Will John Tortorella Get Another NHL Head Coaching Job?

Today the news broke that the Philadelphia Flyers have fired 66 year old veteran head coach John Tortorella as Brad Shaw becomes the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. But following Tortorella’s firing, could the Flyers have been the last place that Torts is an NHL head coach?

Tortorella spent just about three years with the Flyers, and in that time had a 97-107-33 record with the struggling team. Tortorella is known for his old school, disciplinary tactics, but following an extremely rough period of play, and results and one ice play that cannot be ignored, the former Stanley Cup winning coach may have come to an end of his head coaching time in the NHL.

Being one of the biggest names in coaching, Tortorella has had his fair share of problems in terms of line chemistry, player discipline, and military-like approach to his players, something many NHL general managers may consider an extreme approach. Although there is always room for strict and hardcore coaching, Tortorella demonstrated this year his overly exaggerated aggression towards discipl;ining players, and the extreme methods he took to ensure hockey was played his way. Torttorela infamously took a disliking to Matvei Michkov’s flash style of play, resulting in a few healthy scratches for the young Russia, as a way of ensuring his play fits the system. Similarly with the current situation around Owen Tippett, Tortorella has played the tenured Flyer on the fourth line as a way of punishment for bad play, but benching and giving less ice time to your best players isn't the best impression to make.

Despite being a stellar coach during the 2010s, Torts may never find himself with the title of head coach again as his methods may seem outdated to general managers. Teams in this modern era prefer to play a creative, fun, and fluid style of play, whereas Torts prefers a vintage, hard hitting, and old school aggressive style of play, something which won't appeal in the rapidly growing modern era. It's no doubt Tortorella is a perfect asset for a coaching staff, but as a head coach, Torts’ once cup winning methods, may be a problem for his future in the NHL.