Does Tortorella Hold All the Cards in the Flyers Organization?

On June 17th, 2022, the Flyers announced hiring John Tortorella as their new head coach. After several years of disappointing results, I believed that Tortorella would make a significant difference for this organization, given his unique brand of hockey, which differs from previous Flyers' versions.

During his tenure with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Columbus, Vancouver, and New York, Tortorella instilled accountability in players, often making headlines through benchings or public call-outs to make them understand that he was in charge.


Admittedly, some of these actions were a bit excessive. However, that's par for the course when you hire John Tortorella as your head coach.


I liked this hiring is Tortorella is a hockey teacher who wants his team to play the game according to his vision, which emphasizes a defensive-first style.

By taking care of the defence, the offence will naturally follow, thanks to the talented forwards. He holds players accountable but also praises them when they give their all and try their best. Even if the team isn't consistently winning, as long as players adhere to his rules and strategies and the games are close, he won't publicly criticize them.

That being said, the Flyers' leadership in management lacks experience at this level. It raises the question: Does John Tortorella hold all the cards in the Flyers organization? I believe he does, especially since he is in the second year of his four-year contract. Additionally, after hiring Keith Jones and promoting Danny Briere to general manager full-time, they've also involved Tortorella in the decision-making process.

I feel this approach will benefit the Flyers as they continue to build their roster during this rebuilding phase. I also believe that Tortorella will remain in charge for the foreseeable future. As the team develops and matures, they will need a head coach who handles the star players and maintain discipline as winning becomes more common and playoff appearances become routine.

It will be intriguing to see how the Flyers perform this season, with many players returning to the team and some previously injured players, including Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson, making their comebacks.