Flyers Fans Begin Turning on Rick Tocchet as 7-Game Losing Streak Sets Undesirable Record

What started as an opportunity for the Philadelphia Flyers to change the narrative on their awful season ended in brief but noticeable chants for the club to fire head coach Rick Tocchet, following an uninspired 4-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes that set a most undesirable franchise record.

Now 0-5-2 with no silver lining or signs of hope, Tocchet's Flyers are now winless through their first seven games of the season, marking the first such instance in franchise history.

This would be a different story, contextually, if the Flyers kept each of those seven losses close, but the two overtime losses are disservices to how badly New Jersey and Carolina outplayed them in those games.

The reality is that, outside of the 2-1 loss to Ottawa on Thursday night, the Flyers have been smacked around the rink on a nightly basis. Effort and "compete" have been constant talking points discussed by the players, Tocchet, and even general manager Danny Briere himself.

That shouldn't happen two weeks into a season, if at all, and it follows a season where the Flyers made it to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

As much blame as the players should get, as the ones playing the game, equal blame should fall on the shoulders of the coaching staff and front office.

For instance, prospect defenseman Oliver Bonk, who played on Saturday night for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, was called up and immediately pressed to action, getting a jarring wake-up call having to play against the Hurricanes on Sunday.

Placed on the top defense pairing next to Travis Sanheim, the pair was torched for three of the Hurricanes' four goals, with Bonk also getting whistled for two penalties in the first period.

With Helge Grans still on the roster, it was just plain unnecessary to throw Bonk to the wolves in the manner the Flyers did, even if they do feel he deserves to play games for them going forward.

David Jiricek had given the power play some spark, aiding the team to man-advantage goals in two straight games, but the Flyers again went 0-for-3 against the Hurricanes. The Flyers make scoring goals in the NHL look like a miraculous feat, and their defending and shot suppression are virtually non-existent.

Outside of Joseph Woll, who was in net for all four Hurricanes goals on Sunday, there is not a single bright spot for the Flyers through their first seven games, and that is not hyperbole.

At some point, the Flyers are going to feel even more pressure to make a significant, meaningful change that goes beyond the faint "Fire Tocchet" chants heard hurtling down from the few remaining fans in the building on Sunday night.

Signing Michael Bunting to play him 11:39 a game isn't one of those moves, but it is a move that took NHL reps away from a young Alex Bump, who is supposed to be an important prospect for this team.

And Bump has two goals and an assist in his two games for the Phantoms since returning to the AHL, for what that's worth.

Somehow, some way, the Flyers have to do something, because carrying on like this clearly is not working.

If they don't, they'll subject their building block veterans and youngsters to another losing, meaningless season, which will assuredly have downstream effects when it comes to wanting to compete for a Stanley Cup in the future.