The Philadelphia Flyers reached the final straw with head coach John Tortorella. The long-time NHL coach was fired Thursday after saying he was “not really interested in learning how to coach in this type of season.”
Additionally, a report from The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz on Friday indicated that an altercation between Tortorella and Flyers defenseman Cam York, where the two reportedly “both crossed a line,” contributed to the coach’s firing.
The team confirmed the news on Thursday, though made no mention of Tortorella’s comments or the fight in the press release.
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported later on Friday that York and Tortorella did not have a physical fight, but “a heated verbal exchange.” York was benched for Thursday’s matchup against the Montreal Canadiens as a result of the altercation; per Seravalli, Philadelphia couldn’t scratch York due to NHL rules about playing with a full roster. For Tortorella, it was seemingly the final straw.
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Tortorella went 97-107-33 in three seasons with the Flyers. Associate coach Brad Shaw will take over as the team’s interim head coach moving forward.
Tortorella’s firing comes after the Flyers fell 7-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. It was Philadelphia’s sixth straight loss.
Following the contest, Tortorella drew criticism by implying he had no interest in coaching the team.
“When you’re in this type of situation and you’re losing all the time, and there’s nothing at the end of the tunnel for you, there’s certainly going to be some frustration. But, this falls on me. I’m not really interested in learning how to coach in this type of season, where we’re at right now. But I have to do a better job. So this falls on me, getting the team prepared to play the proper way until we get to the end.”
Some interpreted those comments as Tortorella trying to take the blame off his players. Others viewed it as Tortorella raising the white flag.
At 28-36-9, the Flyers rank ninth in the Eastern Conference. The team hasn’t been officially eliminated from the postseason yet, though that will likely happen soon.
John Tortorella struggled to turn Flyers around
Tortorella was hired by the Flyers ahead of the 2022-23 NHL season. The team was coming off an eighth-place finish in the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers showed slight improvement in Tortorella’s first year, improving to 31 wins.
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Things looked more promising in his second season, as the team turned in a 38-33-11 record. Despite finishing the year over .500, the Flyers failed to make it to the postseason.
The team failed to capitalize on that improvement this year, and sat at .500 at the trade deadline. Instead of making additions, the Flyers shipped out three players. The team went into a tailspin after the deadline, going just 1-10 in its next 11 games.
Prior to coaching the Flyers, Tortorella coached the Columbus Blue Jackets, Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning. He led the Lightning to a Stanley Cup championship during the 2003-04 NHL season.
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