Carolina Hurricanes: John Tortorella may be the Best Head Coach Candidate for the Canes
By Brett Finger
The Carolina Hurricanes have been searching for a new head coach since Kirk Muller was fired on May 5. Many names have surfaced as potential options for the Carolina Hurricanes, including Barry Trotz, Kevin Dineen, Ulf Samuelsson, Dan Bylsma, and many others. One name that hasn’t been discussed enough is John Tortorella.
You either love John Tortorella, or you hate John Tortorella. Though some find his off ice antics are a bit much, you can’t argue the fact that he has been incredibly successful as an NHL head coach.
Since the 2002-2003 season, only one team coached by John Tortorella finished under .500, and they’ve only missed the playoffs three times in eleven years. He led the Tampa Bay Lightning to a Stanley Cup in the 2003-2004 season.
After coaching the Tampa Bay Lightning for seven years and the New York Rangers for five, John Tortorella moved on to coach the Vancouver Canucks for the 2013-2014 season. The team finished 36-35-11 and 5th in the Pacific Division. He was fired by the team after the regular season.
John Tortorella is notorious for not putting up with anyone who is slacking. Many Carolina Hurricanes fans believe that slacking is one of the team’s biggest problems. That would end with a guy like John Tortorella in charge.
I think John Tortorella would need to agree to tone down his off ice antics a lot before even being considered for a job in a rather “family friendly” environment in Raleigh, North Carolina.
At the same time, it may be time to start moving away from head coaches and players who are “good guys” and “nice people”. It might be time to get players and coaches who do what it takes to win, no matter what is needed.
I, for one, think that it is time for the franchise to take a different look at things. Maybe the whole “family friendly” stuff isn’t working like it used to. It is time to get down to business and get people in the organization who are more focussed on winning, not saying the right things in press conferences after disappointing losses.
A small market team with less pressure may even be good for John Tortorella. He won’t have extreme pressure put on him like in New York and Vancouver.