Flyers Officially Hire Rick Tocchet As Their New Head Coach

The John Tortorella era in Philadelphia didn't exactly go according to plan, so the Flyers will be trying to get things back on track with arguably the biggest name on the NHL coaching market, Rick Tocchet, who on Wednesday was announced as the 25th coach in franchise history.

"I am very happy to welcome Rick Tocchet as our head coach," Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said in a statement. "During this process, it became clear that Rick was the absolute right coach to lead our team. He has enjoyed the highest level of success both as a player and coach. 

"Rick’s ability to teach and understand his players, combined with his passion for winning, brings out the best in young players at different stages of their development and has earned the respect and confidence of highly talented All-Stars and veteran players alike."

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While I think most people had a feeling that Tocchet — who spent two stints with the Flyers; one at the beginning of his career and another at the end — was likely going to end up in Philadelphia after splitting with the Vancouver Canucks, but there's no way anyone saw this coming as recently as a year ago.

That's because around this time last year, Tocchet was leading the Canucks to the playoffs and went on to win the Jack Adams Award as the league's Coach of the Year.

The Philadelphia Flyers announced that their next head coach is former Flyer and reigning Jack Adams winner Rick Tocchet. (Getty Images)

However, this past season was a disaster for the Canucks, and when the club decided not to pick up the option on the final year of Tocchet's deal, he walked away from what looks to be a sinking ship.

Coincidentally, the Canucks announced earlier in the day on Wednesday that they were hiring Adam Foote as their next head coach.

Tocchet is taking over a Flyers team that is fairly young and currently has the 6th-overall pick in the upcoming draft. He'll be tasked with helping to develop that young talent like forward Matvei Michkov as the organization tries to battle back into the playoff picture.