Another big NHL head coach opening has been filled.
The Philadelphia Flyers are hiring Rick Tocchet as their head coach, according to Anthony SanFilippo. The deal is reportedly for five years, $25 million.
Tocchet decided to leave the Vancouver Canucks at the end of 2024-25 after two and a half seasons behind the bench. He led the team to a playoff berth in 2024 before the team took a step back in 2025.
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Philadelphia fired head coach John Tortorella on March 27 with nine games left in the regular season and will now look to a new leader to guide its rebuilding effort.
Here’s what to know about Rick Tocchet’s new contract with the Flyers.
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Rick Tocchet contract details
- Years: 5
- Value: $25 million
The specific figures behind Tocchet’s contract have yet to be officially announced, but SanFilippo is reporting that the deal is in the five-year, $25 million range. If Tocchet is paid $5 million per season, he would have one of the highest annual salaries in the NHL.
Tocchet was the 10th highest-paid coach in the NHL last season with the Canucks, brining in $2.75 million, per Front Office Sports. It looks like he’ll get a significant pay raise going from Vancouver to Philadelphia.
MORE: 2025 NHL coaching changes tracker
Rick Tocchet coaching history
Vancouver hired Tocchet as its head coach midseason in 2023. After he took over behind the bench, the Canucks went 20-12-4 in their final 36 games.
In 2023-24, his first full season in Vancouver, Tocchet led the team to a 50-23-9 record and a division title for the first time since 2012-13, and he received the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s Coach of the Year. The team took a step back in 2024-25, finishing fifth in the Pacific Division with a 38-30-14 record and missing the playoffs.
Prior to coaching the Canucks, Tocchet had head coaching stints with the Tampa Bay Lightning (2008-2010) and the Arizona Coyotes (2017-2021).
Rick Tocchet coaching record
In his nine seasons as a head coach, Tocchet has a 286-265-87 record. Here’s a closer look at his career through the years.
| Season | Team | W-L | Pts |
| 2008-09 | TBL | 19-33 | 52 |
| 2009-10 | TBL | 34-36 | 80 |
| 2017-18 | ARI | 29-41 | 70 |
| 2018-19 | ARI | 39-35 | 86 |
| 2019-20 | ARI | 33-29 | 74 |
| 2020-21 | ARI | 24-26 | 54 |
| 2022-23 | VAN | 20-12 | 44 |
| 2023-24 | VAN | 50-23 | 109 |
| 2024-25 | VAN | 38-30 | 90 |
| Career | 125-131 | 284 |
Biggest coach contracts in NHL history
Now-Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan topped the list of the NHL’s highest-paid coaches in 2024-25. Tocchet should have a similar price tag in Philadelphia, which would rank him among the league’s richest coaches.
Here’s a look at how Tocchet’s 2024-25 salary with Vancouver compared to his coaching counterparts.
| Coach | 2024-25 salary | Team |
| Mike Sullivan | $5.5 million | Penguins |
| Jon Cooper | $5.3 million | Lightning |
| Peter Laviolette | $4.9 million | Rangers |
| Jared Bednar | $4.9 million | Avalanche |
| Bruce Cassidy | $4.5 million | Golden Knights |
| Peter DeBoer | $4.25 million | Stars |
| Paul Maurice | $3.9 million | Panthers |
| Craig Berube | $3.5 million | Maple Leafs |
| Martin St Louis | $2.9 million | Canadiens |
| Rick Tocchet | $2.75 million | Canucks |
Rick Tocchet Flyers career
Tocchet began his NHL playing career with the Flyers in 1983 as a draft pick of the team, and he spent his first eight seasons in Philadelphia before being traded to Pittsburgh in 1991-92.
Tocchet returned to the Flyers in 1999-2000 and closed out his career with the team in 2001-02. In total, he played 621 games in Philadelphia, scoring 232 goals and 508 points. Tocchet was inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame in 2021.
