Elliotte Friedman speculates real reason behind John Tortorella's surprising fallout with Philadelphia Flyers

By Ankit Kumar

Modified Mar 31, 2025 17:56 GMT

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NHL insider Elliotte Friedman has shared details about John Tortorella’s surprising exit from the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers fired Tortorella on Thursday. On Monday's episode of the "32 Thoughts" podcast, Friedman said that the fallout was due to a heated verbal dispute.

"Well, I don't think it was physical or anything," Friedman said. "One thing you look into in this day and age is (if) there (are) any like, investigation or issue that's going to come out of this. And I've been told 'No, that's not the case,' that it was just a really intense verbal dispute that didn't go into anything that was going to go any further than that."

Tortorella coached the Flyers for nearly three seasons, with a record of 97-107-33. His tough coaching style sometimes led to conflicts with players. He benched Matvei Michkov despite his strong offensive play. Earlier this season, he was suspended for two games and fined $50,000 for arguing with referees.

According to Friedman, tensions had been rising since the trade deadline. A disagreement between Tortorella and defenseman Cam York brought things to a breaking point.

"I think it's pretty clear now that since the trade deadline, it just like things kind of just soured between the Flyers and Tortorella, the direction and where things were going," Friedman said. "And while the comments brought it all to a head, and the argument between York and Tortorella brought it all to a head. I think it's pretty clear to me that there was a lot bubbling under the surface.

"I think it was just an accumulation of a whole bunch of things and but that last night in Toronto, between the comments and the disagreement, I just think that just brought it all in the pot boiled over."

Philadelphia named Brad Shaw as interim head coach. Shaw has experience coaching with the Canucks, Blue Jackets and Islanders but the Flyers are also looking for a permanent coach.

Flyers GM Daniel Briere's statement on John Tortorella's firing

Philadelphia Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said that the decision to fire John Tortorella was based on multiple issues over the past few weeks. He called it "rock bottom" for the team and hoped it was a turning point.

"I felt it was time," Briere said on Friday, via NHL.com. "You're going to ask me, is there one thing that happened? It's not one thing. It's a series of things that have happened, and probably a little bit more in the last three weeks, that has escalated since probably around the Trade Deadline, right after that."

Before Tortorella's firing, the Flyers had lost 11 of their last 12 games, including a 7-2 defeat to the Toronto Maple Leafs.