'I love this opportunity': John Tortorella eager to reshape Flyers' identity

It was opening nighttime for the Philadelphia Flyers, and pessimism swirled up of the Thursday nighttime crippled against the New Jersey Devils. Forward Joel Farabee checked Twitter earlier arriving to the rink.

"Everyone is already saying our play is done," Farabee said. "No 1 believes successful america but ourselves."

A clip of John Tortorella is making the rounds connected the internet, arsenic a newsman asked if the manager recovered thing the Flyers are bully astatine and tin perchance physique an individuality around.

"No," Tortorella said.

Then came the pregame instauration astatine Wells Fargo Arena successful Philadelphia. When injured defenseman Ryan Ellis' sanction was announced, the assemblage erupted successful boos.

Welcome to beingness successful a metropolis with unrelenting passionateness -- wherever patience is not a luxury its sports teams enjoy. The Flyers cognize they can't hide. The enactment has travel to presumption with its reality.

The 2021-22 play was dismal. "There was a brainsick magnitude of adversity we faced," wide manager Chuck Fletcher said. "And we didn't grip it well, to enactment it mildly."

Added seasoned Cam Atkinson: "There were things that went connected past twelvemonth that I didn't appreciate. ... It was a spot of a state nine feel."

Initially, Fletcher said helium believed his squad was hamstrung by a bid of unfortunate events -- including astir 500 antheral games mislaid to wounded -- and was an "aggressive retool" distant from contending again. After a summertime of soul-searching, the enactment changed its tune.

Tortorella was hired for a hard reset. The seasoned coach, to a fault, says precisely what helium feels. His archetypal task? "Finding retired who wants to beryllium portion of this," helium said. And that means some young players the enactment had been counting connected and veterans who person been astir for years.

A squad that hires Tortorella knows what it is signing up for. Things are going to change, and the process isn't ever going to beryllium smooth. But successful the end, the squad has an individuality -- thing lacking with the Flyers the past fewer seasons.

"We person zero respect successful this league. I'm consenting to admit that," Tortorella said. "But that's what gets maine going. I emotion this opportunity."

FLYERS FANS WANTED different signing this summer: Johnny Gaudreau. The South Jersey product, 1 of the astir skilled wingers successful the league, made it known he'd emotion to play for his hometown squad aft leaving Calgary.

"We had a ton of discussions astir Johnny and different apical escaped agents and however to champion walk money," Fletcher said. "But to motion 1 of these $70 million, top-end players, we needed to wide headdress space. That would person required america parting with first-round picks. And coming disconnected a 61-point season, that conscionable wasn't palatable to us."

As the enactment received much clarity connected Ellis' prognosis -- which was not looking bully -- defence became a priority. A large commercialized acquisition from Nashville successful 2021, Ellis has played conscionable 4 games with the Flyers, dealing with an wounded that has been identified arsenic a torn psoas musculus successful his back.

According to some Fletcher and Ellis' agent, the defenseman is not considering status yet. He'd desperately similar to play, and is moving toward that goal. This season, Ellis is surviving successful South Jersey with his household and has been moving retired astatine the squad facility. Being with the squad has improved Ellis' intelligence health, his cause said. But the 31-year-old is inactive surviving with symptom and having immoderate hard days. It's highly improbable Ellis volition play this season.

Ellis was acquired to squad with Ivan Provorov connected Philadelphia's apical antiaircraft pairing. So the Flyers utilized their headdress abstraction this summertime to motion Tony DeAngelo (two years, $10 million) to play with Provorov. They besides spent large connected a declaration hold for Travis Sanheim (eight years, $50 million).

The squad wants amended antiaircraft operation to enactment Carter Hart. A team's occurrence is excessively often babelike connected goaltending, and Tortorella said 1 of his No. 1 priorities is "letting the young goalie play."

Hart has agelong been viewed arsenic the solution to the organization's decades-long goaltending carousel. Over Hart's four-year career, he's been coagulated but not spectacular: 62-61-16, a .905 prevention percent and 2.97 goals-against average.

"He conscionable turned 24 years old," Tortorella stressed, erstwhile again reminding the fans to beryllium patient.

And the squad hasn't played good successful beforehand of Hart, which has made the goaltender's occupation harder.

Learning to support arsenic a squad -- and committing to defending -- is simply a Tortorella hallmark.

"You don't f---ing triumph if you don't cognize however to play distant from the puck," helium said.

TORTORELLA HAS A estimation for being hard-nosed, but it's the worst-kept concealed successful the league that the manager has a immense heart.

"All radical spot are the YouTube clips that were from, you know, 10-plus years ago," said Atkinson, who played for Tortorella for six years successful Columbus. "And don't get maine wrong, he's had his moments. He's a fiery feline and wants to triumph conscionable arsenic atrocious arsenic you do.

"But he's besides 1 of the champion guys I've ever known and -- a large communicator, checks successful connected you from clip to time, asks however your family's doing, your kids, however your ma and dada are doing."

Atkinson said helium advocated for Fletcher to bring Tortorella to Philadelphia. "As I get older, I lone person truthful galore years left," the 33-year-old Atkinson said. "And I privation to win."

The enactment begins now. Tortorella grooming camps are notorious for being dense connected conditioning. All players were required to travel successful astatine 11% assemblage abdominous oregon under. And they did.

That helps cater to Tortorella's style, which requires committedness to operation and details.

"His teams successful Columbus weren't the highest-skilled teams, but their puck possession numbers were apical 10 successful the league," Fletcher said. "We privation to look similar that. If we don't person capable accomplishment to people arsenic overmuch arsenic different teams, that mightiness beryllium our reality."

Fletcher revealed thing other astir Tortorella: "He keeps saying, 'I've changed, I've changed.'"

While Tortorella conditioned the players hard successful camp, the manager was besides checking successful with the sports subject and recently revamped aesculapian staff, Fletcher said. And determination were nary much runs, conscionable hard skates.

Tortorella said the biggest mode he's changed is successful his attack with younger players.

"I perceive more. I do," helium said. "I deliberation you person to with the jock successful today's world. I deliberation it's the close mode to coach, to empower them. But I can't fto it tally distant from me, wherever if I perceive excessively overmuch -- quality quality is they instrumentality vantage of that.

"I'm inactive going to propulsion them. I'm inactive going to beryllium hard, beryllium disciplined. But I privation them to beryllium portion of the equation with me. That's the biggest happening I'm trying to get amended at. Am I stone solid? Absolutely not. But I'm moving connected it."

Tortorella doesn't privation his squad to beryllium the Broad Street Bullies. But helium does deliberation it tin person the toughness to springiness it an individuality the metropolis volition autumn backmost successful emotion with. It's conscionable going to instrumentality a hard reset to get there.