The NHL has announced that Philadephia Flyers head coach John Tortorella has been suspended for two games and will receive a $50,000 fine after refusing to leave the game after being ejected on March 9.
While the Flyers were trailing the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0 halfway through the first period, referees Wes McCauley and Brandon Schrader had enough of Tortorella’s verbal disagreements following Garnet Hathaway‘s game misconduct for leaving the bench and pushing Anthony Cirelli. Tortorella was given a minor penalty and ejected from the game.
Tortorella told the referees multiple times that he wasn’t leaving the bench and would stay where he was. This is something that hasn’t popped up many times before, and the referees were forced to wait him out before he ultimately left the game.
Ownership Has Tortorella’s Back
With the assumption that a fine would be following the incident against the Lightning, the Chief Executive Officer of the Flyers, Dan Hilferty, told NBC reporter Al Morganti that he would be paying any incoming fine.
The Flyers have been contending for the playoffs since the beginning of the season, surprisingly to many, and Tortorella’s presence is well-respected in the organization and among the fanbase. He stands for everything the Flyers have historically by believing in high standards and strong efforts.
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Tortorella is no stranger to having emotional conversations with the officials and the media, and this isn’t his first time getting suspended for it.
Tortorella’s Second Suspension
A coach being suspended by the league is quite a rarity in the NHL. Most of the suspensions handed out are based upon altercations with referees or fans. The longest coach suspension in league history belongs to Harry Neale, who was suspended 10 games in 1982 for getting physically involved with a fan.
This is the second time Tortorella has been suspended. In 2014, he was suspended for 15 days (six games) after he attempted to enter the Calgary Flames’ dressing room while coaching the Vancouver Canucks. The frustration from Tortorella came after Flames’ head coach Bob Hartley had sent out his “tough guy” lineup for the opening faceoff, which Tortorella matched. It seemed that Hartley was going after a physical matchup, and Tortorella didn’t agree with those tactics.
In the first intermission, Tortorella went down the hallway toward the Flames’ dressing room and tried to get in to presumably further the altercation with Hartley.
Regardless of what was coming this time, the Flyers organization and fanbase were going to stand by their coach.