The Philadelphia Flyers dressed six defensemen on Thursday night against the Montreal Canadiens, but only five of them saw action on the ice.
Cam York, who was benched for the final 50 minutes of Tuesday night’s loss in Toronto, was stapled to the bench during the Flyers’ 6-4 win to kick off a three-game homestand.
Interim head coach Brad Shaw revealed that York was sat due to a “disciplinary issue.” York and John Tortorella reportedly “both crossed the line,” and whatever it was contributed to the Flyers firing the bench boss on Thursday morning.
York wasn’t made available to the media after either of Tuesday’s or Thursday’s games, but he spoke after the team’s practice on Friday.
“I’m not going to get into the details of it,” York said. “I will say this: I take full responsibility for my actions. It’s been addressed here in the locker room. It’s something that I’m going to put behind me and move on from. We got eight games left here and that’s my focus right now so we’ll leave it at that.”
Tortorella’s decision to bench York for the remainder of the game in Toronto left the Flyers with five defensemen for 50 minutes. He knows how rough of a situation that can be for a defenseman.
“Obviously, sitting on the bench there in that type of game is never fun,” York said. “Five (defensemen) is a tough thing to do, and you never want to put your teammates in a situation like that.”
Despite York forcing all five defensemen to play at least 20 minutes — including a career-high 26:17 for Jamie Drysdale — at the end of a road trip, the culture that the Flyers have built helped pick up the benched blueliner.
“Support’s been great,” York stated. “Our locker room has always been great, and they’re huge in a situation like this.”
Although York has had his issues with Tortorella, including an altercation that ultimately may have led to the coach’s firing, he had nothing but positive things to say about the hard-nosed coach.
“I have nothing bad to say. He taught me a lot of really good things and was a really good coach for me,” York recalled. “I’m going to use a lot of things that he taught me down the road in my career. He’s a really good coach. I wish him the best of luck down the road.”
Tortorella is a strong figure wherever he goes and the Flyers have also lost a few locker room leaders this season, most importantly Scott Laughton. A new voice behind the bench also allows for new voices to step up in the locker room. York can be one of those guys despite being on the younger side.
I’ve been here a pretty good amount of time so I feel like I’m well-respected in the room. Guys listen to what I say and that’s important,” he said. “Just because I’m a younger guy doesn’t mean you can’t have a voice. Everybody in this room is a leader and leads in different ways. That’s what makes it a special room.”
York has been under fire throughout the season for some inconsistent play. It doesn’t help that his playstyle is more under-the-radar in that he doesn’t put up a ton of points and he’s not particularly physical. However, the pending restricted free agent wants to continue to be a part of what the Flyers are building.
“This is where I want to be. I’ve stated that. I love what’s going on here and I love what we’re building,” he concluded. “It hasn’t been our best of best years, but it’s here. This is where I want to be and I’m looking forward to the future.”
It’ll be interesting to see how York bounces back in the final eight games of the season with Shaw at the helm. Then eyes will be on York in the offseason as one of the Flyers’ key RFAs who could be looking for either a bridge or longer-term deal.
The Flyers return to action on Saturday afternoon with York expected to play as normal. Puck drop is set for 1:00 p.m.
