Elliotte Friedman makes his feelings known on John Tortorella's departure from Flyers

By ARJUN B

Modified Mar 28, 2025 04:06 GMT

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NHL analyst Elliotte Friedman weighed in on the Philadelphia Flyers' decision to fire head coach John Tortorella. Tortorella was let go after the team's 7-2 loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs, their 11th defeat in 12 games.

Speaking on The Fan Hockey Show, Friedman said he initially thought Tortorella's controversial postgame comments were an attempt to deflect attention from the players.

Tortorella was quoted as saying post-game on Tuesday:

"I'm not really interested in learning how to coach in this type of season, where we're at right now." (per NHL.com)

Friedman believes the comments upset many within the organization.

"I think internally there was a lot of hard feeling about the specific comment. I think the players were upset, I think the organization was upset. And I think when everybody slept on it, they just felt that this was the right path."

Friedman added that John Tortorella's firing had been building since the trade deadline when the Flyers sold veteran players instead of adding talent for a playoff push.

"I think, put it this way: It sounds to me that since the trade deadline, when the Flyers subtracted and didn’t add—which they thought was the right thing to do—I think this had kind of been building and culminated in what happened Tuesday night and today."

The Flyers now sit second from the bottom in the Eastern Conference. Friedman noted that GM Daniel Briere and President of Hockey Ops Keith Jones had previously been supportive of Tortorella's demanding coaching style as they believed it was teaching young players what it takes to succeed.

Ultimately, Tortorella's controversial comments and the team's dismal on-ice results led to management deciding a change was needed. Assistant coach Brad Shaw will serve as interim head coach for the rest of the season.

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Flyers GM Daniel Briere credits John Tortorella for building the foundation

Flyers general manager Daniel Briere had words of praise for former head coach John Tortorella despite his firing this season. Briere credited Tortorella for establishing a strong foundation and culture of hard work and resilience during his tenure.

"You've seen this team play hard over the years, they show they have a no-quit attitude ingrained in them," Briere said (per NHL.com). "Torts is a very big reason for that, and for setting that standard over the last three seasons."

Briere acknowledged the team's youth and lack of experience has led to struggles but said he feels good about the core group of players that will help the Flyers moving forward. He preached patience with the rebuild but said he's excited about the team's prospects.

In his long coaching career, John Tortorella won a Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004 and has a 770-648-165 record with 37 ties.