VOORHEES, N.J. — Ever since his introductory press convention on June 17, John Tortorella has accomplished the media rounds and then some.
“Holy s—, yes I have,” he stated Wednesday with a deadpanned expression.
And kudos to him. Suffice it to say the top trainer does not love the numerous interviews, but he has been a workforce participant for the Flyers, making an attempt to put the franchise in the market when fan pleasure is not precisely permeating the Delaware Valley.
That tells you a large number about Tortorella and his buy-in stage, his willingness to sacrifice his most well-liked regimen for the group.
So with all the ones 1-on-1s, radio hits, tv sit-downs, that should make Tortorella beautiful excited to after all play a rattling recreation.
“Just to get the hell away from you guys, yes, yes,” the 64-year-old stated with a grin.
Yeah, he is ready to cross.
“Especially the players,” Tortorella stated. “Enough’s enough. Listening to us, meetings, we’ve had a ton of meetings this week, tape, practice. Let’s play. That’s when everything starts coming together — as far as accountability, conflict, good stuff, bad stuff, music on, music off, lousy days, good days — when all the games start being played. The evaluation part of it and getting ready for a season is done with. Now, this is what players want to do — they want to play.”
For the primary time beneath Tortorella’s course, the Flyers will play a recreation that issues within the won-loss column Thursday night time. They welcome the Devils to the Wells Fargo Center to kick off a 2022-23 season that has the ones daunting phrases rebuild, retool and restart draped in every single place it.
The Flyers went 25-46-11 closing season and traded longtime captain Claude Giroux. They had an offseason that elicited questions and complaint. With a brand new head trainer, two new assistant coaches, accidents nonetheless a storyline and numerous early life, the Flyers are very a lot staring down a transitional season.
On the outdoor, expectancies don’t seem to be prime for the Flyers. And they are mindful.
“Very aware,” Scott Laughton stated Sunday. “The means it is long past right here, clearly you have got to sleep for your personal mattress when you are making it. But it is the means it is long past. We know what the outdoor is announcing about us and everybody is announcing about us. And that is nice.
“We’ve got to show up Game 1 and build something here and go from there. There’s no point in looking into the future. I think everyone’s staying in the present and that’s a big thing for us.”
The Flyers are hoping they see extra in their long term develop into the prevailing this season.
“This is a young, fast team,” basic supervisor Chuck Fletcher stated. “I think there’s 12 players on the 23-man roster that are 25 and under, I think nine of them are 24 and under. So they’re a little bit unproven, that’s something we’re going to have to work through that Torts has been addressing. … We have a lot of work to do, but there’s a lot of upside.”
Fletcher understands force on this industry and on this marketplace. He’s indisputably going through it in his fourth complete season. He’ll be tasked with successful again many lovers, ones that experience grown pissed off and impatient during the last two seasons. The membership has highlighted its early life and Tortorella’s talent to trainer it as causes for optimism.
“We’re going to get better,” Fletcher stated. “I think we are an exciting, young team. We’re going to be fast, we’re going to be aggressive. Right now, we’re working hard to come together as a group. Like everybody, you get your 20-odd days in camp and you’re throwing line combinations together now, we’re still working on systems, but I see a lot of potential for this group to grow. I think we have some good young talent and I think we’re going to be an improved team and a team that’s really fun to watch.”
Along with Fletcher, Tortorella is not speaking playoffs or atmosphere huge expectancies for a flip-of-the-switch turnaround.
And that is honest. The head trainer is the primary to say he does not know the way the entirety will work out.
It’s time to see all of it get started.
“I think when you start talking about expectations, it’s always about the results, the record,” Tortorella stated. “When you do the small issues — and there is a lot issues we’ve got to proper and recover at — and simply the crucial basis stuff, I feel that transforms into the successful and shedding, and optimistically successful greater than shedding. That’s what I’m going to say.
“There are high expectations put on the players by the coaching staff each and every day in how we play. I’m not going to go on a media tour and talk about, ‘We’re going to be this, we’re going to be that.’ Because first of all, I don’t know. And I think it’s wrong for the coach to do it, especially this coach, because I just believe deeply I’m taking it one day at a time.”
No extra speaking for now. After virtually 4 months of that, it is time to see what Tortorella and the Flyers can end up.
“I think we should shut our mouths, as I said — shut our mouths, keep our head down and work,” Tortorella stated. “And not talk about rebuild, retool or playoffs, this. I don’t even want to get into the conversation because I don’t think we deserve to be in that conversation right now. We just need to get our foundation straightened out and try to play as hard as we can the right way. That’s my expectation that we’re going to try to get to.”
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