Del Rio Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Vancouver Canucks head coach John Tortorella won't be watching the gold medal game on Sunday between Canada and Sweden, but that doesn't mean he's not pulling for a team. Tortorella told The Province he'll be cheering for team Sweden to win gold when they take on the defending Olympic champions on Sunday Morning. "I hope Sweden wins, cause I don't think Hammer (Dan Hamhuis) is going to play, judging by what's happened. I don't think Lui (Roberto Luongo) is going to play. So, I don't give a s--- about (Canada) right now because they're not playing. I just want them back here," said Tortorella. Tortorella, born in Boston, Mass., said most of all he hopes the result helps his team when his players return. "I hope Daniel (Sedin) scores two, (Alex) Edler gets three assists and Sweden wins. So they come back feeling good about themselves because it's going to help us. That's all I'm concerned about right now. The Vancouver Canucks." The Canucks sent seven players to the 2014 Sochi Games, including forward Ryan Kesler, who along with Team USA, lost the bronze medal game to Finland on Saturday. Tortorella said he wasn't concerned about Kesler's return to NHL action after his Olympic letdown. "That's a tough game. It's a tough one. Especially after US-Canada, to lose that game and come back the next day and play. I'm not trying to make any excuses. I don't even want to get involved in it. But if I know Kes, he's a horse. He'll be ready to play." Tortorella says it's Sedin and Edler that he's more concerned about seeing lose. "It's the other two guys (Edler and Daniel). Those are important guys for us that we need to get going. Danny has played well. I watched Edler make a couple really nice offensive plays on some highlights. That Alfredsson goal he made a nice play. I hope they fill the net and feel great about themselves." Tortorella was an assistant coach for the United States at Vancouver 2010, when the team won silver after an overtime loss to Canada. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=444459 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DollarAndADream Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Makes sense for Torts to say that. He's from the States, and is cheering for Canucks players to win. Luongo isn't in net and Hamhuis has been for the most part replaced by other Canadian D. Reasonable for Torts to cheer for Danny and Edler with Sweden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canucks3322 Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 gotta love torts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Grimes Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Hahaha, That's a fair response, his Canucks aren't playing so he doesn't give a crap; Daniel is, so he does - makes sense to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-DLC- Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 I heard this interview and basically he doesn't really care...he only cares about his players' state of mind and that they come back in intact and ready to go. Was surprised though...thought most sports guys would be into the Olympics...he is very indifferent about it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB007 Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Good for him. Thats exactly the right perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Heffy Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 He's gotta support his guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkyard Dog Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 I heard this interview and basically he doesn't really care...he only cares about his players' state of mind and that they come back in intact and ready to go. Was surprised though...thought most sports guys would be into the Olympics...he is very indifferent about it all. He is more focused on our players and our team than the Olympics. Lets not forget we've lost 7 straight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poetica Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 I would have been disappointed to hear any other answer from him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stick-in-Rink Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 There is some outrage on Twitter over this.. I can't believe people would be offended by what Tortorella had to say He's clearly rooting for his players in the Olympics, otherwise he seems quite detached from it all. Not surprised he doesn't give a rats ass about Team Canada, he wants his players to come back with the right "mindset" (we've been hearing this word way too much). Right comments to be made Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanucksSayEh Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 He wants Edler to up his trade value.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tortorellatheboss Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Why would he care about the olympics? In all seriousness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkyard Dog Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 He wants Edler to up his trade value.. I never knew Torts was our GM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeyville88 Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Meh. He's an American. He's genetically engineered to hate us when it comes to hockey At least he's honest. It wouldn't have sounded right if he said "oh I really hope Canada wins." It would have been obvious that he was just being PC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatsPajamas Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Damnit I shouldn't have read this. Makes me want Sweden to win. It is so hard to buy into the team when the tournament is only two weeks. I find it very difficult to get emotionally invested. Especially when most of the games have been rather boring and uneventful. This will probably be the most important game I watch this year and I can't get into it. F*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henrik Kesler Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 I can't believe the hate his comments are getting on Twitter. He wants his guys who are playing to play well. A coach who didn't want that isn't one I would want behind the bench for my team. As an aside: Canadians, stop taking every negative comment about your hockey team so goddamn personally. It's pretty sad to see adults wet their pampers of stuff like what Torts said which was really pretty benign. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil_314 Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 I'm of a similar mind, hoping that Danny can pot a couple and regain his confidence and scoring touch, and that Edler can learn something about playing like a top-level offensive D-man from playing with Erik Karlsson. Maybe it's the fact that the game's really early or who knows what, but I'm also just hoping that our guys can come back revived. Both teams putting on a show would be gravy but it's not like John or anyone NEEDS to care about it, esp. when hockey is his full-time job and his country's already been eliminated (#WeAreWinter!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outsiders Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Great answer Torts!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShakyWalton Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Totally agree with him..Im about ready for these Olympics to be over ...the dissention it causes is unreal. Its like the Civil War,,brother against brother,,,,,of course it will cause hard feelings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoosh Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 I heard this interview and basically he doesn't really care...he only cares about his players' state of mind and that they come back in intact and ready to go. Was surprised though...thought most sports guys would be into the Olympics...he is very indifferent about it all. He probably is into it on some level, but wants to keep the focus on his team. He needs to focus on the team, and get the feeling that is all that matters right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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