That does not mean, however, that the staff can afford to be complacent.
"I liked how the direction went last year. But I don't think we can sit around and pat each other on the back before the season starts. Everyone starts at ground zero," Tocchet said.
"It's probably -- I shouldn't say 'probably' -- it's GOING to be harder. So you might as well accept it."
This coming season, the Flyers have higher expectations: not just from fans and the media but also from the coaches and, most importantly, among themselves.
Last season the team got a taste of how much everything ramps up down the stretch drive. After that, the shift-by-shift intensity climbs higher in the first round of the playoffs only to hit even greater levels with each successive round.
However, as assistant coach Jay Varady pointed out to Myrtetus, the staff's everyday interactions with players -- before, during and after practice, on non-game days as well as on the bench -- is all about the qualities that build success when the chips are down.
"There's a lot of pressure in this sport. We're learning about how guys deal with pressure over the course of the season," Varady said.
It's all about ongoing relationship building. Varady notes that he routinely sits down with players in low-pressure situations -- perhaps a simple discussion over a cup of coffee. Over time, it builds trust to communicate openly when the pressure becomes much higher.
In terms of day-to-day conversations, Tocchet provides his assistants with a great deal of autonomy. He's not the control freak type, wanting to know every detail about what his assistants say to players and how the team members respond. He's focused on the big-picture details of team preparation and game management (both strategic and personnel).
The other facets are primarily the domain of the assistants. One aspect of the coaching symposium is discussion of plans for handing team meetings -- whether it's how to conduct video sessions or the give-and-take of Todd Reirden summoning the defensemen and penalty killers. Put simply, the symposium includes a meeting about meetings.
The assistant coaches also try to gain a deeper understanding of what the head coach needs specifically from each of them; whether it's on the bench or behind the scenes.
"Players have different personalities. Some guys want a lot of information, others don't want that. It's my job to help the players but also to help the head coach," assistant Jaroslav "Yogi" Svejkovsky told Myrtetus.
Within the staff itself, teamwork is needed throughout the year. For example, Varady and Svejkovsky work together directly on the power play. Meanwhile, Reirden is part of the process in determining breakouts from the defensive zone and the most effective way to move the puck from the defense to the forwards.
Heading into the 2026 camp, the coaches told Myrtetus that they have several general goals. They didn't go into specific plays, naturally, but they laid out the main ideas.
1. The Flyers want -- and need -- to defend less and attack more than they did in 2025-26. In the defensive zone, they're trying to possess the puck and attack more. They want to be less reliant on containment. The tricky part is knowing when to be aggressive defensively and when to push play to the perimeter and be patient.
2. The long-struggling power play needs more connected play as a five-minute unit, defensemen and forwards alike. Moreover, specific roles within the first and second units need to be performed more effectively; the points, on the flanks, at netfront, etc. There is a mental hurdle the team needs to get over, too. For example, even if a couple power plays don't go well, the team needs to develop confidence that the next one will.
