Player has "Hard Feelings" towards new coach
The trade deadline has a history of surprising fans and hockey executives alike, where people occasionally ask why teams would make a specific move. This was not more apparent this past Friday when the Colorado Avalanche traded Ryan Johansen to the Philadelphia Flyers.
While speaking on the issue on the 32 Thoughts podcast, Insider Elliotte Friedman mentioned that the 31-year-old centre and him have had a complicated history that he shares an agent with Cutter Gauthier and that he is the college player's «Family advisor» so there are some hard feelings there.
But in all honesty in professional hockey, like any profession, a level of professionalism is required most, if not all the time. Sometimes a very fine line needs to be followed, especially with a coach/player relationship. You have to understand that when you have been hired to get a job done, but when there is a clash of some sort (personality or other) sometimes the best thing to do is cut your losses and move on from the situation because coexisting is likely not possible.
It takes a certain type of player to play for John Tortorella and, in this case, it's likely not Ryan Johansen. What remains to be seen is if he will continue to play with Philadelphia's affiliate the Lehigh Valley Phantoms or find a way back onto a National Hockey League team for the remainder of the 2023-2024 season.
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