PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Flyers have employed John Tortorella as their new coach, hoping the fiery veteran might help make them their first Stanley Cup championship since 1975.
The rent was confirmed Thursday by an individual with direct information of the choice who spoke with The Related Press on situation of anonymity as a result of it had not been introduced. The official announcement was anticipated Friday.
Tortorella, who turns 64 subsequent week, coached Tampa Bay to a Stanley Cup title in 2004, and he additionally coached the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. He was fired in Could 2021 after six seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Tortorella is the sixth Flyers coach within the final 10 years and he’ll attempt to revitalize a dormant franchise that has only one playoff collection victory since 2012. The Flyers completed with a 25-46-11 report this season underneath Alain Vigneault and Mike Yeo and had been final within the Metropolitan Division.
The Blue Jackets went 227-166-54 underneath Tortorella, together with a franchise-best 50-24-8 end in 2016-17. However the wheels fell off throughout a horrible 2020-21 season (18-26-12).
Tortorella is the second-winningest American-born coach in NHL historical past. He’s identified for his occasional mood and demanding, no-nonsense teaching type, and he has clashed via the years together with his share of gamers.
Tortorella started his school profession at Salem State (Massachusetts) and spent one 12 months there earlier than transferring to UMaine for the 1978-79 season to hitch youthful brother Jim, a freshman goaltender that 12 months.
Tortorella, probably the most bodily and aggressive gamers in program historical past regardless of a 5-foot-9, 174-pound body, is UMaine’s forty third all-time main scorer with 110 factors on 39 objectives and 71 assists in 99 video games. He was additionally a reserve infielder on the Black Bears’ baseball staff.
Flyers winger Cam Atkinson performed underneath Tortorella in Columbus. He mentioned on the finish of the season the Flyers had been “a fairly comfortable staff” and a coach like Tortorella might assist toughen up any franchise.
“I feel all of it begins with apply. You apply the way you play,” Atkinson mentioned in April. “Particularly once I turned professional, I realized that from John Tortorella. He was nice in that side. … I feel going into subsequent 12 months, we have to discover a strategy to have some extra grit, some extra jam, extra ‘F you” to our recreation, on either side of the puck, in our crease, defending our goalie and of their crease.”
Flyers chairman David Scott mentioned in January that he didn’t suppose the franchise wanted a an extended rebuilding 12 months plan and there was sufficient of a confirmed core to show the staff right into a winner. Scott mentioned he would give Flyers normal supervisor Chuck Fletcher “a clean test” to repair the Flyers.
The Flyers have pinned their hopes on Travis Konecny, Joel Farabee, Travis Sanheim and goalie Carter Hart as key items of the longer term. The Flyers final performed within the Stanley Cup Closing in 2010 and haven’t received a championship since consecutive Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975.
Tortorella is 673-541-37-132 over nearly 20 seasons and emerged as the brand new coach out of a slew of candidates that included former Washington and Islanders coach Barry Trotz. Tortorella is just 56-64 within the playoffs with six first-round exits.
Tortorella labored this season for ESPN as a part of its studio protection.
Story by Dan Gelston. BDN author Leela Stockley contributed to this report.
