Another day, another John Tortorella press conference highlight.
The Philadelphia Flyers coach lost his temper when addressing the media after Wednesday night’s shootout win against the Montreal Canadiens.
About halfway through Tortorella’s media availability, the coach looked into a sea of reporters and asked whether the person who reported on rumours speculating that ex-Flyers player Kevin Hayes was involved in prospect Cutter Gauthier refusing to play for Philadelphia was present.
“Is the guy here that caused Kevin Hayes a problem?” Tortorella asked.
“Yes,” beat writer Anthony SanFilippo, who hosts a podcast called Snow the Goalie, answered.
"Are you kidding me? You think Kevin Hayes is going to do something like that? That’s Bullshit."
Torts absolutely unloads on @AntSanPhilly for allegations against Kevin Hayes #LetsGoFlyers | #PhiladelphiaFlyers pic.twitter.com/YIKlFqMp0W
— Missin Curfew (@MissinCurfew) January 11, 2024
“Are you kidding me? You think Kevin Hayes is going to do something like that? That’s bullshit,” Tortorella said to SanFilippo. “It just pisses me off that you guys throw that shit around and affect someone’s life. Kevin Hayes and I had a problem and we couldn’t come to an agreement [on] how to play.”
Despite their complicated relationship, the 65-year-old called Hayes, who now plays for the St. Louis Blues, “a good man,” stressing that these allegations could hurt his career going forward.
“That’s a good man. That’s a good man. And what you said is going to stay with him. That’s what you guys don’t understand. You’re going to sit there and say you have the right sources. I call bullshit.”
Tortorella then apologized and attempted to take another reporter’s question before pivoting back to get a few more words in, calling SanFilippo’s podcast “silly.”
While it’s become a pretty common occurrence throughout his two-decade NHL career, which included stints with the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, and Columbus Blue Jackets, this is the second time the Boston native swore in a media availability in the past two weeks.
The other featured him saying he doesn’t “give a shit” about reaching the 1,500-game milestone, later explaining that he much prefers being in the locker room with his players to speaking to reporters.
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