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The Real Reason Rick Tocchet Chose the Flyers Over the Penguins Revealed
Rick Tocchet is the new Head Coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, and now it's been revealed why he chose them over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Philadelphia Flyers landed their man in Rick Tocchet this week, with the veteran coach returning to Philadelphia after playing 11 seasons with the team between 1984 and 2002.
Landing Tocchet has given the organization a big boost as they look to turn this rebuild back into Stanley Cup Playoffs success, and according to Josh Yohe, it was the possibility of that which led him to choosing the Flyers over the Pittsburgh Penguins, who were also interested in bringing back their former assistant.
However, Yohe reveals that Tocchet, like Mike Sullivan doesn't see the Penguins as a playoff threat anytime soon, and while the Flyers aren't a powerhouse at this point, the belief from Tocchet was that they were much closer than Pittsburgh.
"Tocchet's concern about the job echoed Mike Sullivan's departure. Tocchet wants to win, and he wants to win now. You can argue about how close the Flyers are to winning.
But the Flyers are further along in their rebuild than the Penguins are. Tocchet didn't want to find himself in a situation where struggling in the first couple of seasons was OK because the franchise is building. He wants to win now and wasn't certain that the Penguins are ready for that."
But the Flyers are further along in their rebuild than the Penguins are. Tocchet didn't want to find himself in a situation where struggling in the first couple of seasons was OK because the franchise is building. He wants to win now and wasn't certain that the Penguins are ready for that."
At this point in time, the Flyers don't have a veteran leader as good as Sidney Crosby, but with the likes of Owen Tippett, Matvei Michkov, Cam York and Jamie Drysdale leading their young core alongside a solid veteran group, the belief is that Philly is closer to success than Pittsburgh, and that's ultimately what led Tocchet to make the call he did.
| POLL | ||
MAI 16 | 132 ANSWERS The Real Reason Rick Tocchet Chose the Flyers Over the Penguins Revealed Did Tocchet make the right choice by choosing Philly over Pittsburgh? | ||
| Yes | 57 | 43.2 % |
| No | 75 | 56.8 % |
| List of polls | ||