Rick Tocchet isn't going anywhere, at least not this week, even with Flyers fans chanting for his job and the team still hunting its first win.
Daily Faceoff's Anthony Di Marco reported this morning that the head coach's job isn't in trouble, and that no imminent coaching change is coming in Philadelphia.
The timing tells you something. That report surfaced the morning after a 4-1 home loss to Carolina dropped the Flyers to 0-5-2.
Two points. Dead last in the Metropolitan Division and 31st in the entire league.
And the "Fire Tocchet" chants didn't come out of nowhere. The Flyers are 0-2-1 on home ice, so the paying customers have watched every bit of this up close.
The underlying numbers are uglier than the record. A -20 goal differential this early isn't bad luck, and it isn't one cold goalie.
Philadelphia is scoring 1.1 goals per game. Nobody survives in this league at that pace, no matter who's running the bench.
Trevor Zegras and Travis Konecny still waiting on first goals
This is where the heat on the coach gets complicated. The guys paid to score aren't scoring.
Trevor Zegras carries a $9,125,000 cap hit and has yet to light the lamp this season. He's also a minus-7.
Travis Konecny hasn't found the net either. Now the forward is day-to-day with a lower-body injury and isn't expected back until at least October 17.
Matvei Michkov leads the team with two goals. Read that sentence again.
On the blue line, Travis Sanheim owns a team-worst minus-10. Cam York, day-to-day with an upper-body issue, isn't expected back until at least Tuesday.
Oliver Bonk drew into the lineup Sunday and went minus-3 with four penalty minutes in his first game of the season.
Joseph Woll has posted a .914 save percentage and still has no wins to show for it. Daniel Vladar sits at .857.
So who actually owns this start?
Tocchet was hired on May 14, 2025. Moving on this soon into his tenure would land squarely on general manager Daniel Briere's desk.
Firing a coach this early because the forwards can't buy a goal is like blaming the waiter because the kitchen burned your steak. It's a bad idea.
Carolina has already handled the Flyers twice, including a 3-2 overtime win on October 3. The Hurricanes left town riding a five-game winning streak.
The opener set the tone. Pittsburgh walked into the building on September 30 and skated out with a 7-0 win.
Next up is Seattle on Tuesday night. The Kraken have won two straight and scored 26 goals, which is more than three times Philadelphia's output.
Then it's a road trip to Detroit on Thursday.
The front office may be willing to wait. The building clearly isn't, and one more flat first period against Seattle could make those chants the soundtrack of October.
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Should the Flyers fire Rick Tocchet if they lose to Seattle on Tuesday?
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