5 Landing Spots for John Tortorella After Philadelphia Flyers Firing

The writing was on the wall when John Tortorella took the blame for the latest Flyers blowout loss Tuesday, a 7-2 thrashing at the hands of the Maple Leafs.

“This falls on me,” he said postgame in a clip that’s now circulating all over social media. “I’m not really interested in learning how to coach in this type of season, where we’re at right now. But I have to do a better job. So this falls on me, getting the team prepared to play the proper way until we get to the end."

Tortorella won’t be getting to the end of the season with the Flyers, as they fired him Thursday morning. He’d been with the rebuilding team since 2022-23 and was under contract with the club through the 2025-26 season. The Flyers got off to a promising start this year, but things unraveled in the second half. The Flyers have lost 11 of their last 12 to bring their record to 28-36-9.

Tortorella, 66, has been all over the league in his 23-season coaching career, with stops with the Rangers, Lightning, Canucks, Blue Jackets and Flyers. He’s made no indication that he’s planning on retiring, and since he said he has no interest learning how to coach this type of season, you wonder if he has his eyes on coaching a team with a different vibe.

In a league known for running back experienced coaches, it’s a significant possibility we’ll see Tortorella behind the bench elsewhere next season.

Where could he end up?

Boston Bruins

Rob Curtis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

David Pastrnak

Could a homecoming to Tortorella’s home state be in the cards? Maybe the personal aspect comes in here, as he’s 66 years old and could be interested in finishing at the start.

The Bruins haven’t made a new post-Jim Montgomery coaching hire yet; they just promoted Joe Sacco to the interim role and let it ride as they realized their rebuilding fate and gutted the roster at the trade deadline.

Tortorella’s no-nonsense attitude has been conducive to several rebuilds, like when he took a mediocre-to-bad Lightning team and led it to a Stanley Cup victory. But that was decades ago, and he just said he has no interest in “learning how to coach in this type of season.” Did he mean there’s a lack of effort from the players, or he's just sick of the nature of rebuilds?

The answer could determine if he’s suitable to coach the Bruins’ impending rebuild.

Buffalo Sabres

Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images

In all honesty, Torts to Buffalo seems like the most typical and likely scenario. The Sabres are risk-averse when it comes to taking swings on less experienced coaches, even if the coaches with more experience haven’t had wild success.

Tortorella would be the easiest coach with the biggest sample size available, the guy you hire when you’ve missed the playoffs for 14 straight seasons. Wonder if the mystery in Buffalo would intrigue him, or if the possibility of being the guy to turn things around sounds meaningful enough to override the reality that this is the situation in Philly times 10.

Chicago Blackhawks

Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Connor Bedard

If Tortorella didn’t like coaching a middling roster to middling results at the end of a rebuild, would he be game for one of the worst teams in the league in the Chicago Blackhawks? It depends on whether his issue with the Flyers was a lack of direction and/or control over the next step, or again, just being tired of this situation at 66 years old.

Then again, you get the sense Tortorella and Nick Foligno together could ignite some meaningful passion and life into this roster, and this offseason could be a huge step forward in terms of acquiring players to complement Connor Bedard.

Bedard had his struggles this season, and the young star seems hard on himself as it is. Would bringing in a “hard on the young stars” coach help or hurt his confidence? This team needs its young players to log serious minutes and make mistakes, and the infamous benching tactics might not jibe.

New York Rangers

Adam Hunger /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images

Is the third time the charm for a Tortorella and New York Rangers reunion? Let’s be real: probably not. The history is just too extensive, and the situation for the Rangers is too precarious.

That being said, if you pretend the history doesn’t exist, Tortorella would be an above-average candidate for the role in New York. He took a subpar Flyers roster without plans for a No. 1 goalie and had them hovering unexpectedly close to the playoffs at times for two years. Tortorella’s aggressive forechecking tactics could help some of the younger forwards like Alexis Lafreniere reach that next level consistently.

Plus, remember how well Artemi Panarin played under him in Columbus?

The Media

John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images

Look, we all have our opinions on John Tortorella’s coaching tactics. Some think his more aggressive trademarks, like sassy quotes and benching stars, are outdated. Others—many of whom have played for him—think he’s misunderstood and appreciate some aspects of the old-school vibes.

No matter what you think, none of us can deny how entertaining and honest the guy is. He has decades of stories, stops all over the league and a flair for the dramatic. He could thrive in a media role if he’s done behind the bench.