On April 24, the NHL on TNT studio crew of Liam McHugh, Wayne Gretzky, Anson Carter, Paul Bissonnette, and Rick Tocchet wrapped up the network’s first regular-season airing NHL games. The Stanley Cup Playoff games begin on May 5.
Tocchet was a guest on a recent episode of Spittin’ Chiclets. The 18-year veteran and longtime NHL coach talked about why he decided to go into television after the Arizona Coyotes and he decided to part ways last year.
“Actually, my girlfriend and my agent said listen, why don’t you try out for TNT? I didn’t want to do it, but they talked me into it and I flew down the one day…The next day, they called and said we’d like to sign you….It was a tough decision. At the end of the day, I thought this was the best avenue if I wanted to get back to coaching.”
Initially, Rick Tocceht was worried about not having a competitive outlet. Instead, he has enjoyed a year of being more relaxed around the sport. He said he is happy he decided to join TNT because of the philosophy the network has about hockey coverage.
“TNT treats us like gold and their philosophy is great. What we want to do is talk hockey in a relaxed way; They don’t want you to sit and be a nerd and break down film too much, but they want your opinion. It’s been great. I’m lucky to have this gig.”
The TNT studio role isn’t Tocchet’s first job in TV. Back in 2010, he was on Flyers Postgame Live during Philadelphia’s run to the Stanley Cup. One decade later, Tocchet is back on the TV side of things and all eyes will be on TNT’s studio crew to see how they do during the postseason.
