By Julien McKenzie (The Athletic)
Rick Tocchet flashed a grin as he prepared to speak. The Flyers had just won Game 1 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series, 3-2, defeating the Penguins on Saturday night. Now, back in the visiting dressing room at PPG Paints Arena, it was time for the Philadelphia coach to stand and deliver a victory speech.
“Hey, hell of an effort guys,” Tocchet told his players. “Great win, that’s number one.”
The talk went fast, with Tocchet largely filling the remaining time by reminding the Flyers to hydrate, eat and otherwise properly recover their bodies ahead of Game 2. But after the team later posted video of Tocchet’s words to its social media accounts, the impact was lasting: Through Wednesday, the brief clip had earned more than half a million combined views across Instagram, X and TikTok.
NHL coaches often address their players in private right after games — win or lose, it’s a chance to send a final message to the group for the night. In recent years, though, teams are increasingly filming and uploading fly-on-the-wall footage of these victory speeches to provide inside access for those outside of the dressing room.
As with Tocchet after Game 1, sometimes less is more in these speeches. Late in the 2025-26 regular season, Devils coach Sheldon Keefe was featured in a team-produced video speaking for all of 21 seconds.
“Just summing up what happened,” Hurricanes bench boss Rod Brind’Amour said of his typical victory speech intentions. “We like to put a bow on it and then move on.”
Others peel back the curtain on compelling behind-the-scenes moments. On April 9, when the Penguins clinched a playoff berth with a win over New Jersey, coach Dan Muse was captured urging his team to continue believing in its ability to “hold the pen” and control its playoff destiny. Two days later, Kings coach D.J. Smith sparked an on-camera standing ovation to cap an emotional dedication to Los Angeles captain Anze Kopitar after a 1-0 win over the Oilers.
“It’s a dog fight out there, and the f—ing back end, it was exceptional,” Smith said then, shouting out the Kings’ defensive corps before turning his attention to Kopitar. “But there’s one guy, it’s his last home game in the regular season, that’s carried this franchise for how many years? Twenty-something f—ing years.”
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