Philadelphia Flyers fire head coach John Tortorella

The Philadelphia Flyers parted ways with the veteran coach after three years with the team. Tortorella was fired by the Flyers on Thursday before their game against the Montreal Canadiens and after losing 11 of their last 12.

They named Brad Shaw as interim head coach on Thursday, who has led the Flyers to 3 straight wins over the Canadiens, Sabres and Predators.

After Philadelphia’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs last Tuesday, which resulted in a brutal 7-2 loss, reports came out that Tortorella and Flyers’ defenseman Cam York traded disagreeing comments regarding the club’s frustrating season on the bench, which contributed to his firing.

The 24-year-old blueliner spoke about the altercation on Friday.

“I’m not going to get into the details of it,” York said. “I will say this: I take full responsibility for my actions. It’s been addressed here in the locker room. It’s something that I’m going to put behind me and move on from.”

Despite dressing for Thursday’s game against Montreal and not being listed as a healthy scratch, York sat on the bench the whole game and never saw the ice.

Shaw, who made his head coaching debut for Philadelphia on Thursday, commented on the decision to bench York.

“It was just a disciplinary issue,” Shaw said after the game. “I’m not going to go beyond that.”

The decision to relieve Tortorella comes during a strange time with only 9 games remaining in the season and amid yet another rebuilding season for the Flyers. Before they fired their head coach, the team held a 28-36-9 record and sat in last place in the Metropolitan Division.

Flyers general manager Daniel Briere spoke about his time working with Tortorella during a press conference held Thursday evening.

“Torts is a complicated man, he’s a complicated coach,” Briere said. “He’s a blast to work with because he challenges you. I truly believe he made me a better GM. But, myself, Keith Jones, Dan Hilferty, we felt that at this time, it was time to move in a different direction.”

Philadelphia’s roster is loaded with young talent, something that didn’t mix well with the traditional old-school coaching style of Tortorella.

Matvei Michkov, who has been the brightest light for the Flyers in his first season, has seen limited minutes in Tortorella’s tenure, something that has already changed.

The 20-year-old wing averaged 16 minutes of ice time with Tortorella but is now averaging about 20 minutes of ice time with Shaw.

Tortorella spent three seasons with the team and holds an overall record of 97-107-33 with them. He was not able to take the team to the playoffs in any of those three seasons.

Potential candidates for the Flyers' head coaching position include Vancouver Canucks coach and former Flyer Rick Tocchet; Lehigh Valley Phantoms coach and former Flyer Ian Laperrière; and current New York Rangers coach and former Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette.

Gavin Ems is a third-year majoring in digital and print journalism. To contact him, email gje5113@psu.edu.