Confirmed with Link: The new coach of the Philadelphia Flyers is John Tortorella

[Rebels57]

Torts isn't a bad coach, he's decent enough. but that's the problem. he'll make sure the Flyers are just good enough to squeak in to the playoffs. or miss it just enough to keep us far away from a top 5 draft pick which is so desperately needed to fully rebuild.

it blows my mind that the FO doesn't understand this, Charlie literally spelled it out to them at the year end press conference. you can't win without elite talent. and you either draft it (needing multiple top 5 picks) or you acquire it by UFA (of which they have no cap space). they clearly have no interest in tanking, and with no cap space it makes you think what the hell to they hope to achieve? like Jojo said above, i think it's all about them desperately wanting to get into the playoffs again just to get that added revenue. they don't care about winning any cup. they don't want to put in the effort. it's like Weekend at Bernie's with the Flyers FO. trying desperately to prop up a dead corpse over and over again.

The Flyers FO is in survival mode. They do not care about winning a Cup at this point. They care about keeping their jobs and fat paychecks as long as possible...and that is tied to revenue. They think Torts will put butts back in the seats. It'll work for the first 3 months, but when fans accept the reality that the product is awful again, attendance will plummet in the 2nd half....again.

 

[Adtar02]

this is a terrible choice. and will be the same as av. adjust the roaster for two years only to flame out and have our talent shipped out

 

[JojoTheWhale]

If anything I am guessing the organization is aware of the complaints about the senior advisors and this consulting firm shit is just more PR to throw cold water on that noise.

What a dysfunctional clusterf***.



The f***ing arrogance of AV - Unreal

You're exactly correct. And I'm sure they did meaningful background legwork that you should do when handing someone $10 MM to work for you.

I don't understand how the story could both be this firm wielded ultimate power that determined Tortorella was the guy AND they also threw the moon at Trotz, then pivoted after he said no. If we just stop and think for a second, we should be able to do better than buying that.

 

[bauer]

The Flyers FO is in survival mode. They do not care about winning a Cup at this point. They care about keeping their jobs and fat paychecks as long as possible...and that is tied to revenue. They think Torts will put butts back in the seats. It'll work for the first 3 months, but when fans accept the reality that the product is awful again, attendance will plummet in the 2nd half....again.

i'm just waiting now for Chuck to do something really stupid. we all know it's coming. one of those 1sts is getting traded to move out salary. the summer of pain is only beginning.

 

[Fight4yourRight]

You're exactly correct. And I'm sure they did meaningful background legwork that you should do when handing someone $10 MM to work for you.

I don't understand how the story could both be this firm wielded ultimate power that determined Tortorella was the guy AND they also threw the moon at Trotz, then pivoted after he said no. If we just stop and think for a second, we should be able to do better than buying that.

i mean.. in drafting reports for a few different agencies, it wasn’t altogether uncommon to provide “in the alternative” recommendations, if option A fails. I don’t necessarily think they are mutually exclusive. Do I think they were likely influenced by a list of “wants” which would have been made crystal clear by Clarkie and the boys? For sure. More going through the motions than a sign that Cuck is on the hot seat.

I just think like many have pointed out, that the Flyers org still believe they are a preferred destination in this league when in fact they are closer to being Arizona at this point.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

This will actually work for them if the fanbase is willing to spend money on nostalgia and being a low playoff seed. TV ratings are out the window, but they need to sell out that building or heads will start rolling.

I'm not interested in that at all and will continue to not give a single shit, but it serves their core audience. It also means they likely have no meaningful in-market growth opportunities.

Of the diehard Flyers (not hockey) fans, the percentage that is willing to put money behind intravenous nostalgia is probably an overwhelming majority at this point. Most of the others are already gone.

That’s kind what I was getting when I said Comcast is in a tough place even if they realize Clarke & Homer are destroying the on ice product. Those guy’s presence are still good for business off ice. So it’s a lose-lose for Comcast.

Obviously their alumni beyond those who have some stature in the organization tend to go on the older side. As does the STH who generally skew older. These people would absolutely lose their shit right now if the organization started purging guys like Clarke, Homer, & other long staying alumni within the hockey ops.

It’s going to take a minimum of a few more seasons like last year for those people to even entertain the thought of cutting bait with those guys.

Comcast might be just as naive too but f*** the culture with this team is rotten to the core in the sense they’ve programmed a lot of people to be like cult like & deathly scared of adaptation/change.

 

[kudymen]

If only I was better at making gifs

Goldblum: "Flyers... Will find a way"

 

[DancingPanther]

This is where I stray from Therien. I’m not in any way shocked he would be uncomfortable with some external oversight for the old Flyer guard. That’s exactly what this team needs more of, not less.

I mean....this is just like using Indeed. You just plug qualities into an algorithm and it spits out the best candidate.

Except it isn't Indeed, it's an actual group of human brains, and "you" is Blob Farke.

Clarke paying a 3rd party committee to facilitate a new hire on terms he gave them to fulfill is still Clarke making the hire. Just with extra st....

EDIT: late thanks Jojo and rebels

 

[JojoTheWhale]

i mean.. in drafting reports for a few different agencies, it wasn’t altogether uncommon to provide “in the alternative” recommendations, if option A fails. I don’t necessarily think they are mutually exclusive. Do I think they were likely influenced by a list of “wants” which would have been made crystal clear by Clarkie and the boys? For sure. More going through the motions than a sign that Cuck is on the hot seat.

I just think like many have pointed out, that the Flyers org still believe they are a preferred destination in this league when in fact they are closer to being Arizona at this point.

I don't see a disagreement here. My point was that whatever the firm returned, Trotz was their priority. Tortorella could have been A or B, but they were locked on Trotz the second he got fired.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

When Chuck said after exit day that the Flyers would be having meetings to "build a profile" of what they wanted in a head coach, I think we can surmise now that these meetings involved the consulting firm. And also why the Flyers kept such tight wraps on the interview process.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

That’s kind what I was getting when I said Comcast is in a tough place even if they realize Clarke & Homer are destroying the on ice product. Those guy’s presence are still good for business off ice. So it’s a lose-lose for Comcast.

Obviously their alumni beyond those who have some stature in the organization tend to go on the older side. As does the STH who generally skew older. These people would absolutely lose their shit right now if the organization started purging guys like Clarke, Homer, & other long staying alumni within the hockey ops.

It’s going to take a minimum of a few more seasons like last year for those people to even entertain the thought of cutting bait with those guys.

Comcast might be just as naive too but f*** the culture with this team is rotten to the core in the sense they’ve programmed a lot of people to be like cult like & deathly scared of adaptation/change.

I should say I have no problem with the Flyers taking care of the former players in the sense of giving them paying jobs in some bullshit PR sense. Then there’s what the Flyers also do is give them a lot of influence over their hockey team to point that they go completely unchecked for decades upon decades of incompetence.

You can still treat your alumni well & not let them destroy your hockey team. There’s a healthy balance. Hextall was right in telling those guys to pound sound when it came to running the hockey team. He was wrong when he wouldn’t let the alumni go in the Flyers locker room for one of hose stupid alumni games. The former is smart the latter is just petty.

 

[Embiid]

I never had much respect for consultants and consulting firms. I call them insultants bc oftentimes they tell you the obvious and just create more work for you in the process meanwhile they get paid a lot for marginal identification of deficiencies and improvements. This seems like what happened with the Flyers coaching search. They could have saved a ton of money if they just disbanded the consensus committee which is the rotted root of the problem. The Flyers will improve from last season or should but it will be not a sustainable improvement. Nothing to me suggests they have any clue how to play the long game. Everything though suggests to me that they are employing a corporate short term strategy of short term gains. Looks good on paper ...but not worth the paper.

 

[Flyer lurker]

ummm this already happens, nothing to do with Torts..

It all ready happened under av
continue to happens under Yeo
and will double down under Torts

ALL BECAUSE OF FLETCHER THINKING THEY CAN COMPETE AND BE GOOD.


silly rabbit

 

[ajgoal]

The Flyers are far closer to Vancouver than they are to Columbus.

 

[VladDrag]

RE: Search firms

Bad data in, bad data out. They were told what the Flyers wanted and filled the shopping list. The call is still coming from inside the proverbial (Clarke) house. If your focus is on the firm rather than the team, the firm has done their job. They don’t matter here at all.

As a consultant myself albeit a different type, this is spot on.

The solutions are always centered around delivering what the clients want or its needs. It's almost never about what I believe is the best solution. Sometimes those are the same, but most times, it's not.

 

[flyerslducks]

The Flyers FO is in survival mode. They do not care about winning a Cup at this point. They care about keeping their jobs and fat paychecks as long as possible...and that is tied to revenue. They think Torts will put butts back in the seats. It'll work for the first 3 months, but when fans accept the reality that the product is awful again, attendance will plummet in the 2nd half....again.

Exactly. Let’s just hope it’s enough to get a top 5 again and they don’t make another shitty risto move. We know fletcher is going to make another move besides a coaching change too

 

[dragonoffrost]

If they did hire a consulting firm, if any of that is even true, then wouldn't that imply they are outing Chuck for someone else?

Briere

 

[Ghosts Beer]

There’s also probably more nuance to the story. I’m sure Scott brought in the Two Bobs, & I’m sure Fletcher was pissed about it, but I’ve also got to think there was more collaboration than some of the reports are making it seem. Dave Scott himself, though, probably had a big say in that “profile.”

Wouldn’t shock me if Fletcher preferred someone who’d be easier to deal with on a daily basis. But I think Torts is the right hire, so maybe the consultancy was for the best.

Or maybe it was all just an optics & cover-your-ass thing that has been greatly exaggerated by the infamous “sources.”

Because it’s not like Torts doesn’t have strong supporters among Flyers’ senior advisors, & search firms usually avoid risk, whereas Torts would be viewed as someone who might bring controversy with his temper & tongue.

 

[freakydallas13]

I never had much respect for consultants and consulting firms. I call them insultants bc oftentimes they tell you the obvious and just create more work for you in the process meanwhile they get paid a lot for marginal identification of deficiencies and improvements. This seems like what happened with the Flyers coaching search. They could have saved a ton of money if they just disbanded the consensus committee which is the rotted root of the problem. The Flyers will improve from last season or should but it will be not a sustainable improvement. Nothing to me suggests they have any clue how to play the long game. Everything though suggests to me that they are employing a corporate short term strategy of short term gains. Looks good on paper ...but not worth the paper.

The whole idea of a consulting firm is hilarious to me. The team decided they wanted Torts, then paid this firm a bunch of money to have the consulting firm confirm that what they wanted was indeed what they wanted. Genius.

So glad this team is opening up the cheque books in such new and innovative ways, really putting those deep pockets to use.

At least it had the unintended effect of spitting in Chuck's face.

 

[ajgoal]

As a consultant myself albeit a different type, this is spot on.

The solutions are always centered around delivering what the clients want or its needs. It's almost never about what I believe is the best solution. Sometimes those are the same, but most times, it's not.

Yup. It's almost always: Client gives desired outcome, we find a way to make the desired outcome viable.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

How funny would it be if Fletcher just resigns before they can fire him?

Don’t get me wrong I think Fletcher’s a dope & unqualified but they’re going set him up to take all of the heat off of them.

 

[VladDrag]

How funny would it be if Fletcher just resigns before they can fire him?

Don’t get me wrong I think Fletcher’s a dope & unqualified but they’re going set him up to take all of the heat off of them.

Agreed, I don't think Fletcher is the best GM, but when you look at his time in Minny, it wasn't close to this bad. He's been awful whereas in Minny he was just lukewarm.

The more this goes on, the more it feels like he's a puppet.

 

[dragonoffrost]

How funny would it be if Fletcher just resigns before they can fire him?

Don’t get me wrong I think Fletcher’s a dope & unqualified but they’re going set him up to take all of the heat off of them.

I'll await his "Piss Boy" moment from History of the World Part 1.

I get it....

I get it...

OOOOOF.

 

[snoop88]

I don't think Torts puts "butts in seats" as much as they think he does. even the stepford boomers are starting to tune out the organization.

the Flyers are dead in this city right now and attendance is only going to get worse. WFC is going to be a ghost town next season.

 

[snoop88]

"One source told me Fletcher wasn’t as high on Tortorella as others were and would have preferred a different kind of coach, however, the search committee identified his leadership and accountability skills as being so off the charts that he would be an ideal fit for the Flyers situation.

Additionally, a former NHL player who is close to both Tortorella and the Flyers said that Fletcher likely doesn’t want Torts as a coach because Torts is notoriously tough on general managers when it comes to the kinds of players he wants and doesn’t want to coach.

A third source said Fletcher will put on the right public face and say all the wonderful things about Tortorella and how much he’s going to enjoy working with him, but the reality is that Fletcher is very skeptical of the situation."