Flyers rumors: John Tortorella's firing came after 'crossing line' with player

03/28/2025 10:43 AM

The Philadelphia Flyers fired head coach John Tortorella on Thursday. In their first game with Brad Shaw as the interim, they won 6-4 over the Montreal Canadiens. But eyes were on the bench, where defenseman Cam York sat for the final 50 minutes of the game. The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reported Friday that an incident between Tortorella and York forced the Flyers hand and led to the benching.

“Told from a team source that ‘it’s fair to say’ something happened between Cam York and John Tortorella in Toronto, that contributed to the coach’s dismissal on Thursday morning. Was put to me that ‘they probably both crossed the line.'”

The Flyers picked York in the first round in 2019, and at 24 years old, he is part of their future plans. His play has not been exactly what they have hoped for but there is still room to grow. Tortorella, on the other hand, had been in Philly for three unsuccessful seasons. This team, barrelling toward a last-place finish, needed a fresh voice.

Tortorella’s final game as the Flyers’ coach was a disaster of epic proportions. Not only did they lose 7-2 to the Maple Leafs, but Tortorella came out and crushed his coaching job afterward. “This falls on me. 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."

If the Flyers front office was forced to pick between Tortorella and York, they made the easy decision. The coach publicly criticized young star Matvei Michkov all season and, apparently, got into a spat with York. The Flyers need a new direction, and they will find one this offseason.

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