John Tortorella, a man of many (or no) words depending on his mood, has established himself as one of the most well-known coaches in the NHL. After breaking the record for NHL games coached by an American at 1600 contests, Tortorella is approaching the second-to-last year of his contract with the Flyers. The man fans and players alike call "Torts" has won the Jack Adams Award in both 2003 and 2016 as well as the Stanley Cup in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Along with such accolades, he has also made 120 playoff appearances in his 25-year career with overall numbers of 765-637-200 (.540%).
Although Torts' achievements on the ice speak for themselves, he's also regarded as one of the most "old school" coaches in the league. It's not unheard of for Tortorella to healthy scratch established players (Frost, Foerster, Farabee), obsess over shot-blocking, and continuously open training camps with rigorous conditioning drills. He is also famous for snarky responses to the media, overly-honest opinions on referees, and un-filtered assessments of players on his team and throughout the league.
Thus far in Tortorella's Flyers tenure, fans have been pleased with his "no excuses" mentality and universal player accountability. After all, Tortorella didn't inherit a star-studded roster in 2022 by any means. Due to the overall lack of elite talent, Tortorella has thrived on enforcing his defensively oriented system and instilling a tight-knit locker room amongst the team.
Some may say he is the most deserving of credit when it comes to Travis Konency and Travis Sanheim's exponential growth over the past two years. Although he is not one to take credit, he has most definitely transformed Konecny into a penalty-killing, defensively sound offensive dynamo. Sanheim's sound transition game and defensive prowess even landed him a roster spot on Team Canada's 4 Nations team
Tortorella's coaching of Michkov has some questioning his fit
Where has the love for John Tortorella appeared to have floundered as of late? Well, it's centered around a certain young Russian with "franchise-saving" potential. Matvei Michkov, the seventh overall pick in the 2023 draft, has provided Philadelphians with a renewed sense of optimism given his offensive upside. After all, the Flyers haven't been privy to superstar talent since Eric Lindros and arguably the beloved Claude Giroux.
Danny Briere has consistently conveyed that Matvei's arrival from Russia two years earlier than anticipated would allow him to learn NHL fundamentals under the systematically oriented Tortorella. The hope is that Michkov developing under a coach who focuses on both the offensive and defensive sides of the puck will allow him to flourish as not just an offensive weapon, but also prevent him from becoming a defensive liability.
Although Tortorella has reminded fans he will never expect Michkov to become a shot-blocking machine or rack up minutes on the penalty kill, there are several fundamentals he feels are too crucial to overlook. To the dismay of Flyers' media and fans alike, Tortorella even scratched Michkov for both games of the Florida road trip on Nov. 7 and 9. He claimed that it's all "part of the process" in developing a future star that's only 20 years old.
In typical Michkov dramatic fashion, he returned to the lineup on Nov. 11 vs the Sharks and notched a goal and an assist before capping off his night with a goal in the shootout. Although Michkov's minutes have varied night-to-night, he has not lost his relentless desire to score and win, regardless of his scoring pace slowing down immensely. Matvei earned 29 points in 36 games before the start of 2025. Since he has only scored seven points in 19 games. Regardless, he is still third in the rookie-scoring race. As most are well aware, rookies are known for the drastic ups and downs throughout their first season in the NHL. After all, Michkov appears to also be struggling physically to adjust from playing a KHL schedule to an NHL schedule with over double the amount of games.
Most recently, the Flyers' community has taken to social media to re-evaluate Tortorella's effectiveness in managing the development of the young star following the Flyers' game against the Islanders on Jan. 30. During the second period, Tortorella and Michkov were seen in a heated exchange during the second period. Following said exchange, Michkov didn't see another shift for the rest of the game.
It appears Torts has benched Matvei Michkov for the rest of the game. Hasn’t played since the 10 minute mark in the 2nd period pic.twitter.com/XmOEDjJ6mT
— Nasty Knuckles (@NastyKnuckles) January 31, 2025
Surprisingly, Tortorella wasn't at all upset with Michkov's display of emotion, as he feels his competitive nature is similar to his own and the most important factor in those moments is mutual respect. Michkov, on the other hand, seems to have grown increasingly proficient in learning the English language. Between his exchange with Tortorella and his on-ice antics at face-offs and between whistles, Michkov seems to be using a select few English words without hesitation.
"You may not believe it, but it's for the right reason because we care about him. I'm not going to fail him by cowering away from situations that people may second guess. We're going to it the right way with this kid, because we think he's that special." Tortorella said after the game.
What coaching style is ideal for the development of the Flyers' coveted Michkov? The jury is still out, as there is no linear path to players achieving greatness in the most challenging league in the world. Players will always be developing physically, mentally, and emotionally in an 82 game season or over the period of a 10-15 year career. In Michkov's case, he's still assimilating to North American culture and the pressures of being a high-profile athlete in a thriving hockey market. At the end of the day, the Flyers organization and its fans can only hope that Michkov's development continues on a positive trajectory, especially with John Tortorella in charge of his ice time and special teams usage.
When Michkov is 25 or 30 years old, who's to say that he won't look back on these years under Tortorella with admiration and appreciation? He certainly wouldn't be the first NHL player to feel similarly, as Columbus Blue Jackets all-star Zach Werenski feels his development was shaped positively under Tortorella. Ryan Callahan also echoes a similar sentiment about playing for Tortorella during his color commentary on ESPN+. After all, nobody does "Tough Love" like John Tortorella.