet

All the people who say “just kill me” or “I’m going to jump off a bridge” over the Rick Tocchet hiring

Please just go do it……. Thank You

— franko65 (@Raiderfrank65) May 14, 2025

hating on Rick Tocchet just because he played for the flyers is so lame. let’s see how this works out. a lot of people in hockey wanted him.

— getPucksDeeeeeeep (@BeeTEE15) May 14, 2025

The past decade+ the GM/President/Coach have been a mix of ex-Flyers or the son of a prior Flyers GM. This is another attempt to delegitimize fans’ concerns that it is not a “new era of orange”. Now all three are ex-Flyers! Next step, reach for a high floor, 2-way CAN center at 6 https://t.co/Xdh4GP5tR0

— AndraeStan (@TypicalMatt5) May 14, 2025

Typical Flyers going back to be an alumni. I can’t wait for this year’s draft for them to year down and take Jake O’brien instead of Hagans or someone decent like they did year passing on Buium to take Scott Laughton part 2. Brutal.🙄

— Joel (@kikjuicer9) May 14, 2025

Even fuckin borderline casual fans notice that this is typical flyers https://t.co/aOdqxFCKHS

— Kev (@kevnavz1) May 14, 2025

I guess if you’re a Flyers fan, the upside here is that coaches have very short shelf lives and Tocchet probably won’t be the guy forever.

Still disappointing that it’s a retread with a guy who hasn’t won anything and a Typical Flyers Move. Would have liked to see some new blood https://t.co/bxuWGb7qjE

— Mary Clarke (@marycclarke) May 14, 2025