Tocchet Hiring Establishes Short Window for Flyers ‘Long-Term’ Rebuild

At the opening of Friday’s introductory press conference of Rick Tocchet as the next head coach, Flyers GM Danny Briere made clear that the plan to rebuild remains. 

“The one thing I want to make clear is the fact that the plan doesn’t change here,” Briere said. “Rick has been part of this before. He has coached some younger teams and some veteran teams. We see him as the long-term solution as the head coach position.”

On day one, that’s easy to say. It’s easy to look into the crystal ball at the beginning of a new era and proclaim that you have found your long-term solution at key positions, be it a player, coach, or general manager.

Tocchet’s contract is reportedly for five years, a common term given out to NHL coaches. Remaining with a team for the full term is what is so rare. And in this case, it’s especially important for Briere’s bosses to remember that. 

Patience is a virtue not held particularly close in the sports world, especially by executives, even more so by fans. As Tocchet takes over behind the bench and joins a managerial core that includes two more ex-Flyers in Briere and Keith Jones, he does so in the midst of a five-year playoff drought, tied for the longest in franchise history. He does so in the midst of just one playoff series win since 2012. He shoulders the same burden that he experienced as a player in Philadelphia, the Stanley Cup drought that was only at nine years when he made his NHL debut in 1984 and at 27 years when he played his final NHL game.

That drought is now up to 50 years and counting. And while Tocchet’s job isn’t to build the roster, but to mold it and help it reach its full potential, it creates a much smaller window of successfully completing the rebuild than the long-term goals Briere laid out on Friday.

Let’s fast forward two seasons from now. The Flyers will have just completed the 2026-27 season. There’s always the chance the Flyers manage to be a playoff team in that time, but true contention is a long way away.

Now, Briere alluded to free agents being interested in playing for Tocchet. Perhaps that can be a tool to speed up the process and get more established talent to join the roster. But the Flyers aren’t completely free and clear of the cap just yet, so even that will likely be a slow build. The focus is much more on the seven draft picks they have in the Top 50 of the 2025 NHL Draft, even the picks they have in 2026, more than it is on quick fixes in the free-agent market.

So in two seasons’ time, with the potential for the Flyers playoff drought to reach seven straight seasons, the team will be entering the critical third year of its new head coach. They will be on the fifth offseason of Briere and Jones, more than enough time to establish both a roster with talent and a prospect pipeline with potential. And the player at the center of it all, Matvei Michkov, will be due a new contract.

There will need to be signs of clear progress by then, signs that the rebuild is turning the corner. It may be a long-term process, one that will absolutely require more patience than the fan base may be able to muster, but there’s a short window for starting to achieve results. 

The window opened when Michkov came to North America to start his NHL career. One season is in the books. Two more, and it’s time for a new contract. Two more seasons with Tocchet at the helm. Two more seasons of Briere and Jones heading the front office with a plethora of draft picks and cap space at their disposal. 

If the roster and prospect pipeline is still as devoid of high-end talent as it feels now, then the grumbling will grow louder and the people truly in charge at the highest level – Dan Hilferty and Comcast – might start to feel the heat too.

Hiring Tocchet may be going back to the well of the ex-Flyer approach, the one that many feel hasn’t worked for decades and feels destined to fail again because it’s always been a win-now decision. 

But much like their decision to put Briere and Jones into high management positions, this wasn’t going to be a process that was short-lived, and it can’t be one where they pull the plug early and start all over again. 

Where do you see yourself five years from now? The Flyers surely see themselves rebuilt – rebuilding their culture, rebuilding the passion of an apathetic fan base, rebuilding a roster that can win in the modern NHL. 

Tick Tocc, the clock has started.