NHL Reveals The Reason John Tortorella Had to Be Suspended for Two Games

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Dawson McKenzie
March 11, 2024 (4:22 PM)

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John Tortorella recently made a mockery of NHL officials with his refusal to leave the bench after being ejected, and the NHL just revealed why he had to be suspended.

John Tortorella Suspended for Refusing to Leave Game

The Philadelphia Flyers went down early to the Washington Capitals the other day, and this resulted in John Tortorella losing his marbles on an official. After being ejected for yelling at the refs, Tortorella refused to leave the bench, causing some chaos during the game.

John Tortorella is livid after getting ejected from the game...

Tortorella is well known for his anger and not being afraid to show it, however, this was on another level. Blatantly ignoring an official's direct order is on another level than just disagreeing with a call.

NHL Reveals Justification For 2 Game Suspension of Tortorella

The NHL and Gary Bettman were obviously not happy with what went down, and for that reason suspended Tortorella for 2 games. They said they did not want this to be a precedent for other Coaches to follow.

NHL told PHI that Tortorella set a dangerous precedent by refusing to leave the bench.

But fair to question the handling by the officials - a rookie who struggled dealing with an emotional game and a veteran who felt pressure to take control & (possibly) overreacted.

Elliotte Friedman took to his social media to state his opinion, saying that he wants the Officials to come out and say what was said to them.

Either way, this was an interesting event to see what would happen when someone didn't listen to an official. Do you think that the suspension was justified?

As seen on Hockey Patrol - "Gary Bettman and the NHL Reveal Why John Tortorella Received Such a Significant Punishment"