Photo Credit: Our very own Rob Windfelder
John Tortorella has been suspended for two games and fined $50,000 for refusing to leave the bench, per the NHL Press Release. The Flyers Governor Dan Hilferty came out and said that he supports Tortorella for backing the team, and for doing so under the New Era of the Orange Tortorella will not have to pay the fine. Hilferty instead we’ll be picking up the fine.
Tortorella has officially been suspended more games than when Evgeni Malkin swung his stick like a baseball bat and hit former Flyer Michael Raffle back in 2019. Malkin sustained a one-game suspension for his efforts, while forfeiting $51,200 for missing the game.
The second year Flyers coach in Tortorella was ejected from the Tampa Bay Lightning game after arguing for fairness, after two ticky tack penalties against the orange and black this past Saturday night. He wouldn’t leave the bench following the ejection. Tortorella stood up for his players, and rightfully so. The rookie referee had to get help from Wes McCauley, who threw out the Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper, of course, on March 3, 2022 in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Amalie Arena. Cooper was the last coach to get thrown out of a game in the NHL. This ejection was very uncalled for after two incidental plays, where both penalties would not have been called otherwise.
Maybe Associate Coach Brad Shaw can bring life back to the lineup for Tuesday’s tilt against the San Jose Sharks. Oskar Lindblom is not on the Sharks roster. He is currently playing for the San Jose Barracuda in the AHL, so he will not be coming back to the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday.
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