No player who scored more than 400 goals in the NHL did so while taking as many penalty minutes as Tocchet, who blossomed into one of the top power forwards in the NHL during the 1980s and 1990s.

The Philadelphia Flyers selected Tocchet, a native of Scarborough, Ontario, in the sixth round (No. 121) of the 1983 NHL Draft after a 32-goal, 66-point season with Sault Ste. Marie of the Ontario Hockey League. The Flyers sent him back to Sault Ste. Marie, where he scored 44 goals and 109 points in 1983-84. He made the Flyers at training camp in the fall of 1984 and scored 14 goals as a rookie, helping the Flyers advance to the 1985 Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Edmonton Oilers.

By 1986-87, Tocchet was a 21-goal scorer; his blend of skill and toughness good enough to earn him a roster spot with Canada for the 1987 Canada Cup. He scored three goals and five points in seven games, helping Canada defeat the Soviet Union to win the tournament.

Tocchet built on his Canada Cup performance, scoring 31 goals (with 299 penalty minutes) in 1987-88 and 45 (183 PIM) in 1988-89. He scored 37 and 40 goals in the next two seasons, but after starting slowly in 1991-92, the Flyers traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 19, 1992.

The trade revitalized Tocchet's offensive production. He scored 14 goals and 30 points in 19 games for the Penguins, then 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in 14 games to help the Penguins repeat as Stanley Cup champions. In 1993-94, Tocchet finished with NHL career highs in goals (48), assists (61) and points (109) despite taking 252 penalty minutes. He also scored seven goals in 12 playoff games, but the Penguins' bid for a three-peat was ended when they lost to the New York Islanders in the Patrick Division Final.

Tocchet never came close to those offensive totals again. But he remained a consistent scorer even as he became a well-traveled veteran, playing for the Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals in a span of three seasons. Tocchet scored 26 goals in back-to-back seasons with the Phoenix Coyotes in 1997-98 and 1998-99, was traded back to the Flyers late in the 1999-00 season and finished his NHL career with two more seasons in Philadelphia. He scored 440 goals and 952 points in 1,144 NHL games while taking 2,970 minutes in penalties. He also scored 52 goals and 112 points in 145 playoff games.

After retiring, Tocchet was an assistant with the Colorado Avalanche and Coyotes and an associate coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was promoted to coach of the Lightning on Nov. 16, 2008 but was fired after the 2009-10 season. He rejoined the Penguins as an assistant in June 2014 and was part of Pittsburgh's Cup-winning teams in 2016 and 2017 before being hired to coach the Coyotes on July 11, 2017.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

• Played in NHL All-Star Game (1989, 1990, 1991, 1993)
• Traded to Pittsburgh by Philadelphia with Kjell Samuelsson, Ken Wregget and Philadelphia's 3rd round pick (Dave Roche) in 1993 NHL Draft for Mark Recchi, Brian Benning and Los Angeles' 1st round pick (previously acquired, Philadelphia selected Jason Bowen) in 1992 NHL Draft, February 19, 1992.
• Traded to Los Angeles by Pittsburgh with Pittsburgh's 2nd round pick (Pavel Rosa) in 1995 NHL Draft for Luc Robitaille, July 29, 1994.
• Traded to Boston by Los Angeles for Kevin Stevens, January 25, 1996.
• Traded to Washington by Boston with Bill Ranford and Adam Oates for Jim Carey, Anson Carter, Jason Allison and Washington's 3rd round pick (Lee Goren) in 1997 NHL Draft, March 1, 1997.
• Signed as a free agent by Phoenix, July 23, 1997.
• Traded to Philadelphia by Phoenix for Mikael Renberg, March 8, 2000.