The Flyers ushered in the second phase of their rebuild with the hiring of Rick Tocchet as head coach in mid-May.
The former Flyers power forward was put through the normal media ringer in the days that followed, including an in-depth conversation with The Inquirer.
» READ MORE: Flyers coach Rick Tocchet joins Team Canada’s Olympic coaching staff
With the bonus of two-plus months to get to know the players and reacquaint himself with the organization he holds so dear, Tocchet provided another glimpse into his process Thursday as a guest on the Nasty Knuckles podcast.
Here are some of the highlights from Tocchet’s sitdown with former Flyer Riley Cote and equipment manager Derek Settlemyre.
On Matvei Michkov’s dump-and-chase comments
“I’m going to bust his [chops] when I see him. But, yeah, I know what he’s saying. I mean, he wants to hold on to pucks, and he’s got that talent, and we’ve got to allow him to have that creativity,” said Tocchet. “Listen, we want to get this guy the puck as much as possible, as he can make high-level plays.”
Tocchet clarified the importance of knowing when to make a play and when to dump it in:
“I’m a big believer you got the blue line, if skates are pointing north, and if you’re going this way fast, and you think you can make a play, make it,” he said. “But if your skates are sideways, and there’s no speed anywhere, and you’re trying to make a play under that, a no-speed play, and you lose the puck, I don’t care who you are. I don’t care about, ‘oh, I want to make a play.’ Well, that’s not the right play. If you want to play late in the middle of June and win a Stanley Cup, you can’t play that way.”
On fixing the power play
“I ran the power play in Pittsburgh, and [Crosby] used to talk about that we should have a mentality that we have the extra guy. Everybody wants plays, this isn’t football, now you have a concept, but once you beat pressure, then you have to attack. …
“If you overpressure [on the penalty kill], a skilled guy should make you pay. There’s no play; to me, it’s attack. You should have three at the net. And if somebody makes a play, somebody’s going to get back door, or you shoot it, or it’s a rebound, or it’s a retrieval, and that’s when you score. … I haven’t watched a ton of the Flyers’ power play [last] last year, to be honest with you. But I venture to bet, they didn’t get a lot of retrievals. It’s one-and-done type of hockey. Retrievals are everything in power play and attacking after pressure is it for me, then you have the plays.”
On the ‘another former Flyer’ criticism
“Look at Craig Berube. He was a coach here. He leaves here, wins the Stanley Cup, successful guy,” said Tocchet. “I just think it’s an unfair statement, and I get it. Hey, listen, when you don’t win … there’s going to be reasons people have [the opinions] that they have. …
“I’m proud to be an old Flyer. The old Flyers, they were successful. You can go back to the 70s, I get it. In the 80s and 90s won a lot of hockey games, and there was a great culture here. So I think there are some things to learn from the past, but you’ve got to be progressive. [I’d] be crazy to think I’m going to be an old-time coach. You’ve got to be progressive. You’ve got to be a partner with these players. You’ve got to give them a voice, and you’ve got to explain why we’re doing things.”
On ‘The Michigan’
“I want our players to be creative with the puck,” said Tocchet. “Don’t get rid of pucks, make plays under pressure, hold on to pucks. That’s what Florida does. So we’re going to train that way, you know? …
“That’s the creativity that I want, listen, ‘The Michigan’, if that’s the best way for you to score, go for it, right? If you’re doing it for show, then I’m going to have a problem. … But I want guys to have fun, too.
On his assistant hires
Jaroslav Svejkovský: “He was a skills coach three or four years ago [in Vancouver], and I watched how the players kind of got better under him. … He’s a teacher.”
Jay Varady: “Jay was my minor-league coach with Tucson when I was in Phoenix, so I brought him up during the bubble year and thought he did an outstanding job. Players gravitate to him, Conor Garland, all those guys loved him, [including Clayton] Keller.”
Todd Reirden: “I talked to players [like Matt Niskanen, Kris Letang, and Alex Goligoski] and these guys were raving about Todd, and obviously, I sit and talk to Todd, and [he] tells me his philosophy. He’s got some smart, smart ideas on how to defend and how to get some offense walking the blue line.”
» READ MORE: Flyers hire assistants Jay Varady and Jaroslav Svejkovský, as Rick Tocchet’s coaching staff begins to take shape
Takeaways from development camp
“A lot of big guys, a lot of big [defenseman], I don’t want to cut some other players short but this guy [Spencer] Gill … and I was watching him out there, long, 6-foot-5, good hands, and they got a bunch of these different guys,” Tocchet said.
“And I think it’s important, [Porter] Martone, big kid, greasy kid, these are the kids that are [not only] tough, but they’re tough to play against, and they can score. So we’ll see. Hopefully, this draft works out. But when I watched development camp, I was really impressed with a lot of the players.”
On Alex Bump
“I watched him and was really impressed,” Tocchet said. “Nobody’s guaranteed jobs, but I’d like to see him push people for a job. …
“He was taking the puck to the middle off the rush, like he’d somehow get himself in a scoring position in the middle of the ice. … Now, he’s got to develop other parts of his game. But yeah, he’s definitely on the radar.”
On Porter Martone going to college
“I love the choice. … You hamper a kid when you only have, I can only do this or that. … College hockey, you get what, four or five practices a week. … So development-wise, I think it’s a good thing. …
“I wasn’t really part of the decision, to be honest here. But when you talk to the agent, the player, Danny Brière, with Jones, and the development guys, it seems like everybody agreed with that [choice].”
» READ MORE: Flyers’ Porter Martone going to Michigan State could be the best outcome for all involved
Crosby’s praise for Tyson Foerster
“After the worlds, I talked to [Crosby], and he was really impressed with [Foerster],” said Tocchet. “Because he’s a pro. Sid loves pros, like [Foerster’s] approach to the game, the way he prepared, the way he listened and practiced … as a young kid. …
“When [Crosby] compliments you, it means something, so yeah, that’s awesome to hear.”
On the goaltending situation
“That will play itself out … I have no idea. I know they’re both capable goalies, and we have to put a system in front of them to help them out, too,” said Tocchet. “I don’t like goalies playing post to post, so your system should make them play half the net. If most of the coverages are where they play half the net, it’s a goalie’s dream.”