John Tortorella Was The Flyers’ First Choice For Coach: Chuck Fletcher

GM Chuck Fletcher says John Tortorella is the right coach at the right time to turn around the Philadelphia Flyers.

Don’t use the word ‘culture’ when you talk about the changes that John Tortorella will bring to the Philadelphia Flyers.

“I just call it standard,” said the Flyers’ new head coach, who spoke to the media for the first time via videoconference from his home in Connecticut on Friday.

“I want our guys to be proud of themselves and I want our fans to be proud of us — how we look, how we present ourselves, how we attack the game, how we handle situations in the blue paint. If you’re talking about on the ice, how we stick up for one another in certain situations. I want people to feel proud of that.”

Tortorella, who turns 64 on June 24, is a 20-year NHL head coaching veteran. He sits 13th all-time with 1,383 games coached with the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks and Columbus Blue Jackets. Four times, he has been named a finalist for the Jack Adams award as coach of the year. He won twice — when he guided the Lightning to the Stanley Cup in 2004 and with the Blue Jackets in 2017.

The Right Coach At This Time

Tortorella’s track record and his well-defined approach pushed him to the top of the Flyers’ list of potential new bench bosses. An outside search firm, The Coaches Agency, was engaged to help draw up an ideal candidate profile.

“We were looking for an experienced, respected coach, preferably somebody with extensive NHL head coaching experience,” outlined Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher. “Somebody with a lengthy track record of success. We were looking for somebody that had a demonstrated ability to introduce structure and reduce goals against, improve penalty killing, make life easier for our goaltenders.

“We were looking for somebody with a proven ability to hold players accountable to a high standard of conduct on and off the ice, standard of play, the standard of team orientation. A standard of what you put into your game. We were looking for somebody with a proven ability to develop young players. Somebody with strong communication skills.

“And I think, deep down, there are a lot of demanding coaches in the NHL. But ultimately, players will respond if they know you’re demanding in the sense that you care about them. You want what’s best for them. You’re not being demanding for yourself — you’re being demanding to make the player better and to make the team better. Nobody personifies that more than John Tortorella.”

Fletcher flatly kiboshed reports that he had been overruled in the decision-making process and that he wasn’t on board with Tortorella’s hiring.

“John was absolutely my first choice,” he said. “It was my decision. I think if you spoke with Danny (Briere) or Brent (Flahr) or Dean Lombardi, they would concur that he was the right candidate at this time for the Philadelphia Flyers.

“In terms of all the reports out there, you shouldn’t trust everything you read.”

Player Interviews Start Next Week

Careful not to criticize his predecessors, Tortorella was also reluctant to get into many specifics about the lineup that he’s inheriting at this time.

He knows he has one supporter in Cam Atkinson, who he coached in Columbus.

LFG!!!!!!!!!!!! https://t.co/LPWhNdOr68

— Cam Atkinson (@CamAtkinson89) June 17, 2022

Atkinson spoke highly of Tortorella’s approach with the Blue Jackets at his season-ending media conference. He could turn out to be a valuable liaison, helping his teammates understand what’s now expected of them and why they should buy in.

Speaking about Kevin Hayes, Tortorella offered a glimpse into how he operates.

“Kevin was one of my first calls today when I got back from Philly,” he said. “I’m really interested in talking to Kevin; Kevin is one that I’m anxious to work with because I think there’s more there. I think he’s a huge piece of the puzzle in the middle of the ice for this organization.

“I’m going to try to talk to him right away and I’m going to be interested to hear what he has to say,” he added. “I hear he’s a tremendous guy, and I want to try to help him and make him understand that we’re going to try to get him to another level.

“What does he do for the Flyers organization up the middle of the ice? I’ve watched him from afar and there’s more there. It’s my responsibility to try to get that out.”

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Success Starts Away From the Puck

How does Tortorella plan to set his new standard in Philadelphia?

“The bottom line is, I want the team to be hard,” he said. “I think we need to present ourselves — look harder coming off the bus, coming into buildings. I want other teams to say ‘You know what, we’ve got our hands full tonight.’

“It starts with teaching play away from the puck. And we’ll go through some experiences as you go through it, and that’s when you start becoming who you are. The trick for the coaching staff is to get individuals to do that, and then you get them to join in as a team.

“That’s when you have a group of men that you know, when you go in that locker room, there’s belief and there’s some hardness.

“We’ve got to grow some skin. And it goes through a lot of these different experiences that we’ll go through as we start our camp.”

As Tortorella fills out his coaching staff, he’ll be looking for an assistant with some offensive chops.

“Chuck and I are going to do this together,” he said. “That’s ongoing right now, we’re just starting.

“We want a guy that’s going to help us on our power play,” he added. “I’d like to couple a power-play guy into a coach that can also be with an offensive guy and help him along the way, maybe individually.

“I mean, who the hell am I to sit down with an offensive guy who sees the ice the way these guys do, and try to help them? I want some help there.”

The work begins next week.