Rick Tocchet

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Height
Weight		 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
214 lb (97 kg/15 st 4 lb)
Pro clubs Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Los Angeles Kings
Boston Bruins
Washington Capitals
Phoenix Coyotes
Nationality Flag of Canada Canada
Born April 9, 1964 (1964-04-09) (age 44),
Scarborough, ON, CAN
NHL Draft 125th overall, 1983
Philadelphia Flyers
Pro career 1984 – 2002

Richard Tocchet (born on April 9, 1964 in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada) is a retired professional ice hockey player. He currently serves as associate coach of the Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League.

Contents

[edit] Playing career

After being drafted in the 6th round (125th overall) by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, Tocchet returned to the OHL's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for another year of junior hockey. After registering 108 points with Sault Ste. Marie, Tocchet came to the Flyers for the 1984–85 season, scoring 39 points and helping the team to the Stanley Cup Finals. He was mainly known as a fighter in his early career, but soon developed his skills enough to become a respected power forward, team leader and a four time NHL All-Star. He had memorable fights with other power forwards such as Wendel Clark and Cam Neely.

In 1992, Tocchet was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, along with Kjell Samuelson, in exchange for Mark Recchi. In 14 playoff games, he scored 19 points, helping the Penguins repeat as Stanley Cup champions.

Tocchet became a well-travelled veteran in the league after his stint with the Penguins, taking roles with the Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, and Phoenix Coyotes. Rick returned to the Flyers in 2000, adding 11 points en route to an Eastern Conference Finals berth. Tocchet retired after 2001–02 season, being one of only two players in NHL history to collect 400 goals and 2,000 penalty minutes. He became an assistant coach for the Colorado Avalanche in 2002–03. In the summer of 2005, he became an assistant coach with the Phoenix Coyotes. On December 17, 2005, Tocchet took over as interim head coach for Phoenix, stepping in while head coach Wayne Gretzky was out on an indefinite leave of absence due to his mother's illness (and subsequent passing). Gretzky eventually resumed his duties on December 28.

During the 1994 season, Tocchet was part of a unique marketing promotion. Originally, the team offered a free slice of pizza to every fan in attendance, at home, if Tocchet scored in the third period. To management's chagrin he began scoring with such consistency that they were forced to change the promotion, instead giving out free slices of pizza if he failed to score in the third period. Unfortunately for fans, from that point on (less than halfway through the season) he scored in every third period for the rest of the season - not one slice of pizza was given out. The success of this promotion led to similar contests involving players such as Joel Otto in Calgary and Jimmy Carson in Los Angeles. There was also a Reese's Pieces promotion in Calgary when goaltender Jeff Reese posted a shutout. Now, marketing promotions that tie a player's performance to free product or food giveaways are common in sports venues across North America.

[edit] Criminal charges

On February 6, 2006, Tocchet was served with a criminal complaint, accused of financing a nationwide sports gambling ring based in New Jersey in which several current NHL players wagered [1]. He was expected to travel from his Arizona home to answer charges of promoting gambling, money laundering and conspiracy in New Jersey. [2] "It's not a hockey-related issue, it's a football thing. And at this time I can't comment any further," Tocchet told The Arizona Republic after the Coyotes practiced Tuesday, February 7, 2006. [3]

On May 8, 2006, attorneys for Tocchet and Gretzky's wife Janet Jones filed notices in New Jersey that they intend to sue the state for $50 million each for defamation. Both Tocchet and Jones claim each have lost business opportunities in the wake of the state's investigation which have sullied their reputations. [4]

On August 3, 2006, former New Jersey state trooper James Harney pleaded guilty to conspiracy, promoting gambling and official misconduct, and promised to help authorities with their case against Tocchet and others. Harney said that he and Tocchet were 50–50 partners in the betting ring. [5]

On December 1, 2006, James Ulmer of Swedesboro, New Jersey pleaded guilty to conspiracy and promoting gambling and agreed to cooperate with authorities. [6]

On May 25, 2007, Tocchet plead guilty to conspiracy and promoting gambling. New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram announced on August 17 that Tocchet has been sentenced to two years probation in exchange for his plea. The NHL issued a statement from Gary Bettman, but his spokesman would not answer questions, including if Tocchet has a future in hockey. [7]

During the week of July 8, 2007, Tocchet played in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. He survived the first day, but never returned for Day 2.

During a press conference on February 6, 2008, it was announced that Tocchet would be reinstated, and would serve as assistant coach starting on February 7, 2008, exactly two years after taking a leave of absence.[8]

[edit] Career statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1981–82 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 59 7 15 22 184 11 1 1 2 28
1982–83 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 66 32 34 66 146 16 4 13 17 67
1983–84 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 64 44 64 108 209 16 22 14 36 41
1984–85 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 75 14 25 39 181 19 3 4 7 72
1985–86 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 69 14 21 35 284 5 1 2 3 26
1986–87 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 69 21 28 49 288 26 11 10 21 72
1987–88 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 65 31 33 64 299 5 1 4 5 55
1988–89 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 66 45 36 81 183 16 6 6 12 69
1989–90 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 75 37 59 96 196
1990–91 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 70 40 31 71 150
1991–92 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 42 13 16 29 102
1991–92 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 19 14 16 30 49 14 6 13 19 24
1992–93 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 80 48 61 109 252 12 7 6 13 24
1993–94 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 51 14 26 40 134 6 2 3 5 20
1994–95 Los Angeles Kings NHL 36 18 17 35 70
1995–96 Los Angeles Kings NHL 44 13 23 36 117
1995–96 Boston Bruins NHL 27 16 8 24 64 5 4 0 4 21
1996–97 Boston Bruins NHL 40 16 14 30 67
1996–97 Washington Capitals NHL 13 5 5 10 31
1997–98 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 68 26 19 45 157 6 6 2 8 25
1998–99 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 81 26 30 56 147 7 0 3 3 8
1999–00 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 64 12 17 29 67
1999–00 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 16 3 3 6 23 18 5 6 11 49
2000–01 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 60 14 22 36 83 6 0 1 1 6
2001–02 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 14 0 2 2 28
OHL Totals 189 83 113 196 539 43 27 28 55 136
NHL Totals 1144 440 512 952 2972 145 52 60 112 471

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Preceded by
Ron Hextall		 Winner of the Bobby Clarke Trophy
1990		 Succeeded by
Pelle Eklund
Preceded by
Ron Sutter		 Philadelphia Flyers captains
1991–92		 Succeeded by
Kevin Dineen