The polarizing new head coach of the Flyers has quite the past with the Pittsburgh Penguins
The Sidney Crosby-led Pittsburgh Penguins have made some enemies over the last 17 seasons. The success and longevity they've enjoyed bred a variety of intense competition on and off the ice. No other one has been more enjoyable to watch than the Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers battling over the years.
The rivalry just intensified with Philadelphia's hiring of John Tortorella as their new head coach. The Penguins are set to face their cross-state foes several times next season and the loaded history between the Penguins and Tortorella certainly deserves to be revisited.
The Penguins have faced Tortorella coached teams regularly over the last two decades. Torts, as he's often referred to, is a veteran coach in the NHL that brings over 1,000 games of coaching experience and a Stanley Cup win to the championship starved Philadelphia Flyers.
Torts has coached throughout the league and specifically the metro division, including stops with the New York Rnagers and Columbus Blue Jakcets. His staff with the Rangers even included his personal friend, Mike Sullivan, before he was brought into the Penguins organization. And it was during his tenure with New York that things heated up very quickly.
In 2012, Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik delivered a knee-on-knee hit to Rangers forward Derek Stepan. Orpik was given a major penalty for the hit and Stepan left the game. It was a questionable hit, and Tortorella sounded off about his frustrations. He referred to the Penguins as "one of the most arrogant organizations" and called out superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin as "two whining stars". Torts' comments set off the team, the Pittsburgh fanbase, and cost him a $20,000 fine from the league.
Fast forward to 2015, and Torts is now coaching the Blue Jackets. Forward Brandon Dubinsky delivers a cross-check to the neck of Crosby and is suspended one game. In a post-game press conference, Tortorella was asked about the one game suspension. He responded saying that he won't complain because "Pittsburgh whines enough for the whole league."
The Penguins and Tortorella would meet again in the 2017 playoffs. The Penguins eliminated the Blue Jackets in 5 games en route to their second straight Stanley Cup Title. Tortorella was surprisingly subdued during this series, as his good buddy Mike Sullivan out-coached him with ease.
After spending several years bemoaning the whining of the Penguins, Tortorella finally admitted his true feelings regarding the organization later in 2017. Prior to a game in December of the 2017-2018 season, Tortorella stated that "quite honestly, I don't like the team," in response to a question about the intensity between the two teams. The feeling is certainly reciprocal, as shown by the tough matchups between the Penguins and any Tortorella coached team.
Now with Tortorella behind the bench in Philadelphia, the Penguins are set to encounter the contentious coach for more battle. Whether his fiery personality and demanding style are a match for the Flyers is unclear. What is clear, however, is Torts brings a new energy and change of pace to his team. Combine this with Tortorella's attitude towards the Penguins, and it's easy to predict an intense and physical first matchup between the teams as the next chapter of this rivalry begins.
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