Speaking to the media before the Philadelphia Flyers' game against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, John Tortorella was asked about Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis, a former player of his with whom he won a Stanley Cup with in 2004 when the two were with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Speaking to the media before the Philadelphia Flyers' game against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, John Tortorella was asked about Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis, a former player of his with whom he won a Stanley Cup with in 2004 when the two were with the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

"I just talked to him," Tortorella said. "It's always great to see him. I'm so, so happy with Mason and his family and how everything has calmed down there a little bit. I talked with him right on through that, so I'm really happy his family is doing okay."

St. Louis' son Mason, 16, was recently injured during a hockey game and had to be hospitalized for complications, leading St. Louis to take a 10-day leave of absence to be with his family. Thankfully, Mason is in stable condition and was able to return home. St. Louis returned to the bench for the Canadiens' game against the Colorado Avalanche on Mar. 26. 

Tortorella had plenty of praise for his former player's abilities as a head coach, regaling his "interesting" mind for the game. 

"He's going to be such a good coach because he wears it," he said. "I think he has one of the most interesting minds when it comes to hockey. He can't give all his thoughts to his team because he has a lot of stuff going on in there. We've had many conversations about that because he drove me crazy as far as how many things were going on in his mind when I coached him. I think he's gonna be terrific."

He also spoke of how "fun" it is for him to be able to have conversations with St. Louis as a fellow head coach instead of a player.

"Just talking now before I came out to meet [the media], and some of the things he's explaining to me what he's doing with his team, it's fun for me," he said. "Because we're at a different plane now. To coach him, all the things that him and I went through—which weren't always good—and to be able to talk as peers and coaches and talk about our teams, it's so fun for me to see where he's gone to. [To a Canadiens reporter] You're in good hands now, I'll tell you that much."

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