Love Him or Hate Him, John Tortorella is Building a Foundation for the Flyers

In nearly a quarter century of being around the sport of hockey on the regular, I’ve heard a lot of things said about John Tortorella.

Hell, I’ve been present for two of his more memorable outbursts.

I was in the press scrum during the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals when he told then-Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock to “Shut your yap,” for chirping his Tampa Bay Lightning players:

I was also in the scrum in the bowels of the Wells Fargo Center after the Flyers shut out the Rangers in a game in 2010 when Torts had one of his classic spars with incendiary New York Post columnist Larry Brooks.

And I can’t tell you how many people in the sport have whined about Torts being an egomaniac, or how he makes certain relationships with players he rides hard personal, or that he’s a dinosaur who hasn’t done anything in the league in 20 years.

There are those who are tired of his brash personality, those who think his antics are not genuine but are just for show. That he wants everything to be all about him.

And now there are those that argue that his old school mentality is the wrong type of leadership for a rebuilding team and that the Flyers organization is putting too much faith in the guy and giving him way more control than he should have.

I was speaking to a league source recently that said, “I don’t understand what the Flyers are doing giving Torts that big a say in their organization. He’s only focused on the here and now, he’s not looking out for the organization’s long-term.”

And frankly, that last one is the only argument against Torts that I hear that I also understand. It’s the only one that I can sit back and think, yeah, I can see that’s a slippery slope to try and traverse without crashing from tumbling over your skis.

Because yes, it’s possible that with the way Torts coaches for the moment can lead to longer-term repercussions. But that’s where perspective comes in for the Flyers management. It’s one thing for Torts to coach with his hair on fire, get his team to buy into playing the same way, and hang around the playoff standings, and it’s another to convince yourself that you should be all-in, going for it too soon.

That’s where I think the rubber hits the road for this team.

Yes, they’re playing a fun and spirited brand of hockey. It was on display this weekend as they won on back-to-back nights in Anaheim and Los Angeles, with the latter game being especially impressive, taking down a very good and rested Kings team 4-2 on their home ice just a week after L.A. manhandled the Flyers 5-0 at Wells Fargo.

Through 15 games the Flyers are earning a lot of respect around the league for the way they play. At 7-7-1, they likely have a better record than most people expected to this point.

Kings coach Todd McClellan called them a “character team” and that was last week when his squad shut them out:

What a play by Tyson Foerster man. Cam Atkinson having 8 goals this year is sick. pic.twitter.com/yClueWf10X

— TLY (@TheLibertyYell) November 12, 2023

Torts has the Flyers believing in themselves. They did it in L.A. with Cal Petersen putting on a sensational goaltending performance as an emergency fill-in for Carter Hart, who was supposed to return to the lineup from his mid-body injury this weekend, but fell ill on the trip and missed both games. They did it with two AHL defensemen playing on the blue line. They did it with a power play that has been putrid all season. They did it with a couple of younger players who have not played up to snuff, coming through with two-goal games – first Owen Tippett on Friday in Anaheim and then Morgan Frost in L.A. on Saturday.

They are doing it with defensemen activating themselves with more frequency in the lineup and getting rewarded with more points. Travis Sanheim is fifth in the NHL in points by defensemen with 14. Further down the lineup, guys like Sean Walker and Louie Belpedio have provided a little offense while guys like Nick Seeler and Yegor Zamula lead the team with a plus-9. Yes, I know plus/minus isn’t the greatest indicator of good defense, but when you’ve been on the ice at even strength for nine more goals than you’ve given up in 15 games, it’s definitely a positive.

And the team is playing for each other. You usually don’t block 20 shots in a game on the second night of a back-to-back on the road in November. But these Flyers did. They put their bodies on the line for a couple points:

Owen Tippett with three goals over the last two periods. pic.twitter.com/W7J04jCnVq

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) November 12, 2023

Management can’t fall in love with that too quickly. The self-evaluation is important. If you know who you are, you won’t fall into the trap of making moves at the wrong times and putting the organization in a bind.

But, you can enjoy the process of getting to that point and let whatever is happening happen organically.

Which brings me back to Torts.

I’ve indicated some of the negative things I’ve heard about him in my time in the league, but for all the bitching and complaining about him, the one thing I’ve never heard anyone say is, the guy is a bad coach.

That’s because they can’t. And he’s not. In fact, he’s just the opposite.

Even after a win, he made some lineup changes. Bobby Brink, who got off to such a fast start, was leaking a little oil. So, he took a seat, Ryan Poehling moved back into the lineup in a bigger role, and Noah Cates, who also has struggled some, was put down onto the fourth line, hoping to jump start him with some energy. Zamula also got off his skates for a night so Victor Mete could make his Flyers debut. Both Poehling and Mete were fine in their roles, but what it did is it elevated others to play well.

Walker has been quietly and consistently good for the Flyers all season. He was viewed as just a stopgap for the Flyers in the Ivan Provorov trade, but he’s been better than that. Why? Because he’s bought in to Torts and his style.

A guy that hasn’t quite bought into the coach, but who excels when he plays the way the coach wants him to is Frost. And while one of his two goals was pure luck, as a pass from behind the net, banked off a Kings player’s skate and caromed backward into the net, the other came from a willingness to go to the area in front of the net where guys his size usually get creamed, and he was rewarded with a deflection goal:

MORGAN FROST DOES IT AGAIN!! HIS 2ND GOAL OF THE PERIOD. GREAT DEFLECTION INFRONT. 3-0.#PHIvsLAK | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/9Q4XAurTAc

— Flyers Clips (@Flyers_Clips) November 12, 2023

The relationship between he and Torts has been, well, frosty. He’s played in eight games and been scratched for seven. It’s been argued that Torts being hard on Frost is personal – and maybe it has been.

Maybe, from Torts’ perspective, Frost got too comfortable with a strong finish to a bad season last year, and by taking so long to sign his new contract, he missed out on some time practicing with his teammates in unofficial practices before training camp began. The Flyers did discuss trading Frost this summer – even as late as during training camp right after he signed. Ultimately, they didn’t and he’s still here.

But I had a source tell me that Frost was advised to hold out longer and chose not to. That it was his decision to accept less money on his deal so he could be at training camp on time. That he wanted to be there for his teammates and prove that he can be a reliable contributor for a full season.

So, it depends on how you want to view it, but Torts certainly made Frost his first poster boy for bad play after a poor game in Ottawa in the second game of the season. The team played well while Frost was scratched and he couldn’t get back into the lineup. When he finally did, he looked tentative – like he didn’t want to make a mistake to piss off Torts again.

It was noticeable, and he got benched again. This time though, Torts could have taken several guys out of the lineup instead of Frost. It seemed like it was going too far. Frost had to feel like he was being burned by the Flyers for letting this happen again. He took less money. He got into camp on time. He did what he was asked to do in the offseason. And they let Torts do his thing anyway.

But since the second scratching, Frost has played with a bit more fire in his belly. He’s created more chances. He’s hunted pucks when the opposition has had them with more fervor. And, of course, he’s scored a couple of goals.

Maybe that jump starts his season. Maybe that’s the kick in the ass he needed.

And maybe – just maybe –  Tortorella knows what he is doing.

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