After watching John Tortorella get ejected in Saturday night’s demoralizing 7-0 rout to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Philadelphia Flyers will be without their head coach for their next pair of games, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Friedman reported Tortorella has also been fined $50,000 for his antics in Tampa, though Comcast Spectacor CEO Dan Hilferty revealed Sunday that he would pay any fines levied by the NHL.
Tortorella lost his marbles soon after Brayden Point capitalized on a power play made possible by a questionable tripping call on Ronnie Attard. Then, Garnet Hathaway was assessed a 10-minute misconduct for shoving Anthony Cirelli, causing Tortorella to completely lambaste referee Wes McCauley and his crew with F-bombs and other colorful four-letter words. The two-time Jack Adams Award-winner was ordered to spend the rest of the game in the dressing room, but Tortorella refused to leave the bench.
He did eventually exit, but not until he got a few last words in.
Tortorella has played a major role in transforming the Flyers into a legitimate playoff contender. With 17 games left to play in the regular season, the Flyers are just one point shy of matching their total of 75 points from the 2022-23 season and currently sit in third place in the Metropolitan Division standings. If the season ended today (which it does not), the Flyers would take on the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the playoffs.
Tortorella has also been integral in remodeling the Flyers’ culture. Once a team bereft of mental toughness and competitive spirit, the Flyers have now established themselves as one of the hardest teams to play against in hockey, largely due to the stellar conditioning and never-say-die attitude Tortorella demands out of his players.
With Tortorella unable to stand behind the bench the next two games, associate coach Brad Shaw is likely to fill in as the Flyers’ temporary head honcho. The Flyers face off against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, then take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.
