The Philadelphia Flyers have decided to make a coaching change as we near the end of the season. News emerged on Thursday morning that Flyers Head Coach John Tortorella has been fired. The veteran coach was in his third season behind the bench. Associate coach Brad Shaw has been appointed as the team’s interim head coach.
The Flyers have fired head coach John Tortorella after 2+ seasons at the helm, the team announced.Tortorella failed to make the playoffs in Philly, posting a cumulative 97-107-33 record.
— The Athletic (@theathletic.bsky.social) 2025-03-27T13:15:23.476Z
Philadelphia Flyers Head Coach John Torotrella Fired
Tortorella has coached the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Flyers during his coaching career that has spanned over two decades. The Boston native had a 97-107-33 record during his tenure with in the City of Brotherly Love.
His biggest success was with the Lightning when he guided them to the Stanley Cup in 2003-04. He had yet to repeat that success, but he’s made the post-season 12 times during his time as a head coach. Tortorella has a career record of 770 wins, 649 regulation losses, 37 ties and 165 overtime and/or shootout losses. The 66-year-old had amassed over 220 victories at Tampa Bay and in Columbus.
Tortorella was also the head coach of Team USA at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. However, the Americans lost all three games and were eliminated in the group stage.
What It Means
Philadelphia just missed out of the playoffs last year, but the team regressed hard. The Flyers had lost 11 of their last 12 games prior to general manager Daniel Briere decided to make the change. Tortorella’s teams really struggled at both ends of the ice in this latest stretch that likely claimed his job.
The Flyers do have some promising young players like Matvei Michkov, but there still needs to be some work done in order to turn the ship around. Philadelphia is second-to-last in the Eastern Conference with the Buffalo Sabres only one point worse.
Firing Tortorella with less than 10 games left means the Flyers will get a jumpstart on finding a new head coach. There are a number of candidates that would love a shot at coaching the club.
Main photo by: James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images
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