Philadelphia fired bench boss Alain Vigneault in December, with Mike Yeo taking over on an interim basis until the end of the season but was not offered the role after the season completed.
Tortorella has spent the past year working as an NHL analyst for ESPN, last coaching the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2020-21 season, when he failed to take them to the playoffs.
The 63-year-old has coached 1,383 NHL games, holding a record of 673-541-132 spanning over 20 seasons and four different teams. He won the Stanley Cup in 2004 while coaching the Tampa Bay Lightning.
According to reporter Anthony SanFilipinos, the Flyers had actually offered Barry Trotz a multi-year dear worth north of 7 millions dollars a season, a contract that would've made Trotz the highest paid head coach in NHL history, but the veteran bench boss turned it down.
It was only after Trotz turned down the record-breaking deal that the Flyers offered Tortorella their head coaching job.
Tortorella shouldn't be too hurt by being the clear second choice and receiving an offer for about half the pay. This is a simple case of supply and demand. There is only one Barry Trotz and it seems like every NHL team with a coaching vacancy wanted him.
POLL | ||
Who is the Philadelphia Flyers biggest this offseason? | ||
Need to find better capable goaltending | 43 | 24.7 % |
Upgrade at the Centre Position | 23 | 13.2 % |
More Scoring | 28 | 16.1 % |
Everything this organization needs to blow it up | 80 | 46 % |
List of polls |