Is Flyers’ John Tortorella eyeing a move from head coach to front office?
Few will argue that Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella isn’t a good coach, but the circus act that comes along with him is something most teams prefer to do without.
Tortorella is known as a bit of a loose cannon, and he often makes headline news with some of his off-the-wall antics such as refusing to leave the bench after being ejected from a game a few weeks ago and calling the NHL a “dumb league” because of its influx of young players.
Tortorella’s sometimes self-destructive reputation is why many believe he’s destined to make the switch from coaching to management in the not-too-distant future, and former Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Doug MacLean believes it could happen as soon as next season.
“It will not surprise me if after this season Tortorella will move into management with the Philadelphia Flyers,” MacLean told the “Capital Decisions” podcast. “I wouldn’t be surprised if [Tortorella] moves up and if (president of hockey operations) Keith Jones and (general manager Daniel) Briere are smart, they’ll move him upstairs, I think.”
Some have wondered if the Flyers brass is growing tired of Tortorella’s act after he made headlines for all the wrong reasons lately. Tortorella healthy scratched captain Sean Couturier — a move that caused quite an uproar on social media — and walked out of a post-game news conference after being asked to assess the performance of goaltender Felix Sandstrom.
MacLean also pointed out that leaving coaching to move to management is something that Tortorella has been considering for some time, dating back to his six-year run as head coach of the Blue Jackets which ended in the middle of the 2020-21 NHL season.
“In his last year in Columbus, he wanted to move into management and move out of coaching, and (former Blue Jackets GM Jarmo) Kekalainen wanted nothing to do with that,” MacLean added. “He wanted him to coach, and at the end of the day it was a mutual parting of the ways.”
MacLean mentioned former St. Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube as a possible replacement for Tortorella as Flyers head coach should he make the switch to a front-office role. Berube has also been linked to head-coaching jobs in New Jersey and Ottawa as well.
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