[News] Tortorella fired

[MissTeeks]

Kypreos: Rangers’ job interests Gretzky, Messier

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/g...n-rangers-job/

Video from Sportsnet

[CSharp]

Well, the Flames can have Vinneualt and Tortorrella for dessert! Quality coaches the Flames never had besides Darryl Sutter, what the Flames need.

[Galakanokis]

An ex reporters take on Tortarella. Not a bad read found here.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Galakanokis

An ex reporters take on Tortarella. Not a bad read found here.

A big part of Tortorella’s problem was he always believed he was the smartest guy in the room during a press conference, when really he was never in the top 10.

I’m not a psychiatrist, but Tortorella is the first person I’ve ever met who I believed had both an inferiority and superiority complex. He arrived in New York seemingly petrified of what the New York media would do to him, so he took preemptive steps to guard against them, when in reality, a standard coach/media relationship would have served him better. Like any bully, Tortorella deep down was afraid of the media, and out of that was born a four-year adversarial relationship that wasn’t even necessary in the first place.

Can't see Torts coaching in a Canadian market like VAN, with all the media demands.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by troutman

A big part of Tortorella’s problem was he always believed he was the smartest guy in the room during a press conference, when really he was never in the top 10.

I’m not a psychiatrist, but Tortorella is the first person I’ve ever met who I believed had both an inferiority and superiority complex. He arrived in New York seemingly petrified of what the New York media would do to him, so he took preemptive steps to guard against them, when in reality, a standard coach/media relationship would have served him better. Like any bully, Tortorella deep down was afraid of the media, and out of that was born a four-year adversarial relationship that wasn’t even necessary in the first place.

Can't see Torts coaching in a Canadian market like VAN, with all the media demands.

That top 10 line really bothers me. This guys trying to tell me that he wasn't in the Top 10 smartest guys in the room when it came to discussing hockey? I'm sorry, but ahole or not, the guy has a ring for a reason, and it's not because he doesn't know hockey.

It's because of that blown call in game 6

[calgARI]

The media in this sport are mostly clueless with very little understanding of the sport or how organizations run. They are mostly just about of fans with a larger platform. Anyone who challenges them, you see their positions are just a house of cards, half-mile wide, half an inch deep.

Making huge declarations and drawing grandiose conclusions based upon small, imperfect samplings. For example, everyone jumping on the Penguins for losing their cool and not playing their game on Saturday. What if they came back and won in the third period of that game? Then the media would be talking about how the team has evolved to be a lot tougher and stand up for themselves and are now able to play a rough and tumble game. But they lost so now the media can pile on in the way they have.

Nearly all of them think sports are how portrayed by Hollywood and Disney movies. If a team is flat one period and excellent the next, it must have been because the coach yelled at them between periods. Flashing to a coach a second after his team gets scored on with regularity hoping he will be showing some emotion (no coach ever does though).

The media was mad that Tortorella challenged them the way they always challenge coaches and players often with no merit or understanding. They think because he was condescending to them that he must have been the same behind closed doors with the players. And that's the picture they are painting, ironically not getting called out on it. And there is no value, none whatsoever to what Brooks and these vultures are doing. It adds nothing to the game, just adds to their individual egos.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by calgARI

The media was mad that Tortorella challenged them the way they always challenge coaches and players often with no merit or understanding.

Did you read the article? The writer was not challenged by Torts personally, but observed many of his press conferences. He observed a bully.

Torts was rude, inconsistent and mercurial.

[calumniate]

Originally Posted by troutman

Did you read the article? The writer was not challenged by Torts personally, but observed many of his press conferences. He observed a bully.

Torts was rude, inconsistent and mercurial.

Still, CalgARI's points were speaking about Torts as a coach and how easily the media can jump on the small things. It's a fine line - had he won game 7 nobody would be talking about anything.

It's not news that a reporter / media is not a fan of Torts. Dave Lozo should just go ahead and delete the article.

Yes, maybe this year he was too hard on his players.. but nobody knows for sure. In years past he's always been a smoke and mirrors master who would go to the wall for his team.

[Erick Estrada]

I dont' agree with coaches being jerks to media and Torts clearly wore out his welcome with media and the players but I find it curious that Brooks (and I don't care for Larry Brooks at all) was the only media member to stand up to Torts while these other guys took the humiliation in stride, hid in the corner, and are now coming out of the woodwork telling us how bad a person Torts was.

[Stampede2TheCup]

Almost every coach wears out their welcome eventually. Some wither away quietly losing a team, but Torts is in-your-face and things are bound to heat up. He's had decent success with his style, as others have before him. His treatment of the media is rude and sometimes unprofessional but any members of the media trying to link his behavior in press conferences to his performance as a coach are just taking things too personally. Coaches get fired often and Tortorella coaching just two teams in the past 12 years is a lot better than average for the position.

[Red John]

Originally Posted by calgARI

The media in this sport are mostly clueless with very little understanding of the sport or how organizations run. They are mostly just about of fans with a larger platform. Anyone who challenges them, you see their positions are just a house of cards, half-mile wide, half an inch deep.

Making huge declarations and drawing grandiose conclusions based upon small, imperfect samplings. For example, everyone jumping on the Penguins for losing their cool and not playing their game on Saturday. What if they came back and won in the third period of that game? Then the media would be talking about how the team has evolved to be a lot tougher and stand up for themselves and are now able to play a rough and tumble game. But they lost so now the media can pile on in the way they have.

Nearly all of them think sports are how portrayed by Hollywood and Disney movies. If a team is flat one period and excellent the next, it must have been because the coach yelled at them between periods. Flashing to a coach a second after his team gets scored on with regularity hoping he will be showing some emotion (no coach ever does though).

The media was mad that Tortorella challenged them the way they always challenge coaches and players often with no merit or understanding. They think because he was condescending to them that he must have been the same behind closed doors with the players. And that's the picture they are painting, ironically not getting called out on it. And there is no value, none whatsoever to what Brooks and these vultures are doing. It adds nothing to the game, just adds to their individual egos.

Most of the media are like your casual fan out there - you know, the kind that thinks "as long as a Canadian team wins the Cup I'm happy." They aren't students of the game and don't understand the inner workings - you can tell just by the kind of questions they ask...the kind that Tortorella gets sarcastic at.

When was the last time you read a media article about finer aspects of the game like gap control, zone entries, shot quality and the left wing lock? No...more often it's "Team A lost therefore they played bad, but wait they had 40 shots on net...ok they were robbed." It's like they don't actually watch the games - just the box scores.

It's a dying industry what with the rise of the Internet and bloggers in general...media types have responded by developing a superiority complex over "those guys who sit in their moms basement." How many times have you heard that line? It's getting old.

The problem with the media is that they aren't the very best at what they do anymore - especially with more and more advanced statistics sites and stuff. That's why its so refreshing to read a guy like Eric Duhatshek or even Elliotte Friedman. These guys actually think the game on a higher level and if they don't know something they'll talk to people who do. But for every 1 of them there's 10 more Eric Francis's.

Really the only thing they have over most of us is a press pass....and they'll be sure to wave it in your face every chance they get. It's all they have left.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by FlamesAllTheWay

Losing Staal for a good chunk of the season and playoffs hurt.

This. You can't lose a top-2 dman who is a net plus while playing big minutes against the other teams top line.

Teams just don't have that kind of depth in their system in the salary cap era.

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by troutman

A big part of Tortorella’s problem was he always believed he was the smartest guy in the room during a press conference, when really he was never in the top 10.

I’m not a psychiatrist, but Tortorella is the first person I’ve ever met who I believed had both an inferiority and superiority complex. He arrived in New York seemingly petrified of what the New York media would do to him, so he took preemptive steps to guard against them, when in reality, a standard coach/media relationship would have served him better. Like any bully, Tortorella deep down was afraid of the media, and out of that was born a four-year adversarial relationship that wasn’t even necessary in the first place.

Can't see Torts coaching in a Canadian market like VAN, with all the media demands.

I think the 'media' whoever that is, often have just as big of egos and incorrectly assume that their opinion is relevant. Nobody gives a crap about the 'media' because they don't add a lot of insight, ever. Healy borderline should be in an infirmary and I half expect a troubling diagnosis potentially in the near-term with some of his incoherent ramblings.

Whoever wrote the above, thinks they're more important than they are. Does anyone truly believe a coach thinks for 2 seconds about worrying what he'll say in the press conference?? They only do it because they have to. Half this bloody site would be better commentators or have more interesting opinions than some of these tools.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

I think the 'media' whoever that is, often have just as big of egos and incorrectly assume that their opinion is relevant. Nobody gives a crap about the 'media' because they don't add a lot of insight, ever. Healy borderline should be in an infirmary and I half expect a troubling diagnosis potentially in the near-term with some of his incoherent ramblings.

Whoever wrote the above, thinks they're more important than they are. Does anyone truly believe a coach thinks for 2 seconds about worrying what he'll say in the press conference?? They only do it because they have to. Half this bloody site would be better commentators or have more interesting opinions than some of these tools.

While that may be your opinion, the fact remains media relations is an important part of the coaching position. As a human being, a little respect and decorum is a reasonable request. Torts spent offer either

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

While that may be your opinion, the fact remains media relations is an important part of the coaching position. As a human being, a little respect and decorum is a reasonable request. Torts spent offer either

Only to the degree that it impacts your team's performance. If Tortorella's handling of the media allowed his team to avoid dealing with them or otherwise deflected attention it could have been a positive. I don't believe it worked out that way, but being nice to the media is certainly not a requirement of being an effective coach.

[Puppet Guy]

An Islanders blogger trolled the hockey world with this yesterday. Some Rangers fans bought it:

http://www.lighthousehockey.com/2013...ror-the-horror

NEW YORK (LHP) _ To find the right coach for their roster, the New York Rangers are turning to the past -- and to an old nemesis.
Mike Milbury, the former coach and general manager of the New York Islanders and Boston Bruins whose most infamous moment involved hitting a Rangers fan with a shoe during a brawl at Madison Square Garden in 1979, was named head coach of the Rangers today, replacing John Tortorella.

Sather said that Milbury, who made several controversial trades during his tumultuous time with the Islanders, would have input as to what players are retained on the Rangers' roster.
"Mike won't just be a coach for us. His experience as a general manager will be key," Sather said. "If he thinks a player needs to go, that player is as good as gone."

Milbury doesn't expect the long absence from coaching to be an issue. In addition to NBC, he has been a broadcaster and analyst for NESN, ESPN and CBC and feels he's smarter now because of it.
"I've watched a ton of hockey over my years in television and l have a lot of opinions," he said. "That works both ways. I've seen great teams and some really, really screwed up teams that I felt I could help. They all probably would have been better off if they had listened to me."

the comments section alone is worth the read.

[Stay Golden]

I hope Sather goes with Gretzky or Messier it will end up a disaster half way through the season.
It would look good on the New York's Rangers to take a fall backwards.
Plenty of more suitable candidates out there than these 2.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by valo403

Only to the degree that it impacts your team's performance. If Tortorella's handling of the media allowed his team to avoid dealing with them or otherwise deflected attention it could have been a positive. I don't believe it worked out that way, but being nice to the media is certainly not a requirement of being an effective coach.

I disagree strongly. How many fans would pay attention to a team if nobody spoke to the media? If you don't like that part of the job, Don't get a job in entertainment. Whether good it not, media is responsible for 99% of what we know about our teams, and that info comes from the team including the coach.

Secondly, treating humans like trash, especially when they're responsible for public sentiment, will ensure you a more difficult go of things. He didn't have to be an ####### to everybody. There was no benefit. He was simply insecure and mean and he deserves not to work in entertainment again

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

I disagree strongly. How many fans would pay attention to a team if nobody spoke to the media? If you don't like that part of the job, Don't get a job in entertainment. Whether good it not, media is responsible for 99% of what we know about our teams, and that info comes from the team including the coach.

Secondly, treating humans like trash, especially when they're responsible for public sentiment, will ensure you a more difficult go of things. He didn't have to be an ####### to everybody. There was no benefit. He was simply insecure and mean and he deserves not to work in entertainment again

How many fans paid attention to the Rangers the last 4 years? I don't recall them disappearing from the map.

[valo403]

A contrary view on covering Tortorella from Jesse Spector.

"I love covering John Tortorella."

And to my point above:

"John Tortorella's job (was) to win hockey games. Being nice to the media does not help him win hockey games," Spector said.

http://www.nyrangersblog.com/2013-ar...-everyone.html