During the off season, I wondered whether or not John Tortorella–notorious hard ass and infamous win-now coach–was the correct coaching choice to lead this Flyers team through a rebuild. That article was written in the wake of the Tony DeAngelo buyout/flubbed trade, the unceremonious trade of Kevin Hayes, and the drafting of high-skill prospect Matvei Michkov; it looked like Torts was sculpting the Flyers roster in his image, and that his old-school approach put the rebuild in jeopardy–especially with high-octane players Michkov and Cutter Gauthier on the way.
Well, here we are about halfway through the 2023-24 season, and one thing is clear: Torts has shown he’s got what it takes to coach a rebuilding club.