John Tortorella Fired as Flyers HC, Brad Shaw Named Interim HC amid Losing Record

The Philadelphia Flyers announced the firing of head coach John Tortorella on Thursday after nearly three full seasons on the job.

Flyers general manager Daniel Brière said he made the "difficult decision" to relieve Tortorella of his duties due to his belief that it is the best thing for the team moving forward.

Through 73 games, the Flyers have the second-fewest points in the Eastern Conference with 65. For the final nine games of the campaign, associate coach Brad Shaw will serve as interim head coach.

After missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, the Flyers hired Tortorella to take over as head coach in 2022.

Philly showed marked improvement in the first two seasons under Tortorella, going from 61 points in 2021-22 to 75 points in 2022-23, and then 87 points last season.

Expectations weren't particularly high for the Flyers entering the 2023-24 campaign, but Tortorella nearly guided them back to the playoffs for the first time since 2019-20, as they finished just four points out of the final playoff spot.

With 20-year-old sniper Matvei Michkov joining the team for the 2024-25 season, there was some thought that the Flyers would finally get over the hump and back to the postseason.

Philadelphia hovered around the .500 mark for much of the season, and it was firmly in the Eastern Conference playoff race at the beginning of March with a 27-26-8 record.

However, since beating the Western Conference-leading Winnipeg Jets on March 1, the Flyers have lost 11 of their past 12 games, including each of the past six.

They have compiled only three points during that stretch, leaving them 10 points out of a playoff spot with nine games left to play.

The final straw for Tortorella came Tuesday when the Flyers fell 7-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs. That marked the second straight game the Flyers conceded seven goals.

Tortorella, 66, went just 97-107-33 with the Flyers, which is not indicative of the overall success he has enjoyed as an NHL head coach.

Over 23 seasons with the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Flyers, Tortorella owns a .538 points percentage with 12 playoff appearances.

Most notably, he guided the Lighting to their first Stanley Cup win in franchise history in 2004.

With 770 career wins, Tortorella is ninth on the NHL's all-time list, but having missed the playoffs four years in a row, it is fair to wonder if another head coaching opportunity will be available to him.