all these hurt feelings about Coots being scratched is hilarious. Torts tried (and failed) to get a spark from him and his teammates. It didn't work. I don't think it's incredibly egregious to scratch someone who hadn't scored in 30 games. Coots is an adult.

Again, it was a tactic and it did not work. Quite the opposite. But can we stop pretending these are toddlers we are dealing with?


- anti-lame

No problem with Torts scratching Couturier. The process that he used to scratch Couturier was unacceptable to me. 100% lack of respect for the player. That's my issue with it.

all these hurt feelings about Coots being scratched is hilarious. Torts tried (and failed) to get a spark from him and his teammates. It didn't work. I don't think it's incredibly egregious to scratch someone who hadn't scored in 30 games. Coots is an adult.

Again, it was a tactic and it did not work. Quite the opposite. But can we stop pretending these are toddlers we are dealing with?


- anti-lame

We as fans as well as media types will look at it one way but remember, playing hockey is their job. Has anyone on this board who thinks the team gave up because of Coots stopped doing your own jobs because someone was fired or reprimanded? The players did not give up. They have a job to do regardless of hurt feelings for another player.

I totally agree. They weren’t just beaten but destroyed in those games. Looks like they quit to me.
- Hextall271

Agreed

Agreed
- TheFreak

well of they did quit on yet another coach. then you get rid of the whole lot. why keep a bunch of known quitters?

well of they did quit on yet another coach. then you get rid of the whole lot. why keep a bunch of known quitters?
- hello it's me 2050

Lack of talent is often misconstrued as "quitting". There was always a limit to what this team was capable of.

correct. though think other teams will be in that ballpark that have more to offer from a team perspective.
- hello it's me 2050

If Jones can’t close the deal on a former teams mate not sure what good he is to the franchise.

Lack of talent is often misconstrued as "quitting". There was always a limit to what this team was capable of.
- mickel25

walker was a huge part of their transition and getting timely saves was a huge part of them having the confidence to fly the zone. Just shows a team that had zero tolerance for downgrade in its lineup.

Agreed
- TheFreak

not a chance. these are professional athletes with pride. they aren't going to throw the entire season away to prove some point or get revenge on a coach.

No problem with Torts scratching Couturier. The process that he used to scratch Couturier was unacceptable to me. 100% lack of respect for the player. That's my issue with it.
- mickel25

right or wrong, that was the point. to get them angry. again, it didn't work. but sitting down and having a cuddle session with the player you're scratching is defeating the purpose of what he was trying to do.

all these hurt feelings about Coots being scratched is hilarious. Torts tried (and failed) to get a spark from him and his teammates. It didn't work. I don't think it's incredibly egregious to scratch someone who hadn't scored in 30 games. Coots is an adult.

Again, it was a tactic and it did not work. Quite the opposite. But can we stop pretending these are toddlers we are dealing with?


- anti-lame

I think you are missing the point. It wasn't the scratch per se, it was the way Torts went about it imo. He should've said, we understand Coots has been overused and his game has slipped as a result. We need to reduce his minutes or give him some time to regain his mojo.

Torts saying, "he needs to be better" and then cutting off the conversation questions was bullpoop. He talks about communication...blah blah blah. Torts needs to read the metaphorical room better. He would say he was being honest, but ironically he was not being honest with himself. The only one acting like a toddler was Torts.

The tactic was typical Torts, the one trick of a one trick pony.

We as fans as well as media types will look at it one way but remember, playing hockey is their job. Has anyone on this board who thinks the team gave up because of Coots stopped doing your own jobs because someone was fired or reprimanded? The players did not give up. They have a job to do regardless of hurt feelings for another player.
- mikeyo27

Lack of talent, injuries, special teams, goaltending, structure, puck luck etc are MUCH bigger factors than anything that had to do with "quitting".

HOWEVER, players starting to lose respect for the coach en masse will have some tiny effect on the ice. It's not "quitting" as people put it, it's more a creeping decay in their ability to pull in the same direction. And with margins being what they are this time of year, that loss of edge could have drastic results on every game and every battle.

We as fans as well as media types will look at it one way but remember, playing hockey is their job. Has anyone on this board who thinks the team gave up because of Coots stopped doing your own jobs because someone was fired or reprimanded? The players did not give up. They have a job to do regardless of hurt feelings for another player.
- mikeyo27

agreed.

this isn't Torts trying to embarrass someone or acting out of ill-will. he was trying something to get a fire under everyone. it didn't work. but i have no doubt he respects Coots and genuinely cares about his players.

I think you are missing the point. It wasn't the scratch per se, it was the way Torts went about it imo. He should've said, we understand Coots has been overused and his game has slipped as a result. We need to reduce his minutes or give him some time to regain his mojo.

Torts saying, "he needs to be better" and then cutting off the conversation questions was bullpoop. He talks about communication...blah blah blah. Torts needs to read the metaphorical room better. He would say he was being honest, but ironically he was not being honest with himself. The only one acting like a toddler was Torts.

The tactic was typical Torts, the one trick of a one trick pony.
- MBFlyerfan

as I posted just now - sitting down and having a 1 on 1 and hugging it out and talking about each others feelings regarding his decision is defeating the purpose of the scratch. it's a tactic that did not work. I'm not even saying it was the right move. Torts is aware of his shelf life. the way you and others here are mad about it is exactly what he wanted from the players. he was actively trying to piss off this group to light a fire. it failed.

but explaining it to him like a gentleman and having a nice handshake about it defeats the purpose.

i agree it's an old school tactic and probably doesn't work in todays NHL. thats on Torts. But at the same time I wish Coots didnt have his agent come out and whine. i thought that was lame. put on the big boy pants and move on.

but at least he tried something. way better than watching AV sip on (frank)ing martinis.

well of they did quit on yet another coach. then you get rid of the whole lot. why keep a bunch of known quitters?
- hello it's me 2050

not sure if you are being sarcastic but I sort of agree with this.

I actually hope Torts is here for at least another year because I'm interested in seeing how the players respond to the idea that the coach isn't going anywhere, opposite of what has happened in the past. just as the coach needs to learn how to work with these players - and he does need to learn this - the players equally need to learn how to work with the coach rather than shriveling up and saying "we'll just wait for the next coach, hope he's nicer!"

Agreed
- TheFreak

Absolute bull$hit! They did not quit! This team is gassed and I said it after the Isles game last Monday night. This quitting crap is just stupid/lazy analysis. It's like blaming the goaltending for all their faults. They were gassed in the Islander game (15 games in 30 days against sturdy competition). They regained some life after 3 days off and deserved a better fate in Buffalo, and then they were bushed again Saturday in the back to back game. When Morgan Frost is your #1 center you are screwed. Did he play in either one of those games?

The “bad” coach had this team overachieving all season & the only reason they have a shot is because of that. Severely lacking high end talent.
TK not a first liner on a cup team
Sanheim not a top 4 on a cup team

Those are your two top guys on this team

Tortorella saw the team slipping and decided to try to do what he did in Tampa, uniting the team around a dislike of him.

Didn't work.

The “bad” coach had this team overachieving all season & the only reason they have a shot is because of that. Severely lacking high end talent.
TK not a first liner on a cup team
Sanheim not a top 4 on a cup team

Those are your two top guys on this team
- Fopa21

right, and that's good because.......?

I do. They saw how he was being used in the first half of the season and understood what his presence had to do with their success. They also saw him start to break down from overuse. A good coach would stop riding him so hard and try to adjust his usage. What their coach did instead was throw him under the bus when he started to falter. Treat him like some green rookie instead of the veteran he is. Players understand the inherent lameness of how Torts chose to deal with the situation, the hypocrisy of it.

We can disagree but if I were in that room I would not be too happy about that. I would see it as the coach deflecting blame and not seeing the big picture to sooth his own ego. But that is just me.
- MBFlyerfan

Veteran or not, Couts was expected to perform like a top 6 center on this team and he wasn't the past couple of months here. I don't by the overuse excuse either. Couts had the offseason to train normally (his words not mine) and though he was playing 20+ minutes a night for a stretch, that is not unheard of in this league. If Couts were hurt, I am sure that Torts, or any coach, would not have benched him and stated he needed to be better, so I have to presume Couts was not hurt at the time of the benching. Look, Atkinson after his first year stated this place was like a country club, and whether you want to believe it or not, Couts was brought up in that country club atmosphere. Thus it is entirely believable to me that Couts was expecting different treatment and if so, he picked the wrong coach to expect that from. I have been posting since back in December that I didn't think Couts was right and I thought that maybe he was hurt. But the truth is, right now before his injury he just wasn't that good. These players are professional athletes. They may not like something that happens, like Couts being benched, but I think it's a very reasonable expectation for the team to put this aside and go out and perform, because that is what real professionals do.

not sure if you are being sarcastic but I sort of agree with this.

I actually hope Torts is here for at least another year because I'm interested in seeing how the players respond to the idea that the coach isn't going anywhere, opposite of hat has happened in the past. just as the coach needs to learn how to work with these players - and he does need to learn this - the players equally need to learn how to work with the coach rather than shriveling up and saying "we'll just wait for the next coach, hope he's nicer!"
- anti-lame

In four years there should only be 5-6 guys left from this season employed by the franchise including the coaching staff. The sooner these changes can be made the better but these things take time.

We as fans as well as media types will look at it one way but remember, playing hockey is their job. Has anyone on this board who thinks the team gave up because of Coots stopped doing your own jobs because someone was fired or reprimanded? The players did not give up. They have a job to do regardless of hurt feelings for another player.
- mikeyo27

They did not stop doing their jobs, they have been going through the motions.

Two other considerations: I would venture a guess that none of us work in the environment that is similar to the sport team. Where chemistry and closeness are exaggerated by the job objectives.
Secondly, Contrary to any of us on this board they have contract protection, we do not. Therefore, going through the motion will get us fired

I think a lot of things have played a part in the Flyers downfall this season, but to me the biggest one is the goal tending. I told all of you that I thought Hart was a franchise goalie and we are seeing now just how important he was to this team. Since March 1st the Flyers have allowed the 3rd most goals 5v5 in the league, their PK has been one of the worst in the league and the save % for their goalies is around .870. Since the Flyers PP has been abysmal for the entire season, throughout the season the Flyers have been generating offense off the rush and doing so by taking more risks. They could do this because they had confidence in their goalies. But over this last 4-5 weeks, the goaltending has been abysmal and the impact can be seen. The Flyers can't score and they can't defend either. This is the second season in a row that Ersson has faded down the stretch. And throwing Fedotov to the wolves when clearly he was not ready was a bad decision also. To me this is season's collapse is the same ol' story, on the Flyers' goaltending. Carter Hart is a scumbag if proven guilty for what he did, and his absence has sunk this team in the short term, it just took a little time to be realized.

Lack of talent, injuries, special teams, goaltending, structure, puck luck etc are MUCH bigger factors than anything that had to do with "quitting".

HOWEVER, players starting to lose respect for the coach en masse will have some tiny effect on the ice. It's not "quitting" as people put it, it's more a creeping decay in their ability to pull in the same direction. And with margins being what they are this time of year, that loss of edge could have drastic results on every game and every battle.
- Tomahawk

Really well said.

Absolute bull$hit! They did not quit! This team is gassed and I said it after the Isles game last Monday night. This quitting crap is just stupid/lazy analysis. It's like blaming the goaltending for all their faults. They were gassed in the Islander game (15 games in 30 days against sturdy competition). They regained some life after 3 days off and deserved a better fate in Buffalo, and then they were bushed again Saturday in the back to back game. When Morgan Frost is your #1 center you are screwed. Did he play in either one of those games?
- Phillywhiteout

I know I posted that I thought some players had quit and maybe that was true, maybe it wasn't, but I don't think the team has quit. I just think they are back in last year's mode just waiting for the next shoe to drop. But I also do not believe the team is gassed. That is just a lame excuse. The Flyers players have played roughly the same number of games and roughly the same number of minutes as every other player on every other team. I am sure they are banged up after a long season, but not more so than any other player. The Flyers went into this season without a 1D and a 1C but at least they had a franchise goalie. Now they have none of these key positions filled.

Tortorella saw the team slipping and decided to try to do what he did in Tampa, uniting the team around a dislike of him.

Didn't work.
- BINGO!

it's really as simple as this