Rick Tocchet: Hard and tough

Rick Tocchet with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1987.

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“They’re playing the way he played.”

That was the observation of one of the hockey analysts I heard last night talking about why the Vancouver Canucks are off to such a great start this season, and whether it is sustainable or a blip.

The analyst – and I really cannot remember who it was – said the Canucks are playing hard and tough.

That was the way their coach Rick Tocchet played.

It reminded me of just how tough he was, when he suited up for the Philadelphia Flyers to start his career in the ‘80s, and for Team Canada at a crucial time.

Back story
Rick Tocchet was born in Scarborough and was one of three players with the Flyers at the same time from that suburb of Toronto, along with Peter Zezel and Derrick Smith.

He played his junior for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League, and the Flyers took him in the sixth round, 121st overall, in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft. However, he returned to junior for another season, where he had 108 points on 44 goals and 64 assists.

He joined the Flyers for the 1984-1985 season.

Pro career
Around that time, CTV landed the rights to show NHL games in sponsorship with Carling O’Keefe brewery. Consequently, I saw the Flyers a lot on Friday nights on Channel 13, or at least it seemed like it.

From the first time, I saw him, I liked the way Rick Tocchet played. He was a tough guy, a fighter initially, but evolved into a power forward even before the position was called that.

In his rookie season, 1984-1985, he appeared in 75 games, scoring 14 goals and adding 25 assists for 39 points, and he had 181 penalty minutes. He helped the Flyers advance all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. There they ran into the juggernaut that was the defending Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers who beat Philly in five. In the playoffs, he played in 19 games, recording three goals and four assists, and had 72 penalty minutes.

The following season, 1985-1986, Tocchet played in 69 games, notching 14 goals and 21 assists for 35 points, and had 284 penalty minutes. The Flyers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the New York Rangers. In five games, Tocchet had one goal and two assists for three points, as well as 26 penalty minutes.

Philadelphia was back in the Stanley Cup final at the end of the 1986-1987 season, facing the Oilers once more. This time they took the Oilers to seven games before losing. Tocchet played in 69 games that season, scoring 21 goals and adding 28 assists for 49 points, and serving 288 penalty minutes. In 26 playoff games, he had 11 goals, 10 assists and 72 penalty minutes.

A tournament to remember
Before the start of the 1987-1988 season, Tocchet was tapped on the shoulder by his Philadelphia coach Mike Keenan to play for Team Canada in the 1987 Canada Cup. He would appear in seven games, scoring three goals and two assists for five points, and added eight penalty minutes.

However, what he contributed was far more important than goals or assists. In fact, it was nothing statistics could measure.

Team Canada came into the tournament the defending Canada Cup champions. As always, their biggest rival was the Soviet Union who were as good as any line-up Canada could put on the ice. They were two evenly matched teams and it seemed inevitable they would meet in the best-of-three tournament final.

That was exactly what happened. The teams split the first two games, each winning once in overtime, setting up a dramatic, sudden death third and deciding game.

It did not look good early for Canada. The Soviets were all over the Canadians, jumping out to a 3-0 lead.

That’s when something changed.

The line of Tocchet, Brent Sutter, and Dale Hawerchuk began to hit everything in site, in particular Tocchet and Sutter really got physical. I was at University of Alberta Health Services a few months after the tournament for a doctor’s appointment. While I waited I read an article in “Maclean’s” on the 1987 Canada Cup. It detailed how Tocchet and Sutter hit everything in site, even each other at one point when a Soviet player avoided a check.

It paid off.

Tocchet scored Canada’s first goal, narrowing the gap to 3-1. The Soviets responded to go ahead 4-1, but Tocchet, Sutter, Hawerchuk and company kept up the pressure, surging out to a 5-4 lead. They ultimately won on Mario Lemieux’s iconic game and tournament-winning goal.

I will never forget the grit and determination Canada showed to win that game, and Tocchet was one of the main spark plugs.

Rest of the decade
Tocchet continued to contribute with the Flyers in the 1987-1988 season, playing in 65 games, where he recorded 31 goals and 33 assists for 64 points, and a career-high 299 penalty minutes. The Flyers were bounced from the playoffs in the first round again, this time by the Washington Capitals. Still, Tocchet appeared in five games, scoring one goal and four assists for five points, with 55 penalty minutes.

In the 1988-1989 season, Tocchet played in 66 regular season games, recording 45 goals and 36 assists for 81 points, and 183 penalty minutes. The Flyers made it all the way to the Wales Conference Final before losing to the Montreal Canadiens in six games. Tocchet appeared in 16 playoff games, scoring six goals and six assists for 12 points and 69 penalty minutes. Tocchet also made his first all-star game in the 1988-1989 season, in February in Edmonton.

He closed out the decade in the 1989-1990 season with his best year to that point. He played in 75 games, notching 37 goals and 59 assists for 96 points, and adding 196 penalty minutes. Unfortunately, the Flyers did not make the playoffs, the first time in Tocchet’s career.

The years after
Rick Tocchet would continue playing hockey to the end of the 2001-2002 season, with the Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Phoenix Coyotes, and playing his final three years back with the Flyers.

He won the Stanley Cup as a player with Pittsburgh in 1992 and appeared in three more all-star games, in 1990, 1991, and 1993. He retired after playing in 1,144 games where he recorded 440 goals and 512 assists for 952 points, and added 2,972 penalty minutes. He appeared in 145 playoff games, recording 52 goals and 60 assists for 112 points, and had 471 penalty minutes.

He would also be a broadcaster and find his way into coaching.

Parting thoughts
Rick Tocchet has had a storied NHL career that continues to this day. He has won a Stanley Cup, played in all-star games, and is coaching one of the best teams in the NHL right now.

However, when I hear the name Rick Tocchet, I will always think of that 1987 Canada Cup and how pivotal he was in turning the tide in Canada’s favour.