Alright, more NHL coaching news. The Philadelphia Flyers are set to officially hire John Tortorella as their head coach, and I really can’t think of anyone better for the job.
For a team that had the hopes of making the playoffs this year after brining in guys like Ryan Ellis, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Cam Atkinson, to absolutely implode once the season started, to then finish as one of the worst iterations of the Flyers I have ever seen was quite the thing to watch. And they broke their “every-other-year” playoff streak.
Yes, ever since their 2010 Stanley Cup Final run (yeah, I know, its hard to believe they actually made the finals in the 21st century), the Flyers have made the playoffs ever other year (only 2011, when they made it, goes against the streak). Or, you can think of it as every year ending in an even number they made it.
But this was the first time in a decade they have missed the playoffs in an even-number ending year. And the team barely even tried to put up a fight to make it in. They finished 31st in GPG (Goals per Game), 32nd in PP% (Powerplay %), 26th in GAA (Goal Against Per Game), and had the 7th worst penalty kill. An all around terrible year.
Alain Vigneault was fired in early December, and interim Mike Yeo was let go after the season ended. Also, Mike Yeo was the guy who benched Keith Yandle to break his NHL-record ironman streak, so there’s also that against the interim coach. This team desperately needed a cultural change, and that is what John Tortorella can bring.
His hard-edge, no nonsense, defense-focused style of play is exactly what rebuilding/declining teams need to compete at the highest levels.
Now, many might have forgotten how good of a coach John Tortorella can be with hard working, “less talented” teams in the NHL due to his long coaching layoff. His last job with the Columbus Blue Jackets proves that he can turn around mediocre teams into playoff contenders.
Tortorella was the man behind the bench who brought the Columbus Blue Jackets to the playoffs and win after years of missing out and/or being perineal first round exits. He was also the last head coach to eliminate the Tampa Bay Lightning in the playoffs, sweeping them in the first round in the 2018/19 season.
So, for young guys like Carter Hart, Ivan Provorov, Joel Farabee, Travis Konecny, and Owen Tippett, they will learn how to play winning, dedicated hockey under Tortorella, which is essential if the Flyers wish to be competitive in the future.
Images Source:
