With Toc Now Back in Philly, here are a Couple of Moves the Flyers Need to Make

Well, like the move or not, it’s official. Former Flyers’ tough guy Rick Tocchet is back in the fold as the team’s new Head Coach.

Tocchet, whose playing career spanned 18 seasons, spent 11 of those with the Flyers. In those 621 games wearing the Orange and Black, Rick managed to score 232 goals and 276 assists, totaling 508 points. But what really made him beloved here in Philly and potentially what helped him to secure a job here now is the fact that he played with snarl and grit. Whenever Tocchet stepped out onto the ice, his opponents took notice, because they knew if they so much as looked at one of his players wrong, that crazed man with a mullet was going to be coming after them.

And to be honest, I think that snarl is what this team has been lacking for some time now. The Flyers lost their edge, and teams no longer fear them like they used to. From the time of the Bullies right up to Radko Gudas’s departure, opposing teams would catch the Philadelphia Flu and come up with ailments on their way to the City of Brotherly Love so that they didn’t have to dress to play them.

Over the last decade, this organization has been trying to produce a more skilled team with smaller, less physical players, and it just hasn’t worked out.

So, I say with a man like Rick Tocchet now going to be behind the bench, management should look to bring in players that play the game with the same type of snarl and grit that Rick and most of the Flyers alums did. The kind of grit that made them not only one of the most feared teams in the league, but one of the most winningest franchises in league history as well.

But, by now, you might be asking, what does, how Rick played the game have to do with how he coaches now? And, I would say Rick expects hustle, and for his players to do all the little things that got them here, like finishing their checks and standing up for their teammates when they need them the most.

And, for what it’s worth I think that his systems work well considering in the 23-24 season when most of his players were healthy for the majority of the year Rick saw his team (the Canucks) win 50 games, securing themselves first place in the Pacific Division totaling 109 points in 82 games played. A feat that allowed Tocchet to take home the coveted Jack Adams Award.

So, as much as I would have liked to see the Flyers NOT add another chapter to their ongoing fascination with nepotism, you can’t deny the fact his having played 18 years in the NHL, winning a cup with the Penguins in 92-93, and now having just coached his 16th season at the NHL level (nine as a Head Coach) that Rick is more than qualified to take on this Herculean task of returning the Flyers to contention.

The only question now is how management can try to ensure a smooth turnover of power and the speedy implementation of his new systems.

Well, I have a few ideas.

The Draft

The NHL Entry Draft is rapidly approaching, but now that they have their new coach at the helm, the Flyers should have discussions with him (if they haven’t already) concerning what kind of players he needs to run his system effectively.

And, if they don’t coincide with Briere’s strong desire to draft another center, then so be it. Because, in the Draft lottery, the Flyers got shafted and lost their fourth overall pick, and instead they had to settle for the sixth selection this summer. And at that point in the draft there just isn’t a clear-cut selection.

Faceoff specialists like Michael Misa and James Hagens will most likely already be off the board when it’s the Flyers’ turn to make their selection. So, that leaves us with Swedish-born Anton Frondell, who has had multiple knee injuries in his past. The towering 6’6 Canadian centerman Roger McQueen, who was limited to just 17 games played this year because of a spine injury.

Or prospect Caleb Desnoyers, whose older brother Elliott is already in the Flyers system. Now, while Caleb may look like a strong candidate for the team to pick, I think that there still may be some skepticism. Especially, with Elliott recently finding himself being made to sit up in the press box with me and watch as the team’s more recent prospects who were outplaying him got to take his spot in the lineup. The Flyers might fear that Caleb will do much of the same as Philadelphia was once so high on his older brother, and he has still yet to live up to those expectations.

So, in saying that, I would not be mad at all if Philadelphia instead decided to reach a bit and take a physical shutdown defenseman with their first pick, like a kid that goes by the name Kashawn Aitcheson.

As you can see in the videos provided, Kashawn is a former guest of ours on Prospect Watch. And, for good reason. Aitcheson is an 18-year-old left-hand shooting defenseman who stands at 6’1 and 198 pounds. He is an absolute beast in his own end who proved time and time again this season that he is more than capable of being asked by his coach to keep soon-to-be top five picks Michael Misa and Porter Martone off of the score sheet on a nightly basis.

However, Kashawn’s defensive and physical abilities are not all that the Flyers should be enthralled by. Because Aitcheson also managed to lead his team, the Barrie Colts, in goals with 26 and total points with 59.

But why stop there, right? The Flyers finished last season with the league’s worst save percentage, .879%, and were also bottom dwellers in goals against average, which saw them let in 3.45 goals a game. So, in an effort to further solidify and strengthen the back end, I think the Flyers management should also look to select a young man named Carter Amico in the second round.

Carter is a right-hand shooting blueliner who stands at an impressive 6’5 234 pounds. He, like Kashawn, is a physical force. And multiple times a game, you can count on him to use that strength to totally wipe the opposition off the puck and out of the play entirely. Thus creating fast break opportunities for his forwards to go the other way.

Free Agency Grab: Center Pius Suter

Then, shortly after the draft, free agency is set to take place starting on July 1st. Where, if they play their cards right, the Flyers could acquire a 28-year-old unrestricted free agent center from Switzerland named Pius Suter.

It should be noted that Suter played the last couple of years in Vancouver for Tocchet, where he excelled in Rick’s system, scoring 39 goals and 36 assists for 75 points. All while averaging a +19. Twenty-five of those goals, mind you, came just last season, largely when Pius was asked to step up and play 1st line minutes for around 18 games of the season after Vancouver’s star center Elias Pettersson went down with an injury.

Obviously, with Pius’ age the Flyers would not want to sign him to a long-term deal, still it would be nice not to have to rush a guy like Jett Luchanko who while showing promise down in Lehigh Valley, still lacks the maturity level to his game that would allow him to play at the lightning quick pace he’s capable of, but not be so reckless that he takes the dumb penalties like he did this year in Juniors and in the playoffs with the Phantoms that constantly had his team down by a man and on the penalty kill.

That’s why I would suggest signing Suter, who made just $1.6 million last season, to a short-term deal even if it means the Flyers have to give him a significant raise because Pius has previously proven to Philadelphia’s new bench boss that he can be depended on to produce offensively whether he is playing up or down the lineup.

This move would allow Luchanko, Grebenkin, and others in the system, not to mention those prospects who may not even be drafted yet, not to be rushed into playing before they are ready.

Trade for: Kiefer Sherwood

One player that I think came into Rick Tocchet’s locker room and absolutely fluoresced while playing in his system was 30-year-old Kiefer Sherwood.

Before joining the Canucks as a free agent last season Sherwood had to try to make a name for himself playing for several teams AHL affiliates before proving he belonged in the NHL as an everyday player for Nashville in the 23-24 season.

But no one besides maybe Tocchet knew what kind of battering ram he was about to be unleashing on the league this season. When he set a new league single-season record for hits with an astonishing 462, memory erasers, for reference, the previous record was 383. And the next closest person to him this season only amassed 306 hits. Folks, let me save you the trouble. That means Keifer managed to lay 156 more hits than any other player in the NHL this season.

And, with players on the Flyers roster like Garnet Hathaway turning 34 this season, and Nicolas Deslauriers turning 35. It might be time to trade one or both of these more expensive veterans away to be able to make room for someone like Kiefer, who is still hungry and willing to do whatever it takes to help his team win, for the reduced rate of $1.5 million a season.

Oh, yeah, I forgot the best part. Not only can Sherwood hit and fight, but he, like Tocchet, can also light the lamp. To the tune of 19 goals and 21 assists for 40 points this season for the Canucks. Not too bad for an undrafted player, huh?

With the Flyers signing Rick Tocchet to one of the most lucrative deals of any coach currently in the NHL, they showed they meant business. But if they want to ensure that Toc will have success in this endeavor, they should bring in one or more of the names I listed above. Those who have played for him in the past would be able to help others on the team in learning the new systems, and the prospects I mentioned already play a similar style of game, so they would be able to integrate into the lineup upon their arrival seamlessly.