Is John Tortorella Still The Right Coach For Flyers’ Rebuild?

When the Philadelphia Flyers resume their schedule Saturday afternoon against the powerful Edmonton Oilers, there are a couple of interesting things about their remaining 25 games.

·      Will Matvei Michkov become the first player in the Flyers’ history to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year?

·      Will this be the swan song for veteran coach John Tortorella?

Let’s take the latter development first.

Tortorella’s team is near the bottom of the Eastern Conference. At 24-26-7, the Flyers are six points out of the last wild-card spot but would have to leapfrog over seven teams to get there.

That’s not likely to happen.

So the Flyers will probably miss the playoffs for the fifth-straight season – the first and only time that has happened since a franchise-record five-year drought from 1989-90 to 1993-94.

Tortorella has presided over the team during the last three years, including a late drop in the standings last season. He coached his 1,600th regular-season NHL game in January.

The Hockey News – Flyers Coach Tortorella Hits Major Milestone Despite The NHL’s Changes In Coaching Style Flyers coach John Tortorella has hit a notable milestone in the coaching business. His hyper-gruff persona masquerades his big heart and evolving coaching talent.

The Flyers are currently just as close to the conference’s last-place team – six points ahead of lowly Buffalo, which has three games in hand – than they are to making the playoffs.

Missing the playoffs isn’t his biggest downfall. Failing to develop young talent is.

Little Development

Tortorella didn’t get much out of Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee, causing the Flyers to deal the former first-round draft picks.

As a whole, the young players on the team haven’t developed much. That might cause GM Daniel Briere to look for another candidate to continue the rebuild.

Tortorella, 66, is finishing his third year of a four-year, $16-million contract. Former GM Chuck Fletcher hired him.

The Boston native recently said the Flyers have to be “dead-on” if they are going to be playing meaningful games down the stretch.

“We have to push as hard as we can to stay competitive,” Tortorella told reporters on Jan. 27. “We don’t have game-breakers. We have to play under a system, and we have to push.”

Injuries have plagued that push because the Flyers have little depth. And the departure of goaltender Carter Hart has magnified the team’s woes.

The Flyers have a slew of early-round draft picks this year – three in the first round, four in the second – and it is doubtful Tortorella will be here for their NHL arrivals.

Under Tortorella, Michkov has had a good but inconsistent rookie season, typical of first-year players. The coach and Michkov have had some rocky moments, especially when Tortorella benched him during a game against the Islanders last month. Tortorella gave Michkov a mouthful on the bench, apparently upset with the rookie winger’s defensive play.

Good for Tortorella. The tough love will make Michkov (minus-15, worst among Flyers forwards) a better player in the long run.

The Hockey News – Building A Champion: How The Flyers’ Core Can Mirror The Eagles’ Super Bowl Formula The Philadelphia Flyers still have some ways to go before having their own parade down Broad Street, but as the Eagles have gone through their own ups and downs and built a bulletproof roster of players many people had discounted and discarded, the Flyers are carving their own path to sustainable success.

Rookie of Year Candidate

Michkov is second among NHL rookies in goals (16) and third in points (36). His future looks very bright.

It’s not Tortorella’s handling of Michkov that has caused the most concern, however. The biggest concern is lack of development from young players, such as Frost, Farabee, Jamie Drysdale and, to a lesser extent, Cam York. Tortorella’s .491 points percentage across three seasons is the lowest of any full-time Flyers coach since Terry Simpson (.476) in 1993-94.

On the positive side, Tortorella has gotten the team to play hard, helping build the culture.

Tortorella won a Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004, but most of his teams have not had long playoff runs. He missed the playoffs 10 out of his 22 seasons (assuming this Flyers team doesn’t make it), and seven of his teams had first-round exits. That means 17 of his teams didn’t win a playoff series.

As for the Flyers, they have won one only playoff series in the last 13 years, if you include 2024-25.

In other words, the problems started long before Tortorella got to Philadelphia – botched draft picks, shaky goaltending and poor trades have contributed to their struggles.

That said, Tortorella’s arrival has done little to change the franchise’s fortune, so a coach with a resume of developing young players might be the next step.

Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.