Philadelphia Flyers Have Identified Major Replacement For John Tortorella

On Thursday, the Philadelphia Flyers made the shock, but expected call to fire Head Coach John Tortorella, who drew plenty of criticism for the way he handled plenty of decisions with the team in 2024/25.

While they've named Brian Shaw as their interim for the remainder of the season, fans are looking towards the off-season for a potential replacement, with The Athletic's Josh Yohe now name dropping a massive potential candidate for the Flyers.

Currently, Rick Tocchet is coaching a struggling Vancouver Canucks team that have been in turmoil for much of the season, and with the team on the verge of missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season, he could certainly be one of the next Head Coaches in the NHL to be let go.

Between 2008 and 2025, Tocchet has coached the Tampa Bay Lightning, Arizona Coyotes and Vancouver Canucks in 628 games, and in that time he's come away with a 282-261-85 record, and after a successful season a year ago in Vancouver, he became one of the hottest coaching names in the NHL.

Since then however, Vancouver have struggled mightily and Tocchet allowed plenty of drama to reach his locker room, and with the team potentially missing out on a Wild Card spot this season, his future in Vancouver is certainly up in the air.

Ultimately, if he is moved on, the Flyers with the young names like Matvei Michkov, Cam York and Owen Tippett among others would certainly welcome his arrival, but for now, they'll have to explore other options until Tocchet officially becomes available.