There’s no denying John Tortorella is a great hockey coach. There’s also no denying he’s a real character, known for his sassy remarks and confrontational nature.
Tortorella is the current head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, but he’s previously been on the bench for the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Vancouver Canucks. During his years in the league, he led a team to one Stanley Cup, the Tampa Bay Lightning, in 2004.
Tortorella is a controversial figure in hockey. You either love him or hate him, but you can’t argue that he’s absolutely hilarious. When Tortorella talks to the media, you just never know what will happen.
He’s not afraid to speak up when he feels someone has done something wrong, and he’s not shy in criticizing his own players and members of the media. But at the same time, Torts is great at lifting ones he feels deserve it.
Everyone loves a John Tortorella story, and earlier this week, former NHLer John Scott shared one of the best we’ve heard. Scott, who, after an online campaign, was named captain in the 2016 NHL All-Star Game, was traded to the New York Rangers in 2012.
John Tortorella was the head coach for the Rangers back then, but as it turned out, it wasn’t really on his initiative that Scott had been brought in.
In fact, Torts didn’t even know it happened until he saw Scott in the hallway of the rink.
”My first day, I got to the rink early to make a good first impression,” Scott wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
”Ran into Torts in the hallway. He looked at me and asked what I was doing there. He had no idea that Sather had traded for me.
”He was like, ’Alright… No idea what we’re gonna do with you, though.’”
Scott only played six games with the Rangers. The following season, he joined the Buffalo Sabres, where he stayed for two years. After one season with the San Jose Sharks, followed by twelve games with the Arizona Coyotes and Montreal Canadiens, he retired.
