John Tortorella accepts some blame for the Flyers’ collapse, says he’s ‘totally in’ on seeing the rebuild all the way through

John Tortorella’s reputation long precedes Philadelphia.

The fiery bench boss, who will turn 66 in June, has a history of going at it with the media, the fans, and even his own players. But the part that isn’t always seen, or paid attention to, is a guy who loves to teach, who is as “energized” as he’s ever been, and who can take a step back and assess the job he did — both good and the bad.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that when answering the first question at his season-ending news conference Friday, Tortorella shouldered some of the blame for how the season concluded.

“I guess the biggest thing that I’m a little frustrated with is that I couldn’t get the team to close the deal, right? That’s what we wanted to do. It was a concern of mine 25 games left or so in the season, can we stay with it? I think it’s my job to get it to the end. I think the team played hard right to the end. I just did not close the deal,” he said.

“Was the messaging right at certain times? There’s a lot of things that run through my mind as a coach when you’re that close, and then you don’t get there. So that’s something I’ve got to evaluate over the summer. Could I have done some things differently? That’s kind of the process I’m in right now.”

» READ MORE: ‘We’re building something special’: The Flyers view this year’s disappointment as a step to brighter days ahead

The what-ifs. A coach’s worst nightmare. What if the power play had actually clicked? What if this goalpost wasn’t hit or that slam-dunk goal wasn’t missed? What if the goaltending tandem from the start of the season stayed intact? What if you didn’t say the right thing or push the right buttons? What if you did that one thing this way instead of that way?

One question that shouldn’t be on anyone’s mind is whether he will be back next season. The bench boss is not planning on retiring any time soon. He once again said how much he loves working with the Flyers organization and is “totally in until Danny says, ‘Get the [heck] out of here.’” And for the record, general manager Danny Brière is not telling him that yet.

“John and the coaching staff, I’ve been really happy with what they’ve done and where they took this team, how they were able to get them to believe in themselves,” Brière said after Tortorella spoke. “Early in the year, we were saying and were hoping that this team would play some meaningful games down the stretch, and we took it to Game 82. It was close for the playoffs and, obviously, we’re disappointed in that. ... It was great to see how they all came together, and when I say that, it’s not just the players. I know I said that earlier in the season, but I’m proud of the coaches too.”

Tortorella has spent the last few days doing something he strongly values: self-evaluating. Has he thought about what he could have done better or whether this move or that move was right? It will be part of his process over the summer, which will also be when he holds his exit interviews with the players; he prefers to wait until well after the dust has settled and emotions aren’t running high.

But regardless of when they happen, the feedback he receives will be critical in how things move forward and how he shapes his coaching style. Despite being in the business for 30-plus years, he reiterated once again Friday how important it is for coaches to keep evolving.

“It’s a game of mistakes for the players. It’s a game with mistakes for coaches,” he added. “I’ve made some mistakes this year, not the ones you may think I did. Some of the ones that you have no clue what I did, or have any thoughts on it. There are other things that go on that you’re not privy to — and you’re not supposed to be — that I think I need to be better at. So that’s constant with me.”

Whether or not it was a mistake is for another day, but one of the most polarizing topics was captain Sean Couturier’s being a healthy scratch in March. The veteran forward was struggling — something everyone, including Couturier, can agree on — but questions arose as to how it was handled. Tortorella stated Friday that he informed Couturier the day before he sat, and that they discussed the why because he wouldn’t disrespect the veteran NHLer that way.

» READ MORE: Morgan Frost, Sean Couturier among the Flyers heading into the offseason unsure of where they stand

“I’m always going to communicate in that type of situation. Now, whether the player agrees with it, and Sean didn’t, that’s what I love about him. He didn’t, he disagrees. We just talked yesterday and we disagreed on a lot of stuff. That’s what I love about him. He’s willing to say what’s on his mind, and that’s how our relationship is going to grow,” Tortorella said. “... I’m not in the business to disrespect people. I think sometimes the way I do things, I’m honest about it and it turns into a bit of a frenzy of all this sensitivity stuff. If everybody’s going to be happy coaching under me, I’m not doing my job.”

It’s a fair assessment. As Tortorella said, he has more than 20 guys he needs to worry about on a day-to-day basis. He stressed again that if a player isn’t happy with something, his door is always open. Morgan Frost walked through that door in January when he was, once again, watching from the press box. The two hashed things out and Frost stepped up his game after he returned to the lineup. Tortorella wants his players “to be selfish about themselves” and Frost’s ability to have that meeting left a mark on Brière.

“I have to say, I was really impressed with how Morgan Frost handled the situation this season,” Brière said. “He’s shown a lot of maturity the way he handled it, didn’t want to create waves, waited for his turn, and when he had the chance, really stepped up and was a really good player for us. So maturity-wise, Morgan was great. I think it’s going to be done a little bit more internally with the Flyers roster. We’re going to need some guys to keep taking a step forward for us to keep advancing.”

Tortorella knows he made mistakes this season, although he wouldn’t own up to exactly what they were sitting in his black Flyers hoodie in Voorhees on Friday. A guy who has apologized for some things this season — for example, how he addressed, or didn’t address, Felix Sandström’s play against the Florida Panthers — he said that didn’t take back what he said following the New York Islanders game in April. Following a 4-3 overtime loss, he called the team “soft.”

“I just want them to know that for probably 25-27 minutes of that game, it was unacceptable and I wanted to end it right there,” he said. “We can’t go there or we won’t have any chance. ... If that hurt people, then we’re finding out about people because if the same thing came up again, I would do the same thing. ... That is accountability. That is part of growing a team.

“As I said, you got the wrong coach here if we’re going to be hugging and ‘We were here, guys, played a lousy period and a half there, but it’s OK.’ You’re not getting that from me. Ever. Those are decisions my management has to make if they think I made a mistake, and if they show me the door, so be it. I am not coming off of that because that’s how you build a hockey team. That’s how you build a mindset of a team that you guys want to be contenders and that’s why we’re going to go about it. I’m not coming off of that.”

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