Canucks: Rick Tocchet has more contract leverage if John Tortorella walks the plank

Amidst injuries, locker room conflicts, a major trade, and a roster overhaul on the fly, Rick Tocchet may be doing some of his best work yet.

The embattled Philadelphia Flyers head coach sounds much like he did during his turbulent time in Vancouver.

He was aware that his disastrous one-year stint — a chaotic, entertaining, and ultimately failed attempt to get the Canucks into the playoffs — would lead to his departure at the end of the 2013-14 season. And it did.

Fast forward, and Tortorella finds himself in a similarly precarious position, trying to avoid an exit.

The Flyers are struggling with a depleted roster and have won just one of their last 10 games. They are 11 points behind the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot, with seven teams to pass. This situation is not well received in Philadelphia, a city still proud of “The Broad Street Bullies.”

Back then, fear played a major role. The Flyers certainly had it, but not now.

 

“This falls on me,” Tortorella said Tuesday after his listless team was crushed 7-2 by the Toronto Maple Leafs. “I’m not really interested in learning how to coach in this type of season, where we’re at right now. But I have to do a better job. So this falls on me, getting the team prepared to play the proper way until we get to the end.”

 

The Flyers took a gamble on the unpredictable winger Andrei Kuzmenko in a trade with the Calgary Flames on January 30. They hoped a reunion with former KHL teammate and NHL rookie Matvei Michkov would benefit both players, similar to Kuzmenko and Ilya Mikheyev’s time in Vancouver. However, it didn’t work out.

Kuzmenko scored two goals in seven games with the Flyers before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings on March 7.

Philadelphia traded solid forwards Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost to Calgary in exchange for underperforming winger Jakob Pelletier, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2028 seventh-round pick.

If Tortorella’s tenure does come to an end, could Rick Tocchet be a top candidate to return as head coach of the Flyers? Just the mention of the possibility boosts his contract leverage.

Tocchet is in the final year of his deal with the Canucks, with a club option for next season, but he was a beloved Flyers player during his 11 seasons with the team. He briefly played with Keith Jones, now the president of hockey operations, and with a new arena set to open in 2031, the timing could align.

Tocchet has earned widespread praise, including winning the Jack Adams Award last season, for his ability to connect with players on both personal and professional levels, drawing out their best performances and helping them have career years.

His approach can be blunt or friendly, but he excels with players who are struggling to reach their full potential, as evidenced by last season’s success.

Everything seemed to go right for Tocchet and the Canucks last season, leading many to think it was the start of a long-term partnership. Nearly advancing to the Western Conference final made management pause to consider whether it was a fluke or a real breakthrough. After all, 50 wins, 109 points, a Pacific Division title, and two playoff rounds didn’t result in a contract extension last summer.

Tocchet isn’t discussing his future, but improving the forward group after addressing defensive issues will be a priority. For now, he’s focused on defying the odds and getting back to the postseason, despite missing the team’s top two centers and having six AHL players on the current roster.

Heading into a must-win against the New York Islanders on Wednesday, Moneypuck.com listed the chances of claiming the final wild-card spot at just 15.1 percent. If the Canucks win in regulation, it rises to 20.9. If they lose in the same manner, it slides to 8.6 percent.

The irony is that in a season gone south with a myriad of injuries, locker room drama, a blockbuster trade, and revamping a roster on the fly, this might be some of Tocchet’s best work. And the bottom line to all that is contract leverage.

It all goes back to when Tocchet arrived in Vancouver.

One day, on Day 1, he got buy-in from the cantankerous J.T. Miller because he watched clips of the former Flyers menace while growing up. Miller put up career numbers last season with 103 points (37-66) but struggled with production and the mental strain of the game this campaign. He was dealt to the New York Rangers on Jan. 31.

Dakota Joshua was in danger of not making the opening-night lineup last season. The talk from Tocchet to get his game in order was tough, but the winger responded with a career 32 points (18-14) in 68 games and eight points (4-4) in 13 playoff outings to earn a four-year extension.

Tortorella was tough in Vancouver by his own standards.

In his final weeks, he sounded much like he does now. He had an aging roster — seven key players over 30 — and motivation without hope of the playoffs was a problem.

“It’s harder for (the players), but as a coach, this is my responsibility, and on my watch, with what’s going on here,” he told Postmedia. “I know the area; the owners and my general manager are not sitting well with it. That falls to me.

“I’ve taken a number of different approaches and tried it a lot of different ways. Everybody thinks it’s about peeling the paint off the walls and kicking and screaming and scratching. It really hasn’t been that way, but you have to push along the way.”