Flyers coach Rick Tocchet drops truth bomb ahead of return to Vancouver

For the first time since departing Vancouver and joining Philadelphia in the offseason, veteran head coach Rick Tocchet will return to British Columbia when the Canucks host the Flyers on Tuesday night.

Tocchet admitted he doesn’t know what the reception will be from the fans at Rogers Arena — nor does he care too much.

“I’ll have business mode on anyways,” said the 61-year-old, per NHL.com’s Kevin Woodley. “Trust me, I played 18 years in the League, I’ve been booed a lot of places, so it’s all right.”

It’s the second and final meeting between the cross-conference foes in 2025-26; Philly earned a 5-2 win at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Pennsylvania on December 22.

The three-time Stanley Cup champion continued: “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. 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.”

Tocchet spent nearly three seasons in Western Canada, helping the Canucks put together one of their best seasons in franchise history in 2023-24.

Vancouver won the Pacific Division and advanced to Game 7 of the second round against the eventual conference-winning Edmonton Oilers, while Tocchet captured the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year. Quinn Hughes — now a member of the Minnesota Wild — won the Norris Trophy that year.

“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, we lost in seven, and there’s a party on the streets, 50,000 people. That’s how starved they are and how they’ll support a winner. How can you not love a fan base like that?”

Canucks certainly miss Rick Tocchet

Although the Canucks have confidence in Adam Foote as their bench boss — as does Tocchet, he told Woodley — it’s clear how effective of a coach the latter is. Tocchet has taken a Flyers team that finished dead last in the Eastern Conference in 2024-25, and turned them into a legitimate postseason contender in less than a year.

Philadelphia is currently 19-11-7 and third place 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,” said Flyers forward Trevor Zegras, who is having a career year. “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.”

The Canucks and Flyers are two teams going in different directions, and it’ll be interesting to see how Tocchet is received by Vancouver faithful on Tuesday night. Puck is set to drop just past 10:00 p.m. ET from Rogers Arena.

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