Flyers fire John Tortorella after saying he was 'not really interested in learning how to coach in this type of season'

[ASFN Admin]

The Philadelphia Flyers reached the final straw with head coach John Tortorella. The long-time NHL coach was fired Thursday after saying he was "not really interested in learning how to coach in this type of season."

The team confirmed the news, though made no mention of Tortorella's comments in the press release.

OFFICIAL: The Flyers have relieved John Tortorella of his duties as head coach. Philadelphia Flyers Associate Coach, Brad Shaw, has been named interim head coach and will assume duties immediately. https://t.co/qJuAybRMFTpic.twitter.com/saaH0u62lT

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 27, 2025

Associate coach Brad Shaw will take over as the team's interim head coach moving forward.

Tortorella's firing comes after the Flyers fell 7-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. It was Philadelphia's six-straight loss.

Following the contest, Tortorella drew criticism by implying he had no interest in coaching the team.

"When you're in this type of situation and you're losing all the time, and there's nothing at the end of the tunnel for you, there's certainly going to be some frustration. But, this falls on me. I'm not really interested in learning how to coach in this type of season, where we're at right now. But I have to do a better job. So this falls on me, getting the team prepared to play the proper way until we get to the end."

Some interpreted those comments as Tortorella trying to take the blame off his players. Others viewed it as Tortorella raising the white flag.

At 28-36-9, the Flyers rank ninth in the Eastern Conference. The team hasn't been officially eliminated from the postseason yet, though that will likely happen soon.

The season comes as a disappointment after the Flyers finished 38-33-11 under Tortorella last season. Though the team posted a record over .500, it failed to make the postseason.

This story will be updated.

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