Disclosure: Yes, I am bitter. Yes, I referred to the new coach of the Philadelphia Flyers as Rick
"Tocc-Quit" after he "bailed" on the Vancouver Canucks last off-season. And yes, I wanted them the Flyers to fail miserably. But they did not. They overachieved. The team improved by 22 points and made it to the second round of the playoffs.
Tocchet has been credited for much of their improvement. So much so, that it's believed he was snubbed by the voters of the Jack Adams Award for NHL Coach of the Year. He preached discipline, work ethic, and accountability while being considered the "final piece of the pie" in the Flyers rebuild.
But are the praises for Rick Tocchet justified? Did he really do for the Flyers this year what he did for the Canucks three seasons ago? More importantly, do I have to let go of my hostility and rancor towards him in order to appreciate what a phenomenal coach he is?
Fortunately for me, not yet! The improvement in the Philadelphia Flyers has nothing to do with Rick Tocchet. It was all goaltending.
The Flyers’ turnaround can largely be traced to one area
Let's start by comparing the Flyers' team statistics over the last 2 years. In 2024-25, John Tortorella coached the team for 72 games before being fired and Brad Shaw was named the interim coach for the final nine games.
2024-25 | 2025-26 | |
|---|---|---|
Record (W-L-OTL) | 33-39-10 | 43-27-12 |
Points | 76 | 98 |
Goals For | 232 | 240 |
Goals Against | 283 | 239 |
Goal Differential | -51 | +1 |
The Flyer went from last in the Metropolitan Division and 29th overall in the league to third in the division and 11th overall. The improvement is driven by giving up far fewer goals, a trademark of Tocchet's coaching style. So where exactly is Tocchet's influence most significant?
It's not on the special teams, where coaching can make massive differences. The power play and penalty kill are virtually the same for both seasons.
Special Teams | 2024-25 | 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|
Power Play %, rank | 15.0, 30th | 15.7, 32nd |
Penalty Kill %, rank | 77.6, 22nd | 77.6, 20th |
It's not with controlling play. In 5 on 5 situations, 2024-25 was statistically very similar to 2025-26. Under Tocchet, the Flyers may have given up fewer chances but they created a proportionately lower number of scoring chances. It was merely "lower event" hockey with the net result unchanged.
5v5 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|
Corsi For % | 48.0 | 47.7 |
High Danger Chances For | 717 | 741 |
High Danger Chances Against | 647 | 660 |
High Danger % | 52.6 | 52.9 |
Scoring Chances For | 1706 | 1634 |
Scoring Chances Against | 1814 | 1694 |
Scoring Chances % | 48.5 | 49.1 |
xGoals For | 168.7 | 162.5 |
xGoals Against | 156.9 | 158.0 |
So, if special teams were not a factor and the percentage of high danger and scoring chances were not a factor, how did the Flyers goal differential improve by 52 and how did the team better themselves by 22 points? The answer is simple. It's goaltending.
In 2024-25, the goaltenders for the Flyers (Samuel Ersson, Ivan Fedotov, and Aleksei Kolosov), were awful. In almost every goaltending metric, they were collectively the worst or second worst in the league. Dan Vladar, who signed as a free agent in July 2025, played 52 games this season and finished fourth in the league in Goals Saved Above Expected (5v5) with +19. Both Kolosov and Ersson played games this year and were slightly less awful.
Goaltending (5v5) | 2024-25 | 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|
Save %, rank | 89.0, 32nd | 90.5, 15th |
Scoring Chance Sv%, rank | 81.9, 32nd | 83.6, 23rd |
High Danger Sv %, rank | 78.7, 32nd | 82.1, 6th |
Medium Danger Sv %, rank | 84.7, 31st | 84.7, 31st |
Low Danger Sv %, rank | 95.5, 31st | 96.9, 7th |
Goals Saved Above Expected, rank | -37.4, 32nd | +1, 14th |
My refusal to give Tocchet any credit for the Flyers turn around is not completely saturated by resentment and bitterness. He did not improve their special teams. He implemented a system of lower-event hockey but that did not change the teams proportional scoring chances or high danger scoring chances.
The Flyers' record was better because they gave up fewer goals. And they gave up fewer goals because very simply, Dan Vladar let in fewer goals.
On the other hand, if Philadelphia Flyers fans have so much faith in the Vancouver Canucks cast-offs, let this idea marinade in your heads. Imagine how much better your team will be next year with a reliable back up goaltender. Could I interest you in Kevin Lankinen?
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