Hockey is so back, and it’s great.

We’re halfway through the first month of the NHL season, and there are a couple of stories we want to dive into today.

The Philadelphia Flyers keep on losing.

Rick Tocchet’s second season as Flyers head coach has not gone very well, and it’s leading to some big questions about where the Flyers go from here.

The organization and management clearly had a lot of confidence in Tocchet as a coach, as the Flyers handed him a big-money five-year deal that makes him one of the NHL’s highest-paid coaches. That deal, of course, came after Tocchet decided to depart the Canucks’ organization after they offered him a similar big-ticket contract after two and a half seasons behind their bench.

Given the fact that he’s only in year two of that deal, it would make sense that Tocchet has a longer leash, but how patient can the Flyers be? When it comes to NHL head coaches, there’s arguably nobody with a hotter seat right now than Tocchet, and the only way it’ll cool down is if the Flyers start winning some games. The 0-5-2 Flyers take on the Seattle Kraken today at 4 PM PT.

We dove deeper into the Tocchet situation in Philly on a recent episode of West Coast Conversation, and you can watch it below!

Now here’s a great news story.

On Tuesday morning, Chicago Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill told reporters that 21-year-old star centre Connor Bedard will make his season debut tonight when the Blackhawks take on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“It’s only been six games, but when you miss camp and you miss preseason it feels like a lot longer,” Bedard said of returning. “Just to be back with the guys and get to do what I love, it’s exciting. Looking forward to getting back out there, for sure.”

Bedard has been down with a shoulder injury he suffered while training in Burnaby with other Vancouver-based NHLers in July. He needed shoulder surgery, and the Blackhawks initially projected a four-month recovery. That means that Bedard’s return comes about a month ahead of schedule.

This is great for a few reasons. The first, obviously, is that a young and talented player (from Vancouver, as well!) is rejoining his team. Bedard’s return instantly makes Blackhawks games more exciting, and that’s great if you’re a hockey fan. Another big one, though, is that this makes the Blackhawks more likely to win games, meaning that if you’re a Canucks fan invested in the Landon DuPont sweepstakes (and if you’re not, what are you doing?), then you’re rooting for Chicago to move up, up, up and away from the Canucks’ in the overall league standings.