Rick Tocchet

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Position	Right Wing
Shot	Right
Height Weight	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 214 lb (97 kg)
Pro Clubs	Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Penguins Los Angeles Kings Boston Bruins Washington Capitals Phoenix Coyotes
Nationality	Canada
Born	April 9, 1964, 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 is currently taking an indefinite leave of absence from his job as assistant coach with the Phoenix Coyotes, due to being criminally charged in connection to financing a gambling ring.

Contents 1 Playing career 2 Criminal charges 3 Career statistics 4 See also 5 References

[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 Wendell Clark and Cam Neely.

In 1992, Tocchet was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins 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 the betting ring. [5]

On December 1, 2006, James Ulmer, 41, of Swedesboro, New Jersey pleaded guilty to conspiracy and promoting gambling and agreed to cooperate with authorities. [6]

[edit] Career statistics

                                  Regular Season              
Season  Team                    Lge   GP   G   A   Pts  PIM   
   
1984-85 Philadelphia Flyers     NHL   75   14  25   39   181
1985-86 Philadelphia Flyers     NHL   69   14  21   35   284
1986-87 Philadelphia Flyers     NHL   69   21  28   49   288
1987-88 Philadelphia Flyers     NHL   65   31  33   64   299
1988-89 Philadelphia Flyers     NHL   66   45  36   81   183
1989-90 Philadelphia Flyers     NHL   75   37  59   96   196
1990-91 Philadelphia Flyers     NHL   70   40  31   71   150
1991-92 Philadelphia/Pittsburgh NHL   61   27  32   59   151
1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins     NHL   80   48  61   109  252 
1993-94 Pittsburgh Penguins     NHL   51   14  26   40   134
1995    Los Angeles Kings       NHL   36   18  17   35   70   
1995-96 Los Angeles/Boston      NHL   71   29  31   60   181
1996-97 Boston/Washington       NHL   53   21  19   40   98  
1997-98 Phoenix Coyotes         NHL   68   26  19   45   157   
1998-99 Phoenix Coyotes         NHL   81   26  30   56   147 
1999-00 Phoenix/Philadelphia    NHL   80   15  20   35   90
2000-01 Philadelphia Flyers     NHL   60   14  22   36   83
2001-02 Philadelphia Flyers     NHL   14   0   2    2    28

                   NHL Totals         1144 440 512  952  2972

[edit] See also

• Operation Slapshot
• Captain (ice hockey)
• Power forward (ice hockey)
• List of NHL seasons
• List of NHL players
• List of NHL players with 1000 games played

[edit] References

• Tocchet's stats at hockeydb.com

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