In the midst of a six game losing streak, could a simple disagreement on the Flyers bench be the spark to their season?
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John Tortorella is known for his firey, give & take, coaching style. A style of coaching that is a dying breed in the NHL today.
While there may be reasons why, it is a style that fits certain types of players. Especially ones who where their hearts on their sleeves.
In the 2nd period of last night’s 6-3 loss to the Capitals, Tortorella and Nick Seeler had a disagreement on the Flyers bench. One that led to a pretty heated argument between the two.
The argument lasted a good 30-seconds before Rocky Thompson stepped in to calm the situation down.
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Over his lengthy 24 year coaching career, Tortorella has had an argument or two just like this one during a game before.
But, it is not a bad thing. Just ask Tortorella and Seeler themselves.
“All it is, is two men that care about what’s going on the ice,” Tortorella said when asked about the argument. “We (Seeler & Tortorella) have those once a game. That’s, that’s we’re discussing hockey plays.”
Tortorella added “I love that guy. That stuff is, that is, that’s good for us.”
The play in question was the Capitals third goal of the game. A defensive breakdown at the point between Nick Seeler and Matvei Michkov missing his defensive responsibilities.
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While the two disagreed on the root of the breakdown, it was moment that led to a look at the relationship between the coach and his players.
“That’s two guys who are passionate about winning and kind of have the same mindset and mentality,” Seeler mentioned about the incident. “It’s gonna happen every game, whether it’s me or someone else.”
Seeler added “I think it’s productive. It shows you care and shows he (Tortorella) cares.”
From an outside perceptive, the optics may look bad when a head coach and one of his players have an exchange like this one on the bench. But, for a Tortorella manned bench, it shows they care as Seeler mentioned.
“That’s the type of coach he (Tortorella) is,” Seeler said. “He expects a lot from us, and he expects a lot from himself. That’s all you can ask for as a player.”
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Tortorella has always allowed his players that give and take relationship. It is something that has been mentioned multiple times over this first three years in Philadelphia.
Many of the current Flyers – including some from Tortorella’s teams of old – have relied the same message.
Indirectly looking at it, without any perspective, the spin on it will be in bad view. However, what it really boils down to is having a strong relationship with his players and caring about them.
“You know, we may get in a, you know, a little argument like that, but at the end of the day, he always has our back,” Seeler said. “Every single guy on that bench he cares about and has their back.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Jess Rapfogel – Getty Images
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