Attractiveness abounds as Flyers, Tocchet see big draw in each other

Keith Jones couldn't help but joke with Rick Tocchet before the Flyers' decorated press conference Friday at the Wells Fargo Center.

Tocchet, a Flyers Hall of Famer, was about to make his formal return, officially taking on the pressure-filled, under-the-microscope role of the organization's head coach.

"As I was walking out, Jonesy said you're walking the plank," Tocchet shared with a laugh.

No doubt, the Flyers' job isn't exactly a wander in the park. But Tocchet saw a lot to like about it, while Jones and Danny Briere saw a lot to like about their former teammate steering the team's rebuild into a pivotal period.

They all feel like Philadelphia is a place to be. It felt like the overarching theme of the press conference, that the Flyers have the ingredients to be a destination.

"The roster of the team, the potential, the prospect pool, the cap space that's coming here — there are a lot of positives for this job," Tocchet said, sitting alongside his new general manager in Briere. "This is an attractive job, I think it's one of the best jobs in hockey and I'm very fortunate to get it."

The Flyers were drawn to Tocchet by his relationship-building strengths. They're excited about the opportunity of him working with the Flyers' roster, which is on the younger side and should get only younger in the future.

But they're also excited about his standing around the league. The Flyers are starting to shift into a mindset of addition rather than subtraction for their roster. They'll have more cap space this offseason and the following one. If they tap into free agency, they view Tocchet as a key part of the sales pitch.

"There's no doubt that Rick is going to make us more enticing for players to come here," Briere said. "There are already agents calling and letting us know. That's kudos to him for the relationships that he has built, the reputation that he has built over the years. It's so positive in that regard that there's no doubt in my mind that it's going to make us more of an attractive team to join."

Briere said the Flyers talked to many candidates about the job, but as far as deeper interviews, they whittled down their search to seven candidates. The GM did his homework on Tocchet, calling many of the 61-year-old coach's past players.

"I was digging, I was trying to find some bad stuff," Briere said with a smile, "and unfortunately I haven't gotten there yet."

The feedback was consistent.

"It was all positive," Briere said. "The one thing that kept coming up was the relationships that he was able to create. A lot of the players would say, 'You feel like you have a voice, you feel like you're listened to and that you're part of the team.'"

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Tocchet clearly was sold on what the Flyers had to offer — not just now, but also in the future. The Flyers have six first-round picks over the next three NHL drafts. This summer, they have seven selections in the opening two rounds — three first-rounders and four second-rounders.

"Going through the plan, I mean, if you look at it, what do coaches want?" Tocchet said. "There are a lot of draft picks, there are a lot of prospects, untapped talent.

"There are so many tools to work with. The practice rink has three sheets of ice. As a coach, you're like, 'Oh my God.' These are things you want as a coach."

More: Watch Tocchet's introductory press conference

Tocchet will have to fend off a narrative that exists among a section of the fan base, which suggests the Flyers hire too many former Flyers. In reality, there was much more to like about Tocchet than the simple fact that he was once a Flyer.

"The fact that he played here before, for me, had no bearings on [the decision]," Briere said. "Now, it's a nice add-on, it's a nice plus that he played here, that he shed blood for this organization, that he has a connection to the fans. Those are all pluses, but going into it, to me, that's not what was going to sway me one way or the other. I wanted the best coach available, one of the top coaches in the NHL, and that's what I feel that he is."

Two years ago, Jones and Briere were in a similar spot to Tocchet. They were being introduced at the Wells Fargo Center, embracing the spotlight again with the Flyers.

Jones knows being back goes beyond the former Flyer recognition. So what made Tocchet their guy?

"His ability to connect with players, his ability to communicate, to get our message out there," the Flyers' president of hockey operations said. "He's well-connected throughout the league, he's multifaceted in his connections. I think all of that contributed to our reason for being attracted to him. There's a lot there, there's a lot behind Rick. It's going to be fun to watch."