Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen noted yesterday how much he appreciates Tortorella as a coach. It sounds like he actually believes he would be a better player had he been coached by Torts from the start of his NHL career.
While most fans probably think of Tortorella and remember all the times he laid into his players for poor performances, he will credit his players when credit is due. In the case for Ristolainen, Tortorella had some nice things to say about him as well.
Tortorella is without a doubt one of the most controversial coaches in the NHL. However, it is hard to argue with his results. Torts has consistently gotten the most out of his players, including his current Flyers team that is currently exceeding expectations by quite a lot.
The Flyers are currently 11th in the NHL in points, but they are within one point of tying many teams which currently have 38 points to the Flyers' 37. They are also in second place in their division ahead of teams like the Carolina Hurricanes and the New Jersey Devils, two teams expected to go on long playoff runs this year.
At this point is almost seems like the Flyers might actually be buyers at the trade deadline as opposed to sellers. The team will have to prove that they can play at this level until the deadline though if management it going to invest in them since they were not expected to be this good.
As seen on Ristolainen shares his unfiltered thoughts on John Tortorella.
POLL | ||
17 DECEMBRE | 100 ANSWERS Flyers Defenseman Shares His True Thoughts About John Tortorella Do you think John Tortorella is a good NHL head coach? | ||
Yes | 64 | 64 % |
No | 36 | 36 % |
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