"It was too much last night" - Bruce Boudreau lashes out at John Tortorella's recent outbursts as Flyers HC

By Ankit Kumar

Modified Apr 05, 2024 11:00 GMT

Former NHL head coach Bruce Boudreau has criticized the behavior of Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella. He suggests that his controversial actions may be reaching a tipping point.

Tortorella has ruffled feathers throughout the season, most notably by scratching captain Sean Couturier for consecutive games.

Additionally, his post-game comments following an overtime loss to the New York Islanders drew criticism for his blunt assessment of the team's performance.

Boudreau, an analyst with TSN, drew on his extensive experience as a player and a coach and emphasized how constant criticism and public scrutiny can wear on a team.

"I'll get into this," Boudreau said via hockeyfeed.com, "but who am I to critique, quite frankly, one of the most successful coaches in the league? But I'll say this. I played for 18 years, and after a while, to me, it starts to go in one ear and out the other."

Boudreau criticized Tortorella for publicly calling out players and castigating the team:

"You've given them crap, you've scratched your captain, and to hear that the coach said nobody played well and there was only one guy; and the only reason he said the one guy, the big goalie, is because he just got there and doesn't want to come down on him too early.

"On the other hand, no one knows the room like he does. He knows how far he can push these guys, and he thinks he can push them further. From an outsider looking in, I think they've been pushed enough. ... I think it was too much last night.

"I just don't think that's the right way to go about it."

Is John Tortorella pushing the Philadelphia Flyers too far?

Bruce Boudreau acknowledged the coach's intimate knowledge of the locker room dynamics and his ability to gauge how far he can push his players. However, from an outsider's perspective, Boudreau suggested that John Tortorella may have pushed his team too far with his recent outbursts.

"When I watched that, I said, 'Oh no, here we go again. What's he doing?'" Boudreau said.

John Tortorella's aggressive approach has been scrutinized amid a challenging season for the Philadelphia Flyers. When his approach yields results, it isn't scrutinized too closely, but on a losing streak, people start to pay attention.