[Report] Torts Fired

[We Are All Cynics]

We really do have some of the worst fans in the league....

Agreed. Linden's next task is to get rid, uh reconnect, with them!

[Plaguez]

Good riddance. Terrible coach. In this day and age who decides to NOT practice the PP? Torts is past his best before date by a decade.

Coaches I would like to see considered:

Bylsma (if fired, unlikely though)

Trotz (this guy isn't as defense first as ppl think)

Stevens

[BurrsArrows]

 

wow. When 2 coaches are fired in 2 years it is clearly not a coaching issue.

 

Kind of manipulating it there.. more like 2 coaches in 8 years.

Although yes, your statement is 100% true, Vigneault shouldn't be brought into this. He had a good run for 7 years, then fired. Torts was fired one year after Vigneault, this was all Torts.

[We Are All Cynics]

scoring 8 goals in 7 games in the finals isn't consistent offense last time i checked.

Luongo was far from our biggest problem come playoff time

I hate the 8 goals in 7 games argument as it's such a cop out for Lu supporters and doesn't tell the whole story. He was a huge problem come playoff time since you never knew which Luongo was going to show up game from game. He'd either be stellar or become the worst sieve the NHL has ever seen (1st 3 games in VAN 0.67 GAA, 0.979 SV,2 shutouts, 9 periods and 11 seconds play vs. 3 starts in BOS 8.05 GAA, 0.773 SV, approx 5.5 periods of play). That's INCONSISTENT and doesn't give your team a chance to win. Wouldn't have mattered if the Canucks had scored 22 goals in 7 games, they still would've lost with Lu's performance in BOS.

Also, Thomas was stellar, give him credit. The Canucks peppered him often with shots, but unlike Lu he could keep his team in it every game which is why he has the Cup, Vezina and Conn Smythe and Lu has nothing.

[-DLC-]

I haven't weighed in on this yet because I'm on the fence about it.

I really like Torts and his passion for the game, that's infectious. But I heard at the start about adaptability and addressing each game on that basis, in seeing what the players in place could offer and then utilizing them accordingly. That his gameplan would be ever changing depending on that and whoever he was matching up against. I'm not sure it played out that way and the thing that really hurt us was how the guys went down with injury and were overused.

It's like the chicken/egg thing....which caused which? - did the overplaying with ridiculous minutes and focus on shot blocking contribute to fatigue and injury or did injury dictate that he overused guys? He says his hand was forced but perhaps it's how he played it? I don't like this endless shot blocking...you have a goaltender in place to "block shots". Sure, on occasion - but I don't like that as a gameplan. Guys won't last long and Tanev was a prime example of that. So he blocked some shots - we lost some of those games anyhow and him in the process. A weighing things out deal was in order in relation to sacrifices that were being made. Our lineup was depleted and depth was an issue, so protection of those guys in place needed to be focused on a little more but they were played with reckless abandon.

I don't know that he got a fair shot but I also don't think he was going to change...he's too far in at this point in his hockey life and I think, in the end, that this will be something that had to happen.

[Vancanwincup]

The problem is Linden played with the sisters...Heck I don't know if TL's got the balls to ok a trade if the GM wants to pull the trigger.

Calling the Sedins sisters is like calling Chara small.... has to be the most blind stupid comment that Cherry was ever come up with and you have sheep like the nuck1031 repeating the statement.

[awalk]

Every coach pretty much demands the same thing your talking about, playing hard, a good back check, being accountable and too an extent "blocking shots" that said, the difference was that Torterella, was often screaming and yelling at his players. He can remain calm, and try to be cool, or often dropping the F bombs on his players.

Trevor Linden was being nice to Torterella today. As a player he knows it. No players like to be screamed at, or yelled at non stop or after every other shift. Glad this clown out of here.

When I lived in Vancouver I used to have seats right behind the Canucks bench. Rick Bowness yelled and screamed at the players literally throughout the entire game. Sometimes I thought his head was going to explode his face was so red. I don't know if getting yelled at is really the issue.

Every audio clip I hear from Torts, I hear him saying good, sound, hockey things. I think he'll coach again soon and be succesful. He wasn't right for this team, clearly, but it's the reasons why he wasn't right for the team that are concerning.

And to those saying he can't coach an uptempo, offensive style...I seem to remember that the '03 TB Lightning were a damn exciting offensive team.

[aGENT]

linden on 1040 yesterday credited gulutzen with being the one who brought along the youth, and specifically kassian.

B-but I thought Torts was the sole reason Kassian improved....?

[stawns]

When I lived in Vancouver I used to have seats right behind the Canucks bench. Rick Bowness yelled and screamed at the players literally throughout the entire game. Sometimes I thought his head was going to explode his face was so red. I don't know if getting yelled at is really the issue.

Every audio clip I hear from Torts, I hear him saying good, sound, hockey things. I think he'll coach again soon and be succesful. He wasn't right for this team, clearly, but it's the reasons why he wasn't right for the team that are concerning.

And to those saying he can't coach an uptempo, offensive style...I seem to remember that the '03 TB Lightning were a damn exciting offensive team.

his NHL coaching career is over......he was lucky to get another job after the Rangers roasted him, now fired after a year, with the Hartley incident. He's a dinosaur and I can't see another team giving him a shot

[Dazzle]

What broke the team was that the entire team was playing crapey. We lost ten straight, in, around and directly after the Calgary debacle. Virtually every veteran, save Kesler and to a lesser extent (because he digressed as the season went on) Garrison, had near career low performances. We were near dead last in scoring and PP.

How do you pin that on Lack?

Lack's performance fell less than the overall team performance.

The Edler effect. Enough said

[Me_]

When I lived in Vancouver I used to have seats right behind the Canucks bench. Rick Bowness yelled and screamed at the players literally throughout the entire game. Sometimes I thought his head was going to explode his face was so red. I don't know if getting yelled at is really the issue.

Every audio clip I hear from Torts, I hear him saying good, sound, hockey things. I think he'll coach again soon and be succesful. He wasn't right for this team, clearly, but it's the reasons why he wasn't right for the team that are concerning.

And to those saying he can't coach an uptempo, offensive style...I seem to remember that the '03 TB Lightning were a damn exciting offensive team.

No. The team wasn't right for Tortorella or any other coach. The core must change.

[awalk]

his NHL coaching career is over......he was lucky to get another job after the Rangers roasted him, now fired after a year, with the Hartley incident. He's a dinosaur and I can't see another team giving him a shot

Interestingly enough I have said the same thing about a few guys who are currently coaching in the league.

Bob Hartley (his career SHOULD be over)

Michele Therrian

Ken Hitchcock

I think guys can adapt. I was never a Torts fan until I got to watch him all year long, now I respect the guy.

[Mustapha]

Let's face it. Offensive coaches like Todd McLellan have a much better chance of winning big games than defensive coaches like Torts, or Darryl Sutter......ok maybe not.

Seriously guys, I am not advocating Torts deserved another year, but it would have been nice for the future GM to at least assess his coach before canning him.

Linden canned Torts and Sully to appease the season ticket holders, which in a business perspective I can understand. As a hockey decision, I don't feel it was honourable and it again lets the players (many of whom where abysmal) off the hook for their shoddy play yet again.

[Dogbyte]

No. The team wasn't right for Tortorella or any other coach. The core must change.

This team was terrible. The blindness is quite rampant. You got people here talking about systems and crap like they actually have a clue of what was going on and what systems were ran. Torts said as much himself. Most people's comments suggest they don't understand anything about the system. They can't conceive that maybe the team, like all teams, became a bad team with medicore players and just plain sucked.

I'll tell you one thing, if you traded all of Boston's players for Canuck players at the start of the year Torts would have them challenging for the President's trophy playing the exact same system he employed this year and our Canuck players would still be golfing.

[RUPERTKBD]

2 mins each for Rupertkbd and Canuck or Die for unsportsmanlike conduct.

What! O'Halloran, is that you?

Let's face it. Offensive coaches like Todd McLellan have a much better chance of winning big games than defensive coaches like Torts, or Darryl Sutter......ok maybe not.

Seriously guys, I am not advocating Torts deserved another year, but it would have been nice for the future GM to at least assess his coach before canning him.

Linden canned Torts and Sully to appease the season ticket holders, which in a business perspective I can understand. As a hockey decision, I don't feel it was honourable and it again lets the players (many of whom where abysmal) off the hook for their shoddy play yet again.

I disagree with this.

Appeasing ticket holders is one thing, but Linden did this for hockey reasons, IMO. It would have been nice to let the GM pull the trigger, but with most of the guys targeted still involved in the playoffs, he couldn't wait.

Coaches are now becoming available and if you wait until June, the guy you want may already be snapped up. Also, this move gives Torts more time and opportunity to find a new gig if he is so inclined. In that respect, it was quite honorable.

[RUPERTKBD]

This team was terrible. The blindness is quite rampant. You got people here talking about systems and crap like they actually have a clue of what was going on and what systems were ran. Torts said as much himself. Most people's comments suggest they don't understand anything about the system. They can't conceive that maybe the team, like all teams, became a bad team with medicore players and just plain sucked.

I'll tell you one thing, if you traded all of Boston's players for Canuck players at the start of the year Torts would have them challenging for the President's trophy playing the exact same system he employed this year and our Canuck players would still be golfing.

I agree that most people don't really understand systems and probably shouldn't attempt to use them as examples of why someone does, or does not deserve to be fired.

However, I think your last sentence points out one of the big reasons that the Torts experiment failed.

Tortorella did not have Boston's players, nor did he have the NYR players from last season. He had the Canucks of 2013/2014. He should have been coaching to their strengths, but instead he chose to mold these players into his type of team, something that most of them are not.

It isn't a coincidence that many of them had the worst statistical season of their respective careers.

I said when he was originally hired "be careful what you wish for". People were clamoring for someone who would show emotion on the bench and "get in people's face" when they made a mistake...

I said then that those kind of antics have an effect for a short period, but get old with professionals very quickly and the yelling/screaming coach usually gets tuned out sooner or later. I didn't expect it to be quite this soon, but there you go.

[Mustapha]

What! O'Halloran, is that you?

I disagree with this.

Appeasing ticket holders is one thing, but Linden did this for hockey reasons, IMO. It would have been nice to let the GM pull the trigger, but with most of the guys targeted still involved in the playoffs, he couldn't wait.

Coaches are now becoming available and if you wait until June, the guy you want may already be snapped up. Also, this move gives Torts more time and opportunity to find a new gig if he is so inclined. In that respect, it was quite honorable.

I respect your opinion, but Linden's letter to season ticket holders confirms (at least in my mind) his true intentions.

He can say he did it for Tortorella, but I don't buy it. Firing Gillis wasn't enough, the paying customers wanted more. A smart business decision, no doubt. I am sure it left a bad taste in John's mouth.

I personally don't have a good feeling about this management style going forward. It feels like the team is using Linden as the mouthpiece simply because of all the (deserved) respect the community has for him, while the new GM and his underlings (who he may or may not be able to select) do the actual work behind the scenes. This team has been secretive and contradictory in the past (i.e. proclaiming Schneider the starter and then trading him a few months later) and I would hate that trend to continue.

[aGENT]

This team has been secretive and contradictory in the past (i.e. proclaiming Schneider the starter and then trading him a few months later) and I would hate that trend to continue.

First off, all teams/management are "secretive and contradictory".

Second, that situation was borne out of a lack of other options, not some grand backroom scheme derived by a James Bond villain.

[Mustapha]

First off, all teams/management are "secretive and contradictory".

Second, that situation was borne out of a lack of other options, not some grand backroom scheme derived by a James Bond villain.

Lack of other options? In the end, Lack WAS the option.... (sorry for cheesy wordplay)

They could have bought out Luongo and kept Schneider. Expensive proposal yes, but not impossible.

I don't have a microscope to assess the dealing of the other 29 teams in recent years, but I don't recall too many instances where the team extends a young goalie's contract, goes out of their way to inform him that he is their #1, and then proceeds to trade him a few months later.

The whole situation was a disaster by any team's standard.

[RUPERTKBD]

I respect your opinion, but Linden's letter to season ticket holders confirms (at least in my mind) his true intentions.

He can say he did it for Tortorella, but I don't buy it. Firing Gillis wasn't enough, the paying customers wanted more. A smart business decision, no doubt. I am sure it left a bad taste in John's mouth.

I personally don't have a good feeling about this management style going forward. It feels like the team is using Linden as the mouthpiece simply because of all the (deserved) respect the community has for him, while the new GM and his underlings (who he may or may not be able to select) do the actual work behind the scenes. This team has been secretive and contradictory in the past (i.e. proclaiming Schneider the starter and then trading him a few months later) and I would hate that trend to continue.

I respect your opinion as well and I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree.

While I think you're correct that a team President has to consider ticket sales and factor them into his decision making, I would hope that Trevor and ownership as well, understand that nothing sells tickets like winning hockey.

It would therefore be an egregious error, IMHO, to make decisions to the detriment of the team's overall performance. I think the FA and TL do understand this and have acted in the best interests of the team as it pertains to the product on the ice.

If this has the added benefit of boosting ticket sales (which I am not convinced of, BTW) then so much the better.