With Tortorella out, Flyers have opportunity to bring new blood to organization

It was the biggest Flyers story last week: John Tortorella, out as head coach , with Brad Shaw stepping up as interim. Tortorella made it nearly three full seasons with the Flyers, with one year remaining on the contract he signed when Chuck Fletcher was still the general manager (and president of hockey ops), all the way back in the summer of 2022. Coaches in the NHL are hired to be fired but, for the Flyers, Tortorella served a secondary purpose as well: he was a pillar of the Triumvirate of Leadership.

The spring of 2023 saw some radical changes in the Flyers front office: Chuck Fletcher was fired, Dan Hilferty replaced Dave Scott as the face of Comcast Spectacor, Danny Briere rose to GM, and Keith Jones was hired as president of hockey operations. The rebuild was on, no more dancing around it with words like \"retool,\" and Briere was given a green light to do what was necessary to get the team in a better position to contend, short term results be damned.

As that new front office came together, Dan Hilferty gave an interview with The Athletic outlining his vision for how things would work. First and foremost, he anointed Briere, Jones, and Tortorella the \"Triumvirate of Leadership,\" and that the three of them would work together to decide which players on the roster could be a part of the long term, which couldn\'t, and--in the case of Tortorella--establish a standard of play that would keep the team competitive despite deficiencies in talent on the roster. To Tortorella\'s credit, he fulfilled his role: the Flyers never quit in games, a number of young players improved in ways we hadn\'t expected, and Tortorella has been correct about pretty much every player that didn\'t have \"it.\" Mission accomplished.

In that same interview, Hilferty also touches on the alumni--specifically the \"senior advisors\" Bob Clarke, Paul Holmgren, and Bill Barber. Leading up to Fletcher\'s firing, a lot was made about how those three (and potentially other former Flyers in front office roles) were the ones actually pulling the strings, and that the murky vision for the team was a \"too many cooks\" situation. From the jump, Hilferty made a point to say that the alumni would no longer have the same influence they\'d previously enjoyed:

All decisions going forward related to hockey will be made by those three individuals: the new president, the new GM, and the coach. The rest of us — certainly me and Valerie for business perspective, will weigh in as needed. And when asked, those folks who are the foundational titans of this great franchise will be ready and willing to give their advice if asked, when asked, and only if and when asked .

\"If asked, when asked, and only if and when asked.\" That\'s a pretty powerful statement from the newly hired chairman of Spectacor, essentially telling the most beloved alumni \"thank you for your service, we\'ve got it from here.\" As far as we know, that\'s been the case--no reports of senior advisors trying to get their hands into teambuilding and hockey decisions have come to light. That\'s a clear shift in how the Flyers have been run for decades, and hinted at a more open-minded approach to hiring--more than just \"guys we already know.\"

Now, how does all that relate to the firing of John Tortorella?

Tortorella was not Briere\'s hire; he was a holdover from the Fletcher era. There wasn\'t a reason to fire Tortorella after just one season, and he\'s a good coach--there really isn\'t a better coaching option if you\'re trying to execute a competitive rebuild. Again, though, coaches in the NHL are hired to be fired, and as Briere said in his press conference, \" it was time .\" With Tortorella gone--one of the pillars of the Triumvirate--Briere now gets to select a new head coach. Will it be Triumvirate II: Electric Boogaloo? Maybe, but that will depend entirely on who takes the reins.

Why stop there, though? Change is slow, but now is a perfect opportunity to bring in some new blood--not just to the Flyers, but maybe people new to the NHL world entirely. Two years ago, the organization reduced the roles of the senior advisors, then brought in some other former players (e.g. Patrick Sharp, John LeClair) to help with player development; there was staff turnover in other parts of the organization, too, as Briere and Jones brought in different faces elsewhere. Maybe Briere can give a college coach his first shot behind an NHL bench , for example, or bring over a highly touted European coach, or call up an AHL coach that deserves a chance. You look at the Carolina Hurricanes, and how their front office is led by a guy who never played hockey and filled with people who bring a different perspective than one of the two hundred hockey men the league seems comprised of. Briere doesn\'t have to go that far, but he could certainly take a step in that direction.

That\'s just at the NHL level. This is a crucial summer for Briere because many of the first prospects he drafted in 2023 will be turning pro, either making the Flyers outright or joining the Phantoms for their first professional seasons. Ian Laperriere has been an organizational favorite for a long time, but the results with him in Lehigh Valley just aren\'t there several years into his stint behind the bench--a change there could fast track player development in a major way. Briere and Jones have shown they are proactive and able to make tough decisions; like in 2023 with the senior advisors, they\'re again faced with the question of whether to stick with the alumni or improve the team.

Then there\'s the draft. The Flyers have seven picks in the first two rounds this summer, and those prospects are going to need proper development, too. Hiring Sharp and LeClair to liaise with young players while they\'re in juniors/college/overseas was a smart move, and perhaps another candidate or two could help in that regard. There may be a salary cap on rosters, but teams can spend all they want elsewhere in their franchises. Nailing the draft and turning prospects into useful NHLers will be critical to the rebuild, and some fresh perspectives and youthful energy could go a ways.

It\'s possible no other major changes are made this summer: the Flyers take the interim tag off Brad Shaw and make him head coach for real, they tweak the assistant coaching staff, and play it safe. If there\'s one lesson Tortorella seems to have imparted, though, it\'s that \"safe is death,\" and Briere and Jones seem capable of taking the risks necessary to build a contender. Hopefully, Tortorella was just the first in a line of dominoes to fall, and the higher ups seize this opportunity to make some big changes throughout the Flyers organization.

Talking Points