A decade ago, Rick Tocchet - then an assistant for Wayne Gretzky with the Phoenix Coyotes - plead guilty to gambling charges. After that, he faced more mundane struggles behind the bench with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Some would fold after such humbling mistakes, but Tocchet kept forging his coaching career, culminating with being assistant for Mike Sullivan’s championship Penguins staff.
MORE: Coyotes hire Tocchet as head coach
Tocchet knows full well that you can recover - and learn from - mistakes, and it sounds like he’ll take that approach with an Arizona Coyotes team full of young players who will almost certainly go through their own ups and downs.
That also means embracing what you do well and what you need to improve upon as a coach. Tocchet admits that he wasn’t decisive enough in his first run-through, but seeing Mike Sullivan really opened his eyes in that regard, as NHL.com’s Dan Rosen reports.
The Coyotes took their time in replacing Dave Tippett - going through more than 20 candidates with about five interviews in person - and Coyotes GM John Chayka made it sound like Tocchet was a slam-dunk (or maybe more appropriately, a resounding body check).
Chayka spoke to players for insight on Tocchet: "The term 'best coach I've ever had' was used so much it was almost like it was a tagline."
— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) July 11, 2017
It probably doesn’t hurt that members of the Penguins give glowing reviews of Tocchet as he leaves, too.
As promising as it is to hear that he endorses a “fun” style and doesn’t want to stifle creativity, the positive feedback has to inspire optimism in a Coyotes fan base that’s been through a lot.
Then again, Tocchet has been through quite a bit, too.