Photo Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images
The Flyers stand at 13-22-8 (34 points), have lost 13 straight games which is a new franchise record, and are in last place in the Metropolitan Division. With all this being said the Flyers are not in a position to let go of another front office staff member this late in the season. What makes this hiring of John Torchetti head scratching is why this late into the Mike Yeo hiring? This hiring should have happened moments after Yeo was named the Interim Head Coach of the Flyers, or 48 hours after.
Another weird situation with the hiring of Torchetti is that he filled in as the Interim Head Coach Mike Yeo with the Minnesota Wild, when Yeo was fired by Chuck Fletcher during the 2015-16 season. Torchetti coached the Wild’s AHL affiliate before being named the Interim Head Coach, and also took the Wild to the playoffs in just 27 games of his interim duties.
Torchetti also has ties to both Fletcher and Assistant General Manager Brent Flahr. The 57-year-old in Torchetti worked in the Wild organization under Fletcher and Flahr when they were previously in Minnesota.
Obviously, both Torchetti and Yeo have a history, but Yeo speaks very highly of Torchetti. Yeo said yesterday before the Flyers played the New York Islanders to reporter Gia Han from the Philadelphia Inquirer, that he and Torchetti have been talking since around Christmas about possibly being an Assistant Coach with the Flyers. Yeo also stated that this hiring of Torchetti will allow him more time to dedicate attention to each player individually.
Yes, this is yet another hire from the Wild by Fletcher, however, this was the right move to make as Yeo needs help. It’s obvious Comcast will not remove Fletcher from his position until sometime in April, if it even happens at all, so hiring a familiar face in Torchetti will help implement what Fletcher wants for the rest of the season without grooming someone new. How this will turn out is anyone’s guess, but it’s clear Yeo needs some help.
Other Flyers Developments:
Player development coach Nick Schultz has been filling in admirably behind the bench, and at practices. Schultz will continue to serve on the coaching staff alongside assistant Darryl Williams.
Fletcher also indicated that Yeo will remain as the Interim Head Coach until the end of the season, a move that was expected as Fletcher indicated in last month’s presser to the media.
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