John Tortorella is not every player's cup of tea. You either love or hate him; there is no in between. And we've seen both of those avenues from players on the Flyers.
When Cam Atkinson was in Philadelphia, he was happy to be the liaison between the players and the head coach. He was familiar with Tortorella from their Columbus days and knew what to expect. More recent players like Sean Couturier and Cam York have different tales to tell.
One of the players who, on the outside, appeared to go back and forth with Tortorella was Matvei Michkov. But all may not have been as it looked. In a 40-minute interview with former NHLer Nikita Filatov and ex-Arsenal forward Andrey Arshavin, Michkov described the relationship between the two.
"When I came here, he always treated me normally, with respect, and we found a common language. A very honest person. He says what he thinks about you. If you're sh-t, he'll tell you you're sh-t. Some people don't like it, but he is the kind of person who says what he thinks."
Michkov's praise proves Tortorella was the right coach for him
Training camp was Michkov's first real introduction to Tortorella. And not all training camps are created equal. Flyers fans are well aware of how Tortorella's training camp begins. Skating, skating, and more skating.
"Our coach, John Tortorella, gathered us a little earlier. And we had very difficult training camps. This was probably the hardest training camp in my life. I have never seen anything like this anywhere. And I have never had anything like this."
Tortorella and Michkov often butted head, most notably in a game against the Islanders at the end of January. The in-game benchings and healthy scratches created headlines. Tortorella prepared everyone for these moments before the season, stating the two sides would need to work together. He didn't need help offensively, but there were concerns about Michkov's play on the defensive side of the puck.
But it was still notable when Michkov would sit for an extended time or be a healthy scratch. Why would you want to bench one of your biggest offensive threats? It was frustrating at times, but Michkov paid one of the biggest compliments he could to Tortorella.
"I would call Tortorella one of the best coaches I've had," Michkov said. "Of course, there were some unpleasant moments for me when he sat me down and I didn't play, there were games there that lasted nine minutes. I sat there and thought 'Damn, why the hell is he needed here, why the hell is he sitting me down? I can still score, pass.' Then I would come out and sort of retreat. And everything was fine."
For some, it takes until Tortorella is gone for them to realize why he was the way that he is. And how his coaching method helped them become better players. Zach Werenski is a great example of that. When Michkov came over, Danny Briere was excited for him to get the chance to learn from Tortorella. They felt he would be able to learn a much more well-rounded game under his guidance.
And when the season was all said and done, Michkov wished he had more time.
"That's why I was very upset when he was fired. I didn't want him to be fired. And I would've liked to work with him a little longer, at least to finish this season."
One of the things Michkov was known for was trying to score a lacrosse goal. He attempted it on numerous occasions, but couldn't pull it off. On the flip side, everyone is aware of how Tortorella feels about that play. It turns out Michkov didn't want to just score it to say he did it; he had another reason for doing so as well.
"I really wanted to score a lacrosse goal under Tortorella. When he left, I told him everything, 'John, thanks a lot. You are my first coach, I will never forget you. You were always honest with me. Thank you for this." Michkov said. "He's like, 'Oh, I didn't expect to get a message from you. It's really nice. I've gotten millions of messages, but you have the nicest one."
Admitting to having a hot temper, it would've been easy for Michkov to become one of those players who despised Tortorella. But it wasn't like that. Even though the two had moments of misunderstanding, they were both passionate about what they wanted, and things would work out. It was all for a reason.
"Even now, I'm sitting here and thinking about it, and it seems to me that it all worked out for my benefit. It helped."
Michkov will have to learn and adjust to a new coach next season, whoever that may be. But the lessons he learned from Tortorella will stay with him for a long time.