Bruins can officially add another name to their potential head coaching search
Barring something downright miraculous to end this current season, which has become beyond lost, the Boston Bruins are almost certainly going to be looking for a new head coach this spring.
And on Thursday, their pool of potential candidates grew, with the Flyers and veteran head coach John Tortorella officially parting ways after almost three full seasons together.
“Today I made the very difficult decision to move on from John as our head coach,” Flyers general manager Danny Briere said in a statement confirming the decision Thursday. “John played a vital role in our rebuild. He set a standard of play and re-established what it means to be a Philadelphia Flyer.
“John’s passion on the bench was only equaled by his charitable work in our community. As we move into the next chapter of this rebuild, I felt this was the best for our team to move forward. I’d like to thank John for his tireless work and commitment to the Flyers.”
Briere’s decision to move on from Tortorella also came just two days after Tortorella took the blame in what was a minute-plus postgame availability following a 7-2 loss to the Maple Leafs.
“When you’re in this type of situation where you’re losing all the time and there’s nothing at the end of the tunnel for you, there’s certainly going to be some frustration, but this falls on me,” Tortorella said following the defeat, which was good for the sixth straight loss for the Flyers. “I’m not really interested in learning how to coach in this type of season where we’re at right now. But I have to do a better job, so this falls on me getting the team prepared to play the proper way until we get to the end.”
In his almost three full years in Philly, Tortorella compiled a 97-107-33 record, with a .479 point percentage that ranked 27th in the NHL. And with the Flyers being a rebuilder over that span, it’s tough to get a complete picture of what went well for the club. But among the notable figures over the Torts-in-Philly era, the Flyers ranked dead last in power-play percentage (13.8 percent), and had the second-worst team save percentage (.900) in hockey over his 237 games behind the bench.
A hockey lifer with involvement in the NHL dating back to 1989, Tortorella re-enters the job market having taken off just two seasons (2014-15 and 2021-22) as an NHL head coach since the year 2000. Tortorella also possesses one of the more impressive resumes among active head coaches, with the ninth-most wins in NHL history (770), two Jack Adams wins, and a Stanley Cup in 2004.
In addition to his duties with the Flyers, Tortorella also served as an assistant on Mike Sullivan’s staff for Team USA during the recent 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in Montreal and Boston.
There’s also the local connection that comes with the 66-year-old Tortorella, who was born in Boston, went to high school at Concord-Carlisle, and later played college hockey at the University of Maine. And based on his comments following that loss to the Leafs, Tortorella could want something closer to a ‘win now’ team at this stage of his career and life, which is something the Bruins aim to be as soon as next year despite a 2025 trade deadline headlined by selling off notable pieces.
But is Tortorella a legitimate option for the Bruins? That much is hard to tell right now.
Tortorella will always demand an awful lot out of his players, and that may be what the Bruins need to get back to their roots after going with a player-friendly coach like Jim Montgomery.
But Tortorella’s messaging doesn’t always hit with a 100 percent success rate, as made apparent by his one year-run with the Canucks. That messaging and approach has softened over time (and Tortorella’s players will always tell you how much they loved and appreciated playing for him), but it’s also possible that the Bruins are going to aim for someone with a more offensive mind as the team tries to reverse course from their 2024 offseason. Boston’s deadline moves told you as much with actions, really, as the Bruins clearly targeted players who play with more speed and skill than brawn and tenacity.
At the very least, though, Tortorella is another option potentially in the mix for general manager Don Sweeney and president Cam Neely in a coaching market that’s still short of clear-cut, absolute No. 1 contenders as the Black and Gold’s next head coach as of late March.
