Anyone who has followed the NHL for any amount of time knows that Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella can be a very emotional leader and has a drive for success. With more than 1,600 games coached in the NHL, this year’s Flyers squad is one of the worst teams Tortorella has ever coached.
Oct 22, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella leaves the bench after loss to Washington Capitals at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
With a 28-36-9 record, the Flyers and their 65 standings points are just barely above the Buffalo Sabres for dead last in the Eastern Conference. After a blowout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tortorella let his thoughts on the season and the team be known.
“I’m not really interested in learning how to coach in this type of season,” Tortorella said. “Where we are right now. But I have to do a better job.”
While Tortorella didn’t outwardly say he’s fed up with the Flyers, one former head coach believes this is the veteran bench boss quitting on the team.
“When he’s thinking ‘I’m not ready to coach,’ how are the players thinking ‘I’m ready to play for him?’” former NHL coach Bruce Boudreau said on TSN. “That’s the way I would look at it. ‘You’re quitting on me… you want me to play for you.’”
The 2024-25 campaign is Tortorella’s third season behind the bench of the Flyers and they are tracking for the worst finish of his tenure. Currently holding a .445 win percentage, this is on pace to be the third-worst full 82-game season Tortorella has ever coached.
Tortorella has seen some bright spots within the Flyers lineup this season like the emergence of possible Calder Trophy nominee Matvei Michkov, but nothing much else to hang a hat on. Tortorella even benched Michkov early in the season.
Boudreau went on to offer his former peer some advice. He knows there is still great coaching left in Tortorella, but a change of mindset might be useful.
“A really good GM for me was Chuck Fletcher,” Boudreau said. “He would come down on any game that meant something like this and he’d sit there and he’d say ‘What’s your message going to be? Calm down. Don’t go out for five minutes before you meet the media.’ And I think that’s one of the things Torts should have to do is hold one here, take a deep breath, before you say something that sounds like it’s not you.”
Tortorella is known for heated and off the cuff responses in the media, with this being another prime example of that. The future Hall of Fame coach likely didn’t mean to sound like he’s quitting on the Flyers, but with nine games remaining and not much going right, the frustration is boiling over in Philadelphia.
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