John Tortorella is set to meet with the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday to discuss a contract to potentially become the 23rd head coach in team history.
He spent this past season working as an analyst at ESPN after mutually parting ways with the Columbus Blue Jackets last spring after six years with the team.
Told that Tortorella is meeting with the Flyers tomorrow to discuss the contract. So we’ll see where that goes. https://t.co/od4tngY5oX
Tortorella, 63, is the winningest coach in Blue Jackets history with a 226-166-42 record, guiding the franchise to the playoffs four times. Columbus, however, failed to make the postseason in his final season, finishing tied for last in the Central Division with the Detroit Red Wings.
A two-time Jack Adams Award winner, Tortorella coached the Blue Jackets to their first playoff series win in franchise history in 2019, sweeping the No. 1 seed and Presidents’ Trophy winner Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round. The Lightning have not lost a playoff series since.
Tortorella won the Stanley Cup as head coach of the Lightning in 2004 and was the first American-born coach to reach 500 NHL wins. He sits 14th all-time in wins with a career record sits at 673-541-37-132 over 20 seasons behind the bench with the New York Rangers, Lightning, Vancouver Canucks, and Blue Jackets.
The Flyers missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year this season after replacing Alain Vigneault with Mike Yeo after 22 games. The team finished with a 25-46-11 record and will select fifth overall in next month's draft.
Philadelphia has advanced to the second round of the playoffs just once since 2012 and have a total of just three playoff series since reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2010.
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