David Pagnotta reports the Flyers are not firing Rick Tocchet any time soon, even with the team sitting 28th in the NHL.
That's an attributed report, not an announcement from the team. It lands after another painful night in Edmonton, where Philadelphia lost 3-2 in overtime on Wednesday and fell to 5-10-6.
Pagnotta's message is short: the Flyers aren't looking to change coaches in the near future.
Danny Briere made his own case for his coach on Wednesday, pointing to what Tocchet did last season and saying he expects him to "find solutions and turn this thing around."
That's a general manager attaching his name to the coach's second-half track record. With a -22 goal differential, it's a sizable bet, and the one-goal games make it sting. Philadelphia is 1-4-6 in those.
Is the Matvei Michkov situation making Tocchet's job harder?
Briere had already said Wednesday that the Flyers have no plan to trade Matvei Michkov. Asked about the relationship between the young winger and his coach, the GM was direct.
Briere said that as far as he knows, "I don't think there's a problem there." He also credited Tocchet with tweaking the systems that helped the team reach the postseason and win in it.
Still, the noise hasn't gone away. Chris Johnston said it isn't a formal trade request but that there's "a lot brewing," which is why Johnston's warning on the Flyers' Michkov situation still hangs over the room.
A job-security report this quiet usually means the pressure is real. Nobody gets a public vote of confidence from the GM and a "not any time soon" from the insiders when things are going well.
Our view: Tocchet gets time because the alternative is a bigger reset, and Briere isn't ready to make that call. But time without wins gets shorter every night.
Saturday at Columbus is next, and the Flyers carry a 2-6-3 road record into it.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
Should the Flyers stick with Rick Tocchet through this slump?
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