Rick Tocchet defends Flyers kids as Michkov, Seeler blow up

Before puck drop, Tocchet got asked the question Flyers fans keep asking: why are the young guys sitting late in close games?

Jackie Spiegel

@jackiespiegel93

Asked #Flyers coach Rick Tocchet about kids sitting late in close games: "I think in the Ranger game there were a couple turnovers early, but I don't know. I think they're getting their time. They're young guys...They'll get their time, & they've done a nice job for us this yr."

Tocchet's answer was basically trust the process. He mentioned a couple of early turnovers in the Rangers game, said the kids are getting their time, and admitted that trying to win and develop players at once is hard to do some nights. Philly's beat writers weren't buying it. Kevin Kurz pointed out that the younger vets ahead of the kids aren't getting it done either, about a quarter of the way into the season. Andrew Knoll called the whole thing entirely nonsensical. It's hard to argue with them. The Flyers came into Vancouver on a back-to-back and on a 3-game winless streak, and they left at 5-10-5. That isn't a team with enough wins to justify freezing out its best young players.

The game started fine. Michael Bunting, who was back in the lineup, opened the scoring, Travis Konecny added a power-play goal and Joseph Woll made 18 saves. Then the third period happened. Tyson Foerster kept missing the net on prime chances and later had a goal waved off. Meanwhile NBC Sports Philadelphia caught Michkov and Seeler going at each other on the bench, and Porter Martone ended up stepping in between them. Kurz watched all of it and didn't like any of it.

Kevin Kurz

@KKurzNHL

Every red flag with this team has been on display the last few minutes. The lack of compete, playing scared, the stuff on the bench with Michkov-Seeler. They still might win this game but it's not gonna inspire much confidence

Philly hung on, and Travis Sanheim sealed it with a shorthanded empty-netter. Sanheim talked afterward about the energy the team brought for the first 2 periods of a back-to-back. Nobody was confused about what happened in the 3rd, though. Once the game was over, Kurz made the bigger argument: on a team that keeps losing, a shouting match on the bench isn't just two competitors who want to win.

Kevin Kurz

@KKurzNHL

If the Flyers were winning games, it would be easier to brush off the Michkov-Seeler thing. But they are not. And the overall culture has already been questioned, in so many words, by some of the players themselves. Hopefully we'll learn more, but that argument looks like a result of a poor culture in the room than something that should be simply brushed off as two competitors. These are the sorts of things you see happen with bad teams.

That's the real worry. Kurz added that the worst team he'd ever covered, the 2019-20 Sharks, bickered on the bench constantly, and he said the Flyers have now done it twice in 3 games. Not everybody sees it that way. Back when John Tortorella coached the team, he called arguments like this on the bench a once-a-game thing that's good for the group. The difference is those arguments weren't happening on top of a culture that the players themselves have already questioned.

Tocchet, for his part, had nothing to say about any of it. According to Knoll, he called the effort good in every facet and gave no notes, and nobody in the room asked about the bench.

Andrew Knoll

@AndrewKnollNHL

He said every player was good and they were good in every facet of the game. No notes, eh? Hmmmn. Interesting that no one asked about the Michkov-Seeler discussion.

Philadelphia Flyers

@NHLFlyers

Head coach Rick Tocchet met with the media following Monday night's win in Vancouver. #PHIvsVAN | #LetsGoFlyers t.co/rtuGphOt8z

So the Flyers got 2 points they badly needed to start the road trip, and they also got a lot of new questions. Watch the next couple of games. If Michkov keeps sitting late while the vets keep missing the net, and nobody asks Tocchet about the bench, this won't be the last time it comes up.