Ever since the first rumors about John Tortorella coming to Philly, there have been whispers about Torts wanting a managerial role. Tortorella is under contract for two more years after this season, but could it be his last behind the bench? If it is, then who are some candidates to take over as bench boss for the Flyers?
First, we’ll look at Torts, his tenure, and his future. Torts was hired by the Flyers during the 2022 offseason. Tortorella’s first season in Philly was one to forget as the Flyers would finish seventh worst in the NHL and his boss, Chuck Fletcher, was fired. Torts would stick when Danny Briere and the “New Era of Orange” was announced. And with his second season in Philly more than a quarter of the way done, the Flyers are in a playoff spot, second in the Metro division, in a year where many, including myself, had them in the basement. Though, he has had some head-scratching moves as head coach. For one, if he doesn’t like you, for whatever reason, chances are you won’t play unless you’re playing like a superstar. On top of that, despite his claims that he wants to play the kids, he generally only takes out the young players when they have a couple bad games while leaving in some vets that aren’t playing well *cough cough* Marc Staal *cough cough*. But overall, Torts’ second season with the orange and black is going quite well.
So then why would Torts be leaving the Flyers’ bench? Andy Strickland and Cam Janssen mentioned on the December 19 episode, with Jay Pandolfi (who played nearly 900 NHL games and is the head coach of the Boston University Ice Hockey Team), of their podcast, Cam and Strick Podcast, (start at about an hour and five minutes in) that John Tortorella wants to move into a managerial role and it could be sooner rather than later. The interesting tidbit is they mentioned that Torts and former Flyers tough guy and head coach Craig Berube, who was recently fired from the St Louis Blues, are really good friends and that Torts may get Berube back in Philly to be head coach again. They even mention that they believe Torts has a clause in his contract that would allow him to move up into a managerial role, and with them mentioning Berube, they seem to be implying that this move could happen in the offseason. So, what would the coaching options look like if Torts does move upstairs?
Craig Berube
The only reason Berube is in this is because of his name being brought up by Cam and Strick, but let’s give him a look. Craig Berube finished his playing career after the end of the 2003-04 season when he played with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL. Before the 2006-07 season, he was hired as the head coach of the Phantoms but would become an assistant coach with the Flyers early on after Ken Hitchcock and Bobby Clarke were relieved of their duties as head coach and GM respectively. Berube would return to the Phantoms for the next season until the 2013-14 season when he would replace Peter Laviolette. He would coach all but the first three games that season and all of the following 2014-15 season before being let go in April 2015. Berube would then be picked up by the St Louis Blues in 2016 to be the head coach of their AHL team the Chicago Wolves, then became an assistant coach for the Blues the following season. Then, in November 2018, Berube would replace Mike Yeo and lead the Blues to their first, and only, Stanley Cup. Berube would lead St Louis to a good 2019-20 season, getting them to the first in the Central Division before the season stopped. Berube would never get out of the first round with St Louis. Berube wouldn’t miss the playoffs with the Blues until they finished bottom 10 during the 2022-23 season and was fired less than 30 games into the 2023-24 season.
Berube is an interesting candidate. He has some good history winning the Cup recently, but the team success afterward isn’t as great as you’d hope, though he is a coach that the players seem to like. Then comes the part about him being a returning coach. Looking at the history of head coaches returning to a team they were head coach for, it’s pretty slim, but Berube does fit the bill. Probably the most well-known coaches that have returned to a team they coached previously are Claude Julien and Michel Therrien, which is interesting because Therrien was replaced by Julien as the head coach of the Canadiens both times. Paul Maurice did have two quality stints with the Hartford/Carolina franchise first coaching nine seasons beginning in Hartford from 1995-96 to 2003-04 in Carolina before being brought back for four more seasons in Carolina from the 2008-09 season to the 2011-12 season. However, most coaches who go back to a previous team are more like John Tortorella when he had a four-game interim HC position with the Rangers during the 1999-00 season but would go back in 2008 until the end of the 2012-13 season. Or like Punch Imlach who coached the Maple Leafs from the 1958-59 season to the 1968-69 season and came back to Toronto as GM but did step in as head coach for the last 10 games of the 1979-80 season.
So, Berube looks like he could come back seeing as he was only three games short of coaching the Flyers for two full seasons. And with the Flyers having a habit of bringing back former players, especially stocking their front office with almost all former Flyers during this offseason shakeup, Berube may be high on the list.
Rod Brind’Amour
Before you get too excited, just remember that Rod Brind’Amour is still a coach of a strong team that he has coached pretty damn well, including a Jack Adams Award for the 2020-21 season. He’s made the playoffs each of his five seasons in Raleigh, twice making it to the Eastern Conference Finals, and two of the other three times they made it to the second round. But his contract is up after this season and he has said it won’t be an easy negotiation with Carolina. This could open the door for a former Flyer to still become the next bench boss of the Flyers. He’ll bring some good playoff experience and coaching tips that helped him be one of the most successful coaches of the past few years. The chances of this are probably pretty low as it’s unlikely Carolina will let Brind’Amour go without a full-on fight to keep him.
Brad Shaw
Brad Shaw is in his second season as an assistant coach of the Flyers and is back under Tortorella, whom he had previously worked under in Columbus. Brad Shaw seems like the most likely option the Flyers go with if they don’t choose an already NHL-proven coach. He does have 40 games of NHL head coaching experience as he was promoted to interim HC of the Islanders during the 2008-09 season, the year they picked John Tavares first overall. Brad Shaw would most likely be similar to John Tortorella and would be a smoother transition if Torts were to move into the front office.
Jay Woodcroft
The recently fired Jay Woodcroft was the head coach for parts of three seasons for the Edmonton Oilers. He helped the Oilers make the playoffs in his first two years before being let go after starting the year 3-9-1. The Edmonton Oilers gig was the only tenure of his as an NHL head coach. Perhaps less pressure could help Woodcroft get the most out of his players.
Dean Evason
Dean Evason was let go this season after the Wild started off 5-10-4 in his fifth season in Minnesota. Evason took over part way through the 2019-20 season and has helped the Wild make the playoffs each year, but did not make it out of the first round. This was Evason’s first stint as an NHL head coach.
Some Other Candidates
Jay Leach is currently Dave Hakstol’s assistant coach in Seattle and has been since the inception of the franchise. He has previously been an assistant coach, and part-time interim head coach, for the Wilkes-Barre Penguins before becoming the head coach of the Providence Bruins and then to his current position. If Brad Shaw doesn’t want the job, or the Flyers are looking elsewhere for a rookie head coach, Leach may be a good fit. Marco Sturm was a former NHL player and was the previous holder of the most points by a German NHL player, until Leon Draisaitl. He has coached some German national teams including the 2018 Olympic team that won silver and is now currently the head coach of the Ontario Reign of the AHL, the Kings’ affiliate. Ryan Warsofsky has really risen through the ranks of coaching going from head coach at Curry College, a D III college program, to assistant coach then head coach of the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL before being an assistant coach and head coach of the Charlotte Checkers, then head coach of the Chicago Wolves in the AHL before he got to his current role of assistant coach of the San Jose Sharks in the NHL. These are probably the more NHL-ready coaches, but maybe one that’s seen as not quite ready may be an early bloomer.
To start, we have two former NHL players. Joel Ward was the assistant coach of the Henderson Silver Knights, the Golden Knights’ affiliate, of the AHL for parts of three seasons. Joel Ward played 11 seasons in the NHL, most notably with the Washington Capitals and San Jose Sharks. He has since been promoted to assistant coach of the Golden Knights. Marc Savard played 13 seasons in the NHL most notably for the Boston Bruins where his career ended from an injury and pos-concussion syndrome during the 2010-11 season. He was the head coach of the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL for a while but is now an assistant coach for the Calgary Flames. Jessica Campbell most likely isn’t ready for an NHL role at the start of next NHL season, as the highest she’s risen is to assistant coach of the Coachella Valley Firebirds, Seattle’s AHL affiliate. She’s been with the team since its inception. Korie Cheverie is currently an assistant coach for the TMU Bold men’s ice hockey team and an assistant for the Canadian Women’s National Team. She also probably needs some time before getting NHL head coaching looks, but, like Campbell, is one of two hires the Flyers could look at for development, and also they’d be jumping on the trend of hiring women in more traditionally male roles and being able to let them show that women can be coaches and GMs.
By Noah Caplan (@Phlyers24)
Photo credit: sportingnews.com
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