NHL News
Flyers, Rick Tocchet Have Their Eyes on Canucks’ Centers
The Philadelphia Flyers want to improve at center, and Rick Tocchet has interest in some of his former Vancouver Canucks players.
The Philadelphia Flyers entered 2025-26 as somewhat of an afterthought in the Metropolitan Division. While year two of Matvei Michkov and the addition of Trevor Zegras were intriguing, not many saw the Flyers as a playoff team, having to compete with the likes of Carolina, Washington, New Jersey, and both New Yorks.
Perhaps that’s just how they like it, because Philadelphia has indeed kept up with those atop the Metro, currently 14-7-3 and just three points behind the first-placed Hurricanes. It’s been a nice story so far, though, for the Flyers to stay in the mix all season long; they’ll likely want to continue upgrading their roster.
Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman believes they are specifically looking to improve down the middle of the ice, and to keep an eye on Rick Tocchet’s former team, the Vancouver Canucks, who are open for business amid a poor start to the season.
“To me, they have an obvious hole in their lineup still at center, and I think they’re looking… I had a couple of people tell me that Vancouver’s got players that Rick Tocchet likes… Nobody knows the Vancouver players better than Tocchet does, right? So a couple of people said to me, So you better keep an eye on Philly when it comes to Vancouver’s players,”
The most notable center of all in Vancouver is, of course, Elias Pettersson, whom Tocchet knows quite well, having coached him for two and a half years with the Canucks, including part of his career-best 102-point 2022-23 season.
Would Elias Pettersson be a Fit for the Flyers?
While it may seem unlikely for Vancouver to trade Pettersson at this point in time, the longer they remain at the bottom of the standings, the more likely massive changes become.
The 27-year-old wasn’t said to be untouchable when Friedman reported the Canucks were listening on all players besides Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek, so this is a possibility. Not to mention, he was included on Nick Kypreos’ latest trade board.
Tocchet and Pettersson’s time together in Vancouver ended on a sour note, but it was never their relationship that caused all of the drama; rather, the rift was with J.T. Miller.
With Pettersson appearing to have refound his game this season, you have to imagine Tocchet would be very interested in bringing him to Philadelphia, especially given the work ethic and improved defensive play he’s shown.
The Flyers are stocked with draft picks, good prospects, and cap space to make a deal work, so if the Canucks decide to strip it down, then these two teams could make sense as trade partners.
Next: Could Maple Leafs Goaltender be a Surprise Trade Candidate?
More News
