John Tortorella is a Stanley Cup winning coach and the narrative around him is that he is tough, demanding of his players, and combative with the media. For the most part this is true, however that is what is just seen on the front, but when you really hear what former players say about him, maybe he isn't coming to Philly to tear down the Wells Fargo Center anytime a player turns the puck over or doesn't block a shot.

First let's start with current Philadelphia Flyer Cam Atkinson. The speedy winger had "Torts" as a head coach during some of his years as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Atkinson, clearly a fan of his former coach, saying this last May while still a member of Columbus, "It's going to be very tough to replace John Tortorella, just look at his resume, what he has accomplished and achieved in his entire career." The winger would also go on to say, "That is the culture we have shaped here (in Columbus) and it started with Torts, that trickle down effect with the players and believing and buying in that brick by brick mentality, the leadership group holding everything together and holding everyone accountable..." (Quote is from Sportsnet.ca) Huh? wouldn't you know, here is a player who played under Tortorella as a young guy and valued the way Torts had his expectations for the leaders. What really stands out to me here is the buy in and trickle down comments. Usually in sports when a coach goes to a new team they will bring a couple of players with them from the former team. Not always are they the star players, but they are the players who buy in to the system and have a strong presence in the locker room, and that will get the rest of the team to follow in line. This is something in my opinion that has been lacking with the Flyers since trading away captain Mike Richards.

How about another example of a former player appreciating the "harsh" ways of the coaching style of Torts. Back in 2012 the New York Rangers were featured on the show leading up to the 2012 Winter Classic called, "HBO's 24/7 Flyers Rangers Road to the Winter Classic." During that time Torts was the bench boss for the New York Rangers, who ultimately had their season end in game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. During one of the episodes of the HBO show, former New York D-man Michael Del Zotto had a cameo appearance. At the time, Del Zotto was in his 3rd NHL season and only 21-yers old. "MDZ" had this to say about his former Rangers coach, "Coach Torts is unbelievable, he wears his heart on his sleeve, and if you ask any guy in the dressing room that is what they would prefer. He is going to tell you how it is and sometimes he is brutally honest and some days are tough, but I wouldn't want it any other way." (Quote from HBO 24/7 Flyers Rangers Road to the Winter Classic) Of course we cannot forget that Del Zotto and Tortorella were together for a brief time in Columbus. Again, the defenseman had a lot of praise for his coach.

Now am I say that every player who has ever played for Tortorella has loved the guy? No, absolutely not. Some players can't stand him. But isn't that the same with every coach in every sport? Just look what took place recently with the Bruins. They fired their coach Bruce Cassidy despite him taking the team to the playoffs all 6 years he was there and coming within 1-game of raising the Stanley Cup in 2019. A major part of the team moving on? Some of the players couldn't deal with Cassidy anymore, specifically the younger players. Point of that, is that not everyone will like their coach all the time, and it is the same for everybody, do you always love your boss? What we can all agree on, is that at the end of the day we all want to know where we stand with our boss's and with Tortorella that is the case.

The biggest factor to me about bringing in a coach like John Tortorella is the fact that he will demand his players play hard and physical, as well as the accountability factor. Cam Atkinson just said it at his year end press conference the Flyers need to have more "F*** you" to their game. Well if you look at how Torts' teams play, the Flyers will get that. But the accountability factor is what I am excited for. Going back to former head coach Dave Hakstol through the recently fired Alain Vigneault, how many times would we have to watch the Flyers fail to clear the zone, or right after scoring a goal not doing the little things right and giving up a goal almost immediately? My hope is that Tortorella will hold the players accountable in all aspects of the game. John Tortorella doesn't care about your age, your stature with the team, or how much you make, he cares about you playing the right way and if you do that you will see the ice. So yes, he will expect the players to play hard, block shots, and he will be demanding on the players and not to any excuses, but isn't that as fans what we want? How many more times do we have to hear players saying after games, "We can be better, or We have to change this." but they never do. We get fed the same lines over and over again from this team. IT IS TIME TO SHAKE IT UP!

Now do I think Torts brings a cup to Philadelphia next season? No, and neither should you, no coach with a new team should have those expectations when you are coming off the franchise's arguably worst 2-years. I think Tortorella will bring the "Flyers brand" of hockey back to Broad Street. You will see players defend each other on and off the ice, honestly, something we haven't seen in quite some time.

At the end of the day we all want the same thing with the Flyers, to end this Stanley Cup drought. Will it happen next season, most likely no, but the foundation of a team that is hard to play against and does the little things right will begin to form.

Photo credit - Tampa Bay Times

Amy Irvin/ The Hockey Writers

Anthony Varrasso - Olde City Sports Network/ Flyers Alley/ Off the Rails Podcast