Photo Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
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 could be one reason why the majority of the Flyers team has reported early for training camp, which opens in just about three weeks. They know it’s going to be grueling, they know it’s going to be a very “Difficult Camp” as John Tortorella said earlier in the offseason:
“It’s going to be a very difficult camp. High volume skating. They will be told about this during the summer. We’re attacking it. We’re attacking it.” – John Tortorella
The Flyers have been bottom feeders in the league for the past two years. One had to believe that a no non-sense coach was in the cards in the distant future. This current Flyers team needs a sense of direction and guidance, as they really had an embarrassing campaign this past season of historic proportions in a bad way.
Flyers’ CEO Dave Scott even chimed in on Tortorella, “This is a critical moment for our franchise, and Chuck has made a strong selection in John Tortorella as the next Head Coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. John embodies the values of this franchise and city – hard work, grit, and determination – and I’m excited for him to get to work with our team right away.”
Tortorella is not afraid to call out stars, as he had a rocky relationship with Patrik Laine when he was a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, one of Tortorella’s players gave kudos to him at exit interviews, with none other than Cam Atkinson.
“I think it all starts with practice. You practice how you play. Especially when I turned pro, I learned that from John Tortorella. He was great in that aspect.” – Cam Atkinson
Chuck Fletcher just wants the Flyers to become harder to play against, and John Tortorella emphasizes that same notion, as well:
“Bottom line, I want the team to be harder. I think we need to present ourselves, look harder, coming off the bus, coming into buildings. I want other teams to say you know what we’ve got our hands full tonight.” – John Tortorella
This won’t be an easy overnight process, however, at least the Flyers should be a fun team to watch again, a competitive team. The Flyers were soft last season, in a sense they were not competitive for three quarters of the season. How this will work out is anyone’s guess, but hopefully this is a long-term investment for the Flyers, as Tortorella becomes the fifth Head Coach hired in six seasons for the orange and black. This is a trend hopefully the Flyers have cured with hiring Tortorella.
One thing remains clear, with the vast majority of the Flyers in town well before Training Camp ensues, it appears they are preparing for a “Difficult Camp.” Most are trying to impress first year Flyers coach in Tortorella, even though John is most likely familiar with all aforementioned players. However, the players know it will be tough from here on out, and that Torts will command the most out of them. That is what good coaches do, and Torts is that coach.
