John Tortorella
John Tortorella (born June 24, 1958) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He serves as the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Tortorella was previously the head coach of the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Vancouver Canucks. He led Tampa Bay to the 2004 Stanley Cup championship.
| John Tortorella | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Tortorella with the Rangers in November 2011 | |||
| Born |
June 24, 1958 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | ||
| Weight | 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Hampton Roads Gulls Erie Golden Blades Virginia Lancers | ||
| Current NHL coach | Philadelphia Flyers | ||
| Coached for |
New York Rangers Tampa Bay Lightning Vancouver Canucks Columbus Blue Jackets | ||
| Playing career | 1982–1986 | ||
| Coaching career | 1988–present | ||
He is the first American-born NHL coach to reach 500 wins and has twice won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's top coach.
Tortorella is well known for his outspoken and sometimes confrontational nature, which has included criticizing his own players and members of the media. Tortorella is also known for his system of regularly rotating goaltending duties during his time in Tampa Bay, a system which was discontinued when he became head coach of the New York Rangers and used Henrik Lundqvist as the regular starting goalie. This system returned in the 2019–20 NHL season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, with the emergence of Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzļikins as the goaltender tandem.