Shocker, Torts Actually Isn’t Horrible

Throughout the hockey community there are coaches that get a lot of shit from their own fan bases or just hockey fans in general. Some of them are warranted, take Mike Babcock for example overall bad guy and shouldn’t coach in the NHL again.  But one guy I think who gets a lot of criticism, especially from his own fan base is Flyers head coach John Tortorella.

All of these from so called “Flyers” fans and trust me theres plenty of more out there. Yes, the Flyers are in the middle of a rebuild and are actually playing a lot better than just about everyone expected. It’s actually been a very exciting time watching the Flyers this season for the most part.  It has been a refreshing start to this season and Torts is a big reason to thank for that. He implemented his system and got rid of the guys that didn’t buy into it and now we are seeing the results of those who did buy in.

I understand there has been frustration with the way that Morgan Frost has been handled this season. But heres the thing, Morgan Frost just hasn’t been good. He’s been less than ideal in the faceoff circle and only has five points in the 15 games he’s played in. This also isn’t just a this season issue, Frost has been inconsistent his entire NHL career. 74 points in 173 NHL games -24 and 46.5% on faceoffs during that time as well. Yes, he is still young but you can’t tell me if you actually watch these games that he is showing signs of growth like we’ve seen with some of the other young guys like Tyson Foerster, and Bobby Brink.

People also want to get on Torts because the Flyers are winning…If you actually thought this team was just going to roll over and die and purposely lose games to tank then you’re just an idiot and there’s no helping you. Torts is competitive and he wants to win, he wants to change the culture within the organization and he is doing just that. You may not like it right now but in a few years when guys decide to sign here because of the culture and what they have built one of the main people we will be thanking is John Tortorella.

This quote from Michael Del Zotto is spot on, Torts is one of the most misunderstood guys in the sport and he gets way too much unfair criticism. He is a genuine nice guy and truly cares about everyone of his players and wants the best for the organization. As someone that has had a few brief interactions with Torts I will say this, when I sat in on a few of his press conferences and asked questions he could have given one word answers or just blown my questions off like we have seen many times before but he didn’t. He gave me genuine somewhat lengthy responses and for someone just getting into the media world I appreciated that.

Yes, he is straightforward and sometimes brutally honest but his players know where they stand with him and never have to question that. If you make a mistake he will hold you accountable and that is how it should be. I know it doesn’t sit right with a lot of people in today’s soft generation but if you can’t handle criticism and learn from your mistakes then you need to find a new line of work.

Torts may come off as an asshole sometimes but he’s our asshole and he has this team playing some of the best hockey they have in a long time. So shut up and enjoy what this season is turning into, the Flyers are good and very well could make the playoffs. No that will not ruin the rebuild, they still have plenty of draft capital, cap flexibility, and assets they can trade at the deadline. Oh and Cutter Gauthier and Matvei Michkov will be here before we know it. So before you continue to say, “Torts is ruining the rebuild. Fire him!” Take a look and come to your senses and realize that he helping this rebuild more than he is hurting it.

I didn’t even mention all of the great things that he does off the ice when he isn’t behind the bench. He’s a great guy and deserves much more respect than he is given.

The Flyers are out west and take on the Coyotes tonight and currently sit in third place in the Metro Division.

-Walsh

Featured Image

By Keith Walsh | December 7, 2023