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Love him or hate him — and there seems to be no in-between — you have to admit Philadelphia Flyers coach John Tortorella is rarely boring.
One day he’s going at it with members of the media. The next, he’s making the captain of the team he’s currently coaching (Sean Couturier) a healthy scratch.
Fun fact: he interviewed for the vacant Winnipeg Jets job in the summer of 2022 that ultimately went to Rick Bowness, with general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff describing his talk with Tortorella as “a wonderful time.” I can only imagine.
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Put me in the camp of those who feel Tortorella is good for the sport — and for those in my industry. He’s a big personality who usually provides grist for the mill. What’s not to like about that?
Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella, centre top, speaks to players from the bench in 2022. (Steven Senne / The Associated Press files)
For that reason, I loved the lengthy speech he gave scribes on Wednesday as he discussed the current state of the Flyers, who are fading down the stretch and struggling to hold on to a playoff spot. It was a fascinating look into how he operates, and how his mind works.
A sampling:
“It comes down to, oh, they’re going to quit on him,” he said. “It follows me around. And so be it.
“If a player is going to quit on me, or players are going to quit on me because I’m trying to make them better people or better athletes, you’ve got the wrong damn coach here, and you’re got the wrong damn people here.
“My job is… I’m going to push athletes. I’m so proud of the team getting here. I guess now the narrative out there that I’ve heard from other people (is), ‘They’re young. They’re not supposed to be here.’ (Expletive).
“We’re here. We’re here. Face it. And let’s be better. I don’t think we’re ready to be better, and that’s my problem with us right now. And it is my job I have not done a good enough job to get them over the hump. I haven’t done a good enough job to make them understand we have to be different now.
“We have to be at a different level. That’s my frustration with myself and the team. And if people can’t handle it, so be it.”
That, folks, is great stuff. I’m curious to see how his team ultimately responds.
Speaking of love/hate, that pretty much sums up how most hockey fans feel about fighting. It’s not so black-and-white for me.
I despise the staged stuff, especially now that we have a much better idea of the potential long-term damage that can result. I also cringe when I see it in junior hockey, and I’m happy various leagues are cracking down on it. But at the highest level of the sport, in the heat of the moment during a fast, physical game, I don’t have as much of an issue.
That said, I’m not sure what to make of the gong show that erupted as soon as the puck dropped Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils.
New Jersey Devils defenceman Kurtis MacDermid (23) fights New York Rangers centre Matt Rempe (73) Wednesday in New York. (Mary Altaffer / The Associated Press)
There was bad blood between the longtime rivals, and an early scrap was likely, perhaps to bring the temperature down a bit. Instead, we saw a rare full-blown line brawl, with all 10 skaters on the ice dropping their gloves.
Eight were kicked out of the game for being involved in secondary altercations.
One of them was Rangers rookie Matt Rempe, who has now faced the Devils three times this season and been ejected from all three contests. The 21-year-old, who stands 6-7 and weighs 241 pounds, now has 69 penalty minutes in his first 14 NHL games.
All these early exits meant the Rangers and Devils had to play the remaining 59:58 with just 10 forwards and four defencemen each. Of course, they had nobody to blame but themselves.
That led to some heavy minutes for those who didn’t chuck the knuckles. Devils rookie blue-liner Luke Hughes likely needed an IV after playing 32:49. His older brother, Jack, played 24:47, which is massive for a forward. Linemate Nico Hischier was at 24:59.
Rangers winger Vincent Trochek deserved an extra slice of post-game pizza after leading all forwards in the game at 26:11, while all four New York defenceman appeared between 27:17-29:42.
New York ultimately rallied with a pair of goals in the third period to win 4-3 and get the last laugh.
The Winnipeg Jets are technically still fighting for a playoff spot, although that’s essentially a given at this point. One more victory, or one more loss by the St. Louis Blues, and they’ll officially punch their ticket. That could happen as early as this evening.
The real focus is the battle for positioning, and the question of how much it ultimately matters. It was only a few weeks ago when it looked like the Jets were going to finish first or, at worst, second in their own division, which would have meant home-ice advantage at least through the first round.
Now, a late-season slump means third place is the most likely finishing spot, which would have them starting a tough series in enemy territory. As of today, that would be in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the true story on Winnipeg’s 2023-24 season has yet to be written. Ultimately, how they fare in the playoffs will define success or failure.
Until we see how that plays out, I wouldn’t get too caught up jumping to conclusions based on how recent games have played out. That’s all going to be white noise in a couple weeks from now when their record resets to 0-0 and the race to 16 spring wins begins.
A few quick hits to finish:
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