Look. Anyone who thought John Tortorella was going to make it to the end of his contract in Philadelphia was betting against history. The blunt, sometimes-out-of-touch head coach does things his way, doesn’t tolerate less than 100% effort, and, as of yesterday, doesn’t have to worry about coaching the Philadelphia Flyers any more. The team relieved him of his duties and named Brad Shaw as the interim head coach.
While the final straw was a post-game press conference following a 7-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs (their sixth loss in a row and 11th in their last 12 games), Tortorella’s coaching style seemed to be going against the wishes of management for some time. In the presser following the loss, Torts was his usual blunt self, stating that he hasn’t been good enough of late as the Flyers have hit the skids and fallen out of the playoff contention. What certainly irked Daniel Briere and the rest of the Flyers’ brass was the “I’m not really interested in learning how to coach in this type of season where we’re at right now” line.
John Tortorella is not the type of coach that is going to be fine with playing out a string of meaningless games for a non-playoff team. And he sure as hell isn’t going to tank for a better draft pick. The long-time NHL coach is going to demand the maximum effort no matter where the team is in the standings, and if a player isn’t going to give that effort, he won’t play. Along the way, Torts has benched Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee, Cam York, and Matvei Michkov for what he has deemed unacceptable play.
Tortorella has a history of having his message where thin with players due to the demands he puts on them. He’s been able to pull a lot of success out of marginal talent, but on the same hand, there is the impression that his dedication to team play and defensive responsibility handcuffs some of his more talented superstars.
After two seasons of positive growth under Tortorella, the Flyers took a step back this season. With the losing streak well under way at the deadline Briere opted to let some pieces go, and that seemed to take any sort of wind out of the sails for the team. The 66-year-old coach was under contract through the 2025-26 season and his future is now up in the air. As for Philadelphia, they will look to the coaching ranks to see if there is someone who can help them take the next step.
Lightning News
Lightning roll to 8-0 win over Utah [Raw Charge]
A patient, methodical approach (and Andrei Vasilevskiy) led to the Bolts dropping a big number on the Utah Hockey Club. Congratulations to Ryan McDonagh for playing in his 1,000 regular-season game and Brayden Point scoring his 300th regular-season goal.
Mikhail Sergachev returns to Tampa a new man [Tampa Bay Times]
Sergachev is embracing his role as a number-one blueliner. It’s just a shame it’s not happening in Tampa.
MSU stunned by Cornell [Lansing State Journal]
Isaac Howard’s magical season came to a surprising end as the Spartans were knocked out in the first round of the NCAA championships by Cornell. The question now turns to Howard and if he decides to return to Michigan State for one more crack at the national title, or if he turns pro this summer.
Hockey News
Brad Marchand close to Panthers’ debut [NHL.com]
It is possible that Brad Marchand makes his Florida Panthers’ debut tonight against the Utah Hockey Club. The forward, acquired at the trade deadline, hasn’t played since March 1st.
Capitals re-sign Dylan McIllrath [RMNB]
The Eastern Conference leaders continue to take care of their summer business in the middle of spring. After re-signing Jakob Chychrun to a long-term deal, they inked McIllrath to a two-year extension. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Sidney Crosby sets record with 20th point-per-game season [Pensburgh]
Sid the Old Man was tied with Wayne Gretzky for the most point-per-game seasons at 19, and with his goal against the Sabres in the Penguins 7-3 loss, he recorded his 80th point of the season. After missing a couple of games earlier in the year, Crosby won’t play in more than 80 games so he now stands alone at the top of that particular offensive category.
