John Tortorella has an energy level that’s palpable.
And after spending last season as an analyst for ESPN following six seasons as coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, he now feels he’s right back where he belongs: Getting ready for the start of training camp and a new season with an NHL team.
“It’s much more exciting for me because I haven’t been in a locker room in over a year,” Tortorella said. “It’s where I grew up. It’s where I’ve been. I’ve brought my family up there. I wasn’t sure at the end of Columbus what was next. Is this enough for me? But I knew a month out When the season started, I knew not being in camp, not in the meetings, not having the conflict with the players and the good stuff with the players, not hearing the music after a win, I missed it terribly.”
In 20 seasons as a coach, Tortorella is 673-541-132 with 37 ties with the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks and Blue Jackets. He won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004, and the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year in 2004 and 2017.
Despite being 64 years old, Tortorella has as much energy as ever. Training camp, which opens on Sept. 21, has been planned since the week he was hired.
“I got my old camp from Columbus, and just kind of sat in my office there when I got the job and I wanted to get everything organized right away,” he said. “And now we’re just fine-tuning that.
“I’m asking my players to have a readiness, I need to have a readiness, too.”
NHL.com caught up with Tortorella to discuss several topics, including the change in mindset and standards that come with his arrival, where he draws motivation, his relationship with defenseman Tony DeAngeloand more.
Do you think the players have an understanding of what the expectation level will be, starting with training camp?
“No, I don’t. That’s certainly not a criticism to them. They don’t know because we haven’t gone through any experiences. They haven’t gone through camp, they haven’t gone through some of the mental and physical tests that we’re going to go through in camp. We haven’t gone through any adversity when the season starts. … I don’t like using the word culture. To build to play the right way, with the right standard, you have to go through some experiences and teach them, ‘Geez, that was really good,’ and then, ‘Holy [cow], that is not good enough,’ with video, with conversations, with all sorts of ways, and spontaneous coaching, quite honestly, when things happen, good and bad. That’s how you create a standard. You and I and me and the players could sit here and talk all summer long about what the standard is. That means nothing until you start going through some of the things and then see how they react to it.”
Cam Atkinson played for you for six seasons with the Blue Jackets. Is that something he can help the players with?
“I think right off the get-go with Cam, just explaining … the readiness that’s needed for camp. I don’t want them to fail. I don’t want to be upset about their level of conditioning. I’m trying to give them as much information as I possibly can. The third day after I was hired, a letter went out (to the players) and told them what’s going to be expected. I want to give them every chance to succeed and meet the expectation of a training camp. Cam has gone through it, he can explain that to them. And the thing with Cam is, it wasn’t a great road for him at certain times with me as far as camp, in the season, standard of play. We went through some rocky roads together. He can help me that way, too, and explain how it’s going to be taught, how we’re going to go about this. I think he’s a very important guy for me, for it’s quicker for them to understand.”
Most of the roster is coming back from last season. Does that make it more challenging to establish those new standards?
“I’m not convincing them. I’m going to tell them what we’re looking for. We’re going to push to that level, and if some guys aren’t willing to get there, or maybe there’s some stubbornness about getting there, we’ll look to someone else. We’ll look to kids if it’s the older guys. I’m going in there, and I think it should be a really, really good thing for the players to know that it’s a blank sheet. I’m not going to look at salary, I’m not going to look at draft pick, I’m not going to look at how many years you’ve played, I’m going to look at how you play , and I’m going to give you every opportunity to show that. They’re the ones that are going to make the decisions for me. If I have to convince, then we don’t want that guy on the bus.”
Defenseman Tony DeAngelo was the Flyers’ biggest acquisition. Is the power play where he’ll have the biggest impact?
“Absolutely, but he’s going to add juice to our team all over the place. There’s a lot of talk about how he’s handled himself; I’m sure he knows he’s made some mistakes. We’ve all made mistakes publicly with our mouths and our actions in life, but the thing I love about Tony is I may have to tame him at certain times, but I’d much rather have a player that has that intensity and that will that he shows and the competitiveness that he shows. ‘ll do some stupid stuff, and he’s going to say some stupid stuff, but we’ll work through it together. He may have to be tamed at certain times, but I think that’s what this team needs. I think the team needs a A little bit of personality and a little bit of that [stuff] that goes on with it. He’s going to be a huge part of our power play as far as the way he can handle the puck, the way he comes across the blue line. Just the way he plays, he’s a huge piece to the puzzle here.”
With Ryan Ellis likely out to start the season, can you rely on DeAngelo as a top-pair defenseman at 5-on-5?
“Yes. I think he’s going to be willing to try to understand our coverages. That’s what I was so upset about, how some things were said this summer, and I don’t think they were totally directed at Tony, but I’m thrilled with that acquisition because I think he can be a better player, too. And I think he has the mindset that he wants to be better away from the puck, on the defensive side, because he knows if he is, he’s going to have it more. Part of that responsibility is us trying to communicate that to him and teach him that part of the game. I know we’re going to have some run-ins along the way here because of how competitive he is, and I’ m going to be very honest with him through all situations, just like I do every other player. I look forward to that. I think that is so healthy. If you’re honest with one another, and then you get around maybe a conflict here and there, but you get to the other side, I think it’s so much healthier for your team when you go through that. I look forward to coaching him.”
There seems to be a feeling that the Flyers will struggle to contend for the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season. How much motivation can you draw from trying to prove everyone wrong?
“I’ve heard the comments. We make our own bed. When you’re a 61-point team (25-46-11 last season) in the National Hockey League, you’ve got to understand you’ve got to eat some of this stuff here. But in my mind, as I hear it, and I hear it again and I hear it again, and I’ll hear it many more times when the season starts, I know what it does for me as far as the fuel for me. More importantly, it’s the players. … If you keep on hearing that, and you’re putting that [jersey] on and they’re talking about you and your organization, if that doesn’t give you a little bit of extra [fuel], then you’re not going to be on the bus. Because it’ll eventually show in camp.
“I watched that Michael Jordan series (“The Last Dance”). … If you want to be the best you can be as a coach, as a manager, as a player, I think you look for things. I do. I look for things to hate. Michael Jordan did it to get his game to a level. It was so cool to listen to in that show. And I think that’s very important if you want to be the best you can be. You can always be good If you want to be great, you need to find those extra motivations, and we’ve got one staring right in our face. Everybody thinks we [stink]”
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