“It’s the f..kin Philadelphia Flyers. The first time I went over the Walt Whitman Bridge, I’ve been stuck here in Voorhees, it’s f..kin Philly. I got so f..kin excited.,” Flyers Head Coach John Tortorella emphatically said during his first presser
If this can’t pump up a team, I don’t know what will. The quote above reminds me of Herb Brooks talking to his American team before playing the Russian team “Tonight is your night, there night is done,” and the rest is history.. Tortorella gets it, and he’s trying to build a connection with the fanbase of Philadelphia. The Flyers hired a former Stanley Cup winning Head Coach John Tortorella to a four year deal, worth $16 million. Some forget he won a Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning back in the 2003-04 season.
Tortorella is known to be a hard-nosed coach, who commands the most from his players. He is not afraid of benching or calling out star studded players either. This was one reason why the majority of the Flyers team reported early for training camp for the past few seasons. They also knew that they would have to give their all to fight to stay in the lineup.
It’s become apparent as some have excelled, and some have had difficulties learning this, but on most nights the Flyers do not have a problem with effort. The team may not be talented enough to beat stiff competition or playoff bound teams on a nightly basis, but they do fight and claw their way into games nine times out of 10, “I’m not gonna stand up here all year long and talk about moral victories,” John Tortorella said following the loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. “But I’ve got to goddamn remember where we are, as far as where we are in the organization, and the process that we are at. I’m certainly not gonna boo the team. I’m gonna try to help them.”
What isn’t brought up much is how much he cares about the players. Maybe it’s not a big story, maybe it’s not the big thing, but he really does care about these players. And that is evident after he was seen patting Morgan frost on the back after a few tough shifts into his return into the lineup. Tortorella is a smart guy, he sensed that Frost was trying to do too much and getting frustrated, so he came over and calmed him down. Believe it or not from that point on Frost was a much different player in a good way following that incident.
These are the small things that he does to prove that he has not lost the locker room, like some fans are clamoring. Are they losing and have gone dry scoring wise at the wrong possible time? Yes, but this does not mean he has lost the locker room.
Check out our Flyers Nitty Gritty Store
Cool Matvei Michkov merchandise
Tortorella and the players equally deserve blame for this monumental collapse. It’s not just one person, it’s all. Torts didn’t lose the room, especially when the effort is there like it was against the Buffalo Sabres. He has done a great job with effort all season.
The team is giving effort, that doesn’t correlate with the narrative that he lost the locker room. If he lost the locker room, then the team wouldn’t give effort. This is just a pure collapse, and in the grand scheme of things the team isn’t supposed to be this good at this stage of the rebuild.
Remember the Flyers former number one Goaltender Carter Hart was arrested for his role in a sexual assault from the 2018 Hockey Canada sexual assault, thus being forced to play Samuel Ersson into the ground. In addition, they truly lack high-end talent, and the Power Play has been abysmal. Through all of this, this team have been in the playoff hunt, and that is done to terrific coaching and a front office that has a vision.
They have to learn how to finish, that is what they have to learn.
NYR fan. Great piece, well put. I appreciate the way torts approaches coaching as not many people have the EQ to push this hard anymore. As you say, he knows/thinks he has a feel when to push and how much.