The Philadelphia Flyers made the unexpected decision to fire head coach John Tortorella on Thursday morning. General manager Daniel Briere pulled the trigger after Tortorella’s controversial comments following Tuesday night’s loss in Toronto.
Firing Tortorella delighted many Flyers fans, and there are sure to be some players on the roster who are a bit lighter on their feet today. But who might be the most happy that Tortorella is gone?
Matvei Michkov
Tortorella was the most important person in the Flyers organization for most of his time here. But that all changed with the news that top prospect Matvei Mickhov would be making his way to North America earlier than expected.
Danny Briere and Keith Jones greeted Michkov at the airport on July 23, 2024 and introduced him the next day. The focus of the organization immediately went toward Michkov, even if Tortorella still had a good grip on the team.
Michkov’s trials and tribulations with Tortorella have been well documented. First it was the healthy scratches early in the season, then questionable linemates throughout, add in a few disagreements on the bench and it’s easy to see why the dynamic Russian winger would be pleased to play for a new bench boss.
The 20-year-old winger has still put up great numbers this season with 51 points (20 goals, 31 assists) in 71 games. But one has to wonder how many more points he’d have if he had a longer leash, better linemates, a competent power play, or some combination of all three.
Cam York
Tortorella’s decision to bench Cam York on Tuesday night in Toronto after a soft play behind the net led to a Maple Leafs goal was perhaps one of the final nails in his coffin. Of course, his comments after the game didn’t help, but York seems like a guy that the front office is higher on than the former head coach was.
York was inexplicably a healthy scratch earlier in March and voiced his frustration with Tortorella’s decision in the following days.
The 2019 first-round pick may never be the high-scoring defenseman that he was leading up to the draft, but he’s developed into a solid top-four guy who can play on both sides of the puck.
York’s displeasure with Tortorella is the freshest, so he has to be breathing a sigh of relief after Thursday morning’s news. It could also go a long way in contract negotiations with the restricted free agent this summer.
Sean Couturier
Tortorella refused to name a captain of the Flyers after taking over behind the bench. That was until he saw Sean Couturier’s leadership in the room. Couturier was named the Flyers captain on February 14, 2024.
Couturier is more of the silent leader type and isn’t one to let his feelings known, but his agent was loud and clear in calling out Tortorella for his lack of communication with the decision. That certainly left a bad taste in Couturier’s mouth for the rest of the season and he probably hasn’t forgotten about it.
The veteran center isn’t what he once was in the middle of the ice after some core and back injuries. He’s been up and down the lineup this season but now found himself once again between the Flyers’ top two wingers.
Couturier was one of the first veteran players — who is still on the roster, that is — who Tortorella took his frustrations out on. There has to be some satisfaction for Couturier that he won’t have to deal with the blunt head coach any longer.
Bobby Brink
Bobby Brink may ultimately look back at the John Tortorella Experience as a positive one given his growth this season. However, that doesn’t change the fact that Tortorella benched him multiple times for his mistakes, including one screaming session that made you feel bad for the poor guy.
John Tortorella screaming at Bobby Brink (maybe?) after that goal against. #Flyers pic.twitter.com/xulmLbmEqp
— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) March 2, 2024
Brink doesn’t have the ceiling of a Michkov or possibly even of a York, and definitely doesn’t have the tenure or experience of a Couturier, so he is a bit down on the list. But he still very much belongs on this list.
The winger has played 127 of his 137 career games with Tortorella at the helm. Maybe he’ll be able to take an even bigger step forward with a new voice behind the bench, even if it is just Brad Shaw taking a promotion.
Jakob Pelletier
Jakob Pelletier dealt with Darryl Sutter in Calgary and then got his fair share of John Tortorella in Philadelphia. While Pelletier was never called out directly or ever benched by the former head coach, that’s probably because he was already playing among the fewest minutes on the team.
After getting his visa issues cleared up, Pelletier was plopped on the fourth line. At first, that was fine with Ryan Poehling and Garnet Hathaway. But that only lasted for a few games before he was saddled with Nicolas Deslauriers and Rodrigo Abols, two guys who simply do not have the skill level of most NHL players.
Pelletier finally got promoted to the third line last weekend and has been there since after a strong showing. Sure, he may never be a top scorer in this league as Tortorella said, but Pelletier now has a chance to spread his wings a bit with a fresh start.
Honorable Mentions: The Whole Damn Team
John Tortorella definitely isn’t the easiest coach to play for. The entire roster is probably breathing a sigh of relief that they don’t have to deal with his rope conditioning test next training camp — among other things.
Honorable Honorable Mentions: Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost
/Game Day ☺️ pic.twitter.com/i7vl2SPQEq
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) March 27, 2025
