On the night of November 20, 1991, the arch-rival Flyers visited the Penguins at the Civic Arena. Early in the second period, Philly forward Rick Tocchet clashed with Troy Loney along the boards. The gloves came off and Tocchet proceeded to beat the daylights out of the rawboned black-and-gold forward, reducing him to a bloody pulp with a volley of hard rights and uppercuts.
I’d long been aware of Tocchet’s ferocious reputation, reinforced by his battle with Loney, as a mean, relentless fighter in the true “Broad Street Bullies” tradition. Yet he was also a diamond in the rough who had a burning desire to prove himself as a hockey player. Although a plodding skater at best, he possessed a goal-scorer’s touch and vastly underrated hockey sense that made up for his lack of speed. Befitting his rugged nature, he wasn’t the least bit shy about venturing into traffic to make plays.
“Rick is a self-made player who’s had to work for every thing he’s accomplished,” said Mike Keenan, his coach with the Flyers. “He’s a tireless worker who enjoys playing under pressure.”
I couldn’t help but be envious. If only the Pens had a player of that ilk.
Remarkably, I’d soon get my wish. After scoring 185 goals over a four-season span, Tocchet found himself on the trading block. On February 19, 1992, the Pens acquired the bristling 27-year-old winger in a blockbuster three-team deal.
“I was ecstatic,” he said. “I was going to be playing with some of the greatest players in the world: Mario Lemieux, Kevin Stevens, Jaromir Jagr, Ronnie Francis and Ulf Samuelsson. It was an unbelievable list and I was going to be with these guys.”
“He said all he wanted was a chance to win,” said good friend Paul Coffey. “He’ll have that in Pittsburgh. He’s a good player who won’t disappoint anyone in this city. He has the heart the size of a building. He’ll do what it takes to win.”
Tocchet immediately put that heart on display. During a March 15 showdown with the Blackhawks, he struck on the jaw by an errant shot off the stick of Mario. With blood stains spattered on the front of his uniform, he gamely returned in the third period sporting a makeshift face shield to protect his injured jaw.
A player of lesser fortitude would have avoided the scrums, but not the warrior winger. Refusing to compromise his smash-mouth style, he plowed headlong into a goal-mouth scramble and stuffed the puck past Chicago goaltender Dominik Hasek.
Minutes later, Tocchet again planted himself in harm’s way and scored the game-tying goal on a deflection. It was a display of raw courage rarely seen. Suitably inspired, the Pens took charge and won the game. Afterward it was revealed that Tocchet had played with a fractured jaw.
“I know the type of person he is,” said Pens trainer Skip Thayer. “He’s a rare commodity. He’s a tough kid, a competitor. His jaw had to be hurting him, no doubt about it. But he was able to go out there and keep a positive attitude.”
“We were .500 at the time, you want to play and you want to try to win,” Tocchet said. “It’s amazing when you have adrenaline. The next day I was obviously in pain, but during the game you just don’t think about it.”
From that moment on “Dicky” became a treasured member of the team. Not coincidentally, the Pens began to resemble Stanley Cup champions again. Along the way there were many more examples of Tocchet’s legendary toughness, including fights with Kris King and Kevin Hatcher while his broken jaw was still on the mend and an early return from a separated shoulder during the Patrick Division Final when the club desperately needed his fire and physical presence. Tocchet contributed mightily on the score sheet as well, tallying six goals and 19 points in just 14 playoff games.
“Rick delivered when we needed it most,” coach Scotty Bowman said. “He’s versatile enough to beat you in a lot of ways: with his shot, with his savvy, and with his body.”
The tough winger was never better than during the record-breaking 1992-93 campaign. He racked up 48 goals and 109 points along with a team-leading 252 penalty minutes. During a crucial late-season showdown against Montreal when the Pens were on the verge of tying the Islanders’ record 15-game winning streak, he scored a hat trick to key a huge victory.
Extremely popular with teammates and fans, it appeared Tocchet would have a long and eventful stay in the ‘Burgh. It was not to be. Following an injury-plagued season in ’93-94, he was traded to Los Angeles for All-Star sniper Luc Robitaille.
Tocchet would return to Pittsburgh in 2014 and win two more Stanley Cups as an assistant coach and key member of Mike Sullivan’s staff. In the process cultivating a special relationship with star forward Phil Kessel that earned him the sobriquet, “the Phil Whisperer.”
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Rick
Love Tocchet - Man, how we could use a winger with his grit/toughness and willingness
to do whatever it takes to win. He was built for the Playoffs.
My only wish would of been having him replace Sullivan as our new Head Coach.