The Philadelphia Flyers have hired Rick Tocchet as their coach, hoping his return to the franchise will push them out of an extended rebuild and into playoff contention.

Tocchet, 61, succeeds interim boss Brad Shaw, who replaced the fired John Tortorella on March 27. He coached the Vancouver Canucks for the past 2.5 seasons.

Rick Tocchet will be tasked with directing the Philadelphia Flyers' rebuild. Philadelphia announced Wednesday it has hired Tocchet as the 25th head coach in franchise history to replace John Tortorella, who was fired on March 27 with only nine games left in the regular season.