NHL Rumors: John Tortorella, Barry Trotz Finalists for Flyers Head Coaching Job

The Philadelphia Flyers have narrowed down their coaching search, with Barry Trotz and John Tortorella included as finalists, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.

The Flyers fired Alain Vigneault in December, just 22 games into the season and following an eight-game losing streak. Mike Yeo was appointed as interim head coach, but the Flyers went just 17-36-7 under his watch and missed the postseason for the second straight year.

Between the 1994-95 and 2011-12 seasons, the Flyers missed the playoffs just once. But since then, the team has qualified for the postseason just four times in the past 10 years, cycling through six different coaches (Peter Laviolette, Craig Berube, Dave Hakstol and Vigneault) and interim coaches (Scott Gordon and Yeo) in that time.

Since the team's inception in 1966, the Flyers have gone through 22 different head coaches and interim coaches, so turnover at the position has been the norm. Fred Shero (1971-78) is the only Flyers coach in the team's history to last five or more years.

In the past, that didn't keep the Flyers from being a consistent playoff team, outside a few dry patches. In recent years, that trend has changed.

As for the reported finalists, the 63-year-old Tortorella has coached for the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers (twice), Columbus Blue Jackets and Vancouver Canucks, accumulating a 673-541-37 record with 12 playoff berths and a Stanley Cup championship in the 2002-03 season with the Lightning.

Trotz, 59, has coached for the Nashville Predators, Washington Capitals and New York Islanders in his career, going 557-479-60 with 14 playoff berths and a Stanley Cup title in the 2017-18 season with the Capitals.

If the pair are indeed finalists for Philly, the team is clearly looking to bring in a veteran, established coach to turn the ship around as it continues to rebuild and retool.