Photo Courtesy of Eric Hartline, USA TODAY Sports
Six games through the NHL regular season the Philadelphia Flyers have started off with a 4-2 record. In most cases that’s not something many would have predicted. With such a quick start Head Coach, John Tortorella not only has his focus on the short term but he seems to be keeping a long term approach in mind. Especially, with the coaching tactics being implemented.
It’s clear the organization and Tortorella view this as a situation that needs time to fully develop into the culture they are trying to establish. That also includes the expectations players hold themselves to while donning the orange and black.
When referencing a long term approach it’s associated with building this Flyers team and instilling the right fundamental habits into the rosters game. Tortorella benching the leading scorers on the Flyers in Kevin Hayes (1 goal, 7 assists, 8 points in 6 gp) and Travis Konency, (4 goals, 2 assists, 6 points in 6gp) is a key facet to Tortorella’s principles. Mainly, benching the two forwards ties into the mindset he would like the entire team to demonstrate moving forward.
This is where a long term viewpoint comes into play. Both Hayes and Konency were respectively minuses in the previous game. Hayes was a -1 while Konency was a -2. It was quite clear both players were not having their best outings. Additionally, they weren on the ice for goals against and had some missed coverages. All of these things compounded likely factors into why Hayes and Konecny were benched in this game.
More importantly from a long term perspective, Tortorella benching the two leading scorers on the team sends a message to the entire roster. What this message entails is he expects players to play to their capabilities. Along with holding themselves accountable and meeting the standard of play that is their best. Considering that, it appears Hayes and Konency were not doing either of those things mentioned above.
Tortorella knew Konecny and Hayes were not at their best and could have played better. The benching was done to demand more out of those players. While cementing that he expects them to play much better and with more consistency in their game on a nightly basis. Tortorella also did this because he wants to see the two players hold themselves accountable to a higher standard when they aren’t at their best.
From a team wide viewpoint the benching of the two leading scorers sends a clear message to the roster. Even if a player is performing well it’s all about the next game ahead. Finding consistency in your game and meeting that level and standard of play that is expected of yourself is what Tortorella is searching for. This is an integral facet in terms of the identity Tortorella is hoping to build in Philadelphia.
Another aspect to consider is this puts the rest of the team on notice. Essentially, the other Flyers need to be aware that with Tortorella willing to bench the two leading scorers when they aren’t playing their best, they may suffer the same fate. If players aren’t playing up to their full capabilities during games and meeting the standard they should be holding themselves to on a game to game basis, they are at the risk of being benched as well.
Ultimately, it’s evident that John Tortorella expects a certain level of play from his players. That doesn’t mean players need to perform far above and beyond their talent and skill levels. However, what it enforces is the idea that players should be performing close to or at their best.
In addition, this falls into line with the idea that players should be preparing the correct way and holding themselves to a certain expectation with their own games. This is the first lesson of many from Tortorella for this Flyers team and we’ll see how they respond in tonight’s matchup taking on the Panthers.
Gettin Gritty Wit It
On this week’s Gettin Gritty Wit episode we discussed the Hayes and Konency benching and what it means. Along with, the Flyers injury situation, our expectations after 30 games and Carter Hart’s fantastic start to the season.
This is an episode you don’t want to miss!
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