A video emerged of the coach laying into Flyers rookie Bobby Brink. Tortorella seemed to be upset at the 22-year-old after his mistake lead to the Capitals scoring the go-ahead goal late in the second period.
Fans had a mixed reaction to this. Some stand behind the coach's tactics as they believe tough love is the right way to treat young players. After all, he will certainly remember this incident and likely try not to replicate it.
However, other fans saw this as workplace abuse and believe the coach should be reprimanded. Needless to say, this is not the first incident of Tortorella being particularly passionate behind the bench during an NHL game.
All of that being said, the Flyers are in a pickle as the trade deadline is now less than a week away. The team remains in 3rd place in the metropolitan division, but they are already behind multiple teams in the Atlantic in the wild card race. As such, they must hold their current position to secure a playoff spot and the Capitals, Islanders, Devils, and Penguins are all within striking distance. This problem was made worse with the Flyers loss to the Capitals last night.
Furthermore, the team is reportedly considering trading some key assets at the deadline. This would make their path to the playoffs extremely difficult should they move players like Sean Walker or Nick Seeler, both of whom have been in rumors.
Regardless, it will certainly be a very interesting trade deadline, if not a rather upsetting one, for Flyers fans. Only time will show who stays and who goes.
POLL | ||
What is your opinion of Torts? | ||
Good coach, questionable person | 218 | 39.6 % |
Good coach, good person | 208 | 37.7 % |
Bad coach, questionable person | 103 | 18.7 % |
Bad coach, good person | 22 | 4 % |
List of polls |