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Tocchet Do We Really Need Him

Mr. Canucklehead said:
While Tocchet does frustrate me a bit sometimes, I think the fact that we're even in a fight for a playoff spot at this position can largely be attributed to the coaching staff.

If you'd told us all before the season "hey, Thatcher Demko is going to remain crippled. Oh, and JT Miller is going to implode and be dealt away. And Pettersson is going to continue his struggles to regain his form. And Quinn Hughes is going to be hurt for long stretches of time. And our defense is going to be a dumpster fire for the first half of the season," I think most of us would have expected a bottom of the league style finish.

So I give him his credit where it's due. And I'm also not a fan of "change for the sake of change" unless it becomes abundantly evident that a coach has lost the room, which I don't think Tocchet has.

But I hope we see a bit of flexibility and adaptability in Tocchet's strategies into next season and onward.
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Perfectly said MrC
 
i get the feeling that the Coaching job in Anaheim is gonna start to be pretty damn attractive
 
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VanJack said:
There's no 'salary cap' when it comes to hiring NHL coaches. You can almost guarantee that Philly will open the vault to bring Tocchet back home to the Flyers.

The Canucks, on the other hand, aren't the 'go-to' destination for 'name' head coaches, because over the years they've been far too cheap. And I suspect there's no way Canucks ownership would match a Flyers mega-deal for Tocchet.

He's as good as gone imo.
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Yep agreed. An almost perfect situation falls into his lap. Philly being an old team of Tocc's, and now run by his legit friends in Briere and Jones.

Winning a cup (for a coach) is not a necessary a concern for any coach. It's more about job stability and it's more than likely they'll offer a 3+ year contract.
 
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Bubbles said:
Yep agreed. An almost perfect situation falls into his lap. Philly being an old team of Tocc's, and now run by his legit friends in Briere and Jones.

Winning a cup (for a coach) is not a necessary a concern for any coach. It's more about job stability and it's more than likely they'll offer a 3+ year contract.
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I doubt Tocchet cares at all about job stability, because he is guaranteed to have it wherever he decides to coach.

Basically everyone in the media talks about how highly regarded he is amongst hockey people, not to mention the guy who is considered the best coach of the last decade handpicking him to be his assistant for the 4 Nations and that likely continues for the Olympics.

Besides, he doesn't need the money and has his old job in media waiting for him whenever he wants it.
 
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kanucks25 said:
I doubt Tocchet cares at all about job stability, because he is guaranteed to have it wherever he decides to coach.
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No way Tocchet doesn't care about job stability and I say this because "job stability" or "job security" is part and parcel with the job (and who doesn't like job stability?). I mean unless you're filling in as coach for a Stanley Cup favourite where you know going in the job is to win the Cup next season, you want to know that management and ownership believes in you and you will have time to install your system etc. It also helps to do your job as the players know you can outlast their time on the team. Like everyone, Tocchet should know that there are only so many NHL head coaching jobs available. The wait between getting another head coaching job can be lengthy and at 60 years of age Tocchet doesn't have the time. Take Claude Julien for example. Former Stanley Cup winner who was fired with a winning record at the time of firing. Hasn't gotten another NHL head coaching job. Gallant has been out of a job for a couple of seasons but I suppose GMs don't like him that much.

The Flyers' coaching job, for example, is not a one year job. That's a 3-4 year job at least. Tocchet going in and coaching that team for 1-2 seasons and then get fired will wreck his NHL coaching career. Same with Tocchet. Like you said, he still has NHL head coaching opportunities available. If the Canucks don't offer him some sort of job stability that tells him that management believes in him then why would Tocchet sign here? And let's not forget the assistants that are tied to him. Extensions for the assistants will follow an extension for Tocchet.
 
So given Allvin's interview, it looks like the plan is to bring Tocchet back. Adding to my previous post, one thing about Tocchet going to the Flyers is that he's going to get at least 4 year deal (possibly 5). That's quite a bit of commitment compared to a 2 year extension the Canucks could have given Tocchet after last season. Will we give him a 4 year extension? If we make the playoffs and go on a run then no question that would be an easier deal to justify. But if we miss the playoffs that's quite an unusual commitment?

If the choice is between the Canucks and Flyers it will be interesting to see what Tocchet picks. Tocchet obviously has a history with the Flyers but I think that aside from being a teammate of Keith Jones for a brief time, there's no apparent relationship there. Plus the Flyers would be similar to his Coyotes teams where there's some veteran and young talent but are still some ways from contention. Like I said, it's likely a 3-4 year job at least. Meanwhile, what direction does he think the Canucks are heading? We're not rebuilding that's for sure. But does he think the Canucks will have the horses to contend? There are other motivations of course. Job is unfinished, he's familiar with management, and I think Foote does prefer the west coast.
 
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When it comes to coaching hires, I'm not entirely sure the ball is entirely in Allvin's court. I think this is one area where the Aquilini's assert some authority. And they hate paying coaches big money.

For sure the Flyers are going to make a substantial offer. And it will probably be up to ownership whether they want to match it, or move on.
 
VancouverJagger said:
This Tocchet to Philly talk reminds me of the Hughes to NJ talk...........it makes for good copy but i don't see either of these things happening.
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Oh I disagree.

Tocchet leaving for Phillys disastrous situation makes no sense to me.

Quinn Hughes leaving our low ceiling team to compete for a cup with his two brothers makes perfect sense.
 
kanucks25 said:
I doubt Tocchet cares at all about job stability, because he is guaranteed to have it wherever he decides to coach.

Basically everyone in the media talks about how highly regarded he is amongst hockey people, not to mention the guy who is considered the best coach of the last decade handpicking him to be his assistant for the 4 Nations and that likely continues for the Olympics.

Besides, he doesn't need the money and has his old job in media waiting for him whenever he wants it.
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The bolded part is really not how the world works.
 
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PuckMunchkin said:
Oh I disagree.

Tocchet leaving for Phillys disastrous situation makes no sense to me.
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Not that I necessarily think he would choose the Flyers over the Canucks if we offered him the same contract, but I think Tocchet returning to Philly makes sense. The Flyers are a team he played for, the Flyers might offer more term, and I think his son lives in Pittsburgh. I think being close to his son would be a big deal but at the same time this is Tocchet’s coaching career.
 
The only way he doesn't come back next season is if Vancouver opts out and they've already said they see him as their coach and want him here long term.

If Vancouver uses their team option he can't just quit and go to another team. He could quit and go back to TNT but that's not really Tocchet, now is it? Even if they don't get a long term deal done, I could see them using the team option for the mean time to try to get a deal done or explore other options.
 
rypper said:
The only way he doesn't come back next season is if Vancouver opts out and they've already said they see him as their coach and want him here long term.

If Vancouver uses their team option he can't just quit and go to another team. He could quit and go back to TNT but that's not really Tocchet, now is it? Even if they don't get a long term deal done, I could see them using the team option for the mean time to try to get a deal done or explore other options.
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If Tocchet wants to go to Philadelphia, I can't see the Canucks standing in his way. So 'team options' when it comes to coaches, is really pretty meaningless.

The Flyers have cleared the decks for Tocchet, and will definitely offer more money and term than the Canucks. The only issue is whether Tocchet is totally committed to this market, and if he is willing to walk away from a better contract.
 
@rypper










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Hello my current employer i would like to quit on this team to go coach a worse team that will lose a lot more (but boy do i love me some cheeseteaks) so pretty please don't pick up that option and let me go.

I can totally see Rick Tocchet saying that.
 
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rypper said:
Hello my current employer i would like to quit on this team to go coach a worse team that will lose a lot more (but boy do i love me some cheeseteaks) so pretty please don't pick up that option and let me go.

I can totally see Rick Tocchet saying that.
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Tocchet is now 60. His next coaching contract could well be the last one he ever signs. Tocchet is a Flyers legend. I'm pretty sure that when he stopped playing--returning to Philadelphia one day as head coach would be on the top of his 'bucket list'.

I suppose he could still decide to play in Vancouver. But Keith Jones and Daniel Briere in Philly aren't just former team-mates, they're lifelong friends. And they'll simply out-bid anything the Canucks can muster.

So if the Canucks want to keep him, they're going to have to step up big-time. And the Aquilini's will have to be willing to do something they've been loathe to do in the past--make Tocchet one of the top paid coaches in the NHL.

It's still 'possible'. But on the Fanduel odds board, I'd say it's less than 50/50.
 
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F A N said:
So given Allvin's interview, it looks like the plan is to bring Tocchet back. Adding to my previous post, one thing about Tocchet going to the Flyers is that he's going to get at least 4 year deal (possibly 5). That's quite a bit of commitment compared to a 2 year extension the Canucks could have given Tocchet after last season. Will we give him a 4 year extension? If we make the playoffs and go on a run then no question that would be an easier deal to justify. But if we miss the playoffs that's quite an unusual commitment?
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yeah, to me, it's as simple as two sides have to come to terms to a contract agreement, and do we really want to match what Tocchet may get on the market/from the Flyers? Tocchet's open market value will probably never be higher. Is ownership prepared to go to 4 or 5 years?
 
The second Torts was out in Philly Tocchet was as good as gone from here; this will be his last real big kick at the can and if things work out he could make a fortune AND return to a place that he remembers fondly and who remembers him fondly as well which means he will have much more rope with which he can hang himself. They could suck for ages and they won't fire him...
 
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