Tortorella's softer side revealed as Flyers coach hits 1,500 games

John Tortorella will have the familiar scowl and angry disposition he's had for most of the previous 1,499 NHL games he's coached when he steps behind the bench for the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday.

And Mike Sullivan will laugh, like he usually does.

"He polishes his own schtick, don't kid yourself," said Sullivan, the Pittsburgh Penguins coach who spent six seasons as Tortorella's assistant with three teams. "He's pretty calculated with respect to that."

Tortorella, 65, will become the first coach born in the United States, and eighth overall, to reach 1,500 games when the Flyers visit the Seattle Kraken (10 p.m. ET; ROOT-NW, NBCSP+).

In 22 seasons with the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Flyers, Tortorella is 723-590-149 with 37 ties. He's 10th on the NHL wins list, and second among U.S.-born coaches behind current Rangers coach Peter Laviolette (776).

Tortorella's teams have reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs 12 times, including the 2004 Stanley Cup champion Lightning. He has won the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year twice, in 2004 and in 2017 with the Blue Jackets.

His manner and methods have been described with several adjectives over the years, most of them unflattering.

But those who know him away from the rink paint a different picture.

"He just came from such a humbling place that was just so endearing," said Lisa Bonanno-Spence, director of development at SPCA Westchester in Briarcliff Manor, New York. "He was just so kind to us."

Scott Hartnell, who played two seasons for Tortorella with the Blue Jackets (2015-17), said: "There's a persona when he's at the rink and when he's away from the rink. He's this gentle man that loves his family and cares about people."

And then there is Lindsay Pennal, who described Tortorella as warm.

"He's one of the warmest, kindest people I've ever crossed paths with in my whole life, not just in this job," said Pennal, executive director of the NHL Coaches' Association. "It's never really portrayed in the media. He's known for being the 'Torts' that we see on TV."

The differences between the public and the private can be jarring, but it's how Tortorella has carved his path to success and longevity in a business where each are difficult to achieve.

"I'm not going to tell you he's Mr. Personality around here," said Christine Tortorella, John's wife. "When he became a grandpa for the first time, we got him a hat that says 'Grumpa.' ... He is a good person and a good man. He's not without imperfections."

Hartnell saw each side of Tortorella up close during their time in Columbus, which included several healthy scratches and one memorable locker room conversation.

"My brothers and their kids, my nephews, came to a game and I was showing them the room in Columbus and was telling my brothers, '[Tortorella] has been so hard on me, he scratched me three of the last four games, I've been playing well,' this and that," Hartnell said. "Basically talking bad about Torts and how he doesn't see that I'm beneficial for this team and blah, blah, blah. Torts is walking through the dressing room, and he goes, 'Oh, Scott is this your brother? Your nephews?' I said yeah, and he sat and talked to us for a few minutes. He was like, 'Enjoy it, anything you guys need,' this and that, and they both looked at me and they're like, 'This is the nicest man ever.' I was like, 'Usually it's not like that.'

"But he does care about you. ... You have this persona of what this guy is and you're afraid of him a little bit, but at the end of the day, he's a teddy bear as well."

When Hartnell retired in 2018, one of the first phone calls he got was from Tortorella.

"Probably one of the last guys I thought that would reach out," Hartnell said. "'If there's anything I can do for you, Scott, please let me know.'"

Philadelphia forward Cam Atkinson had a similar up-and-down relationship with Tortorella during the six seasons they were together in Columbus from 2015-21. But when the Flyers were looking to hire a coach in 2022, he and Hartnell, now a broadcaster for the team, were among those who vouched for Tortorella.

"In my opinion, I think he's a Hall of Fame coach," Atkinson said. "He's not for everyone. There are moments where he's been very hard on me. But I think he's helped me grow into not only the player I am today, but the person, and just how I go about my daily business in my life."

Sullivan, who was on Tortorella's staff with the Lightning, Rangers and Canucks, said: "There's that perception of what he is and then there's the reality of what he is, and what he is is a very demanding guy that cares an awful lot about his players. And he works extremely hard and pushes his players extremely hard to get the best out of them. That's his modus operandi. And the sole purpose is because he cares about them. And he cares about winning.

"I think the guys that play for him learn that over the course of time. Their initial impression might not be that, but over the course of time, as they get to understand him and they learn who he is and what he represents, I think players gain a much greater appreciation for how he goes about his business."

That caring side of Tortorella is one he keeps walled away from the majority of the hockey world, but it's a guard he lets down quite easily when it comes to the charities he feels strongest about, especially animal welfare.

That includes a weekly podcast that Tortorella hosts, "Hockey and Hounds," that combines Flyers talk with an adoptable dog from the Pennsylvania SPCA.

Gillian Kocher, PSPCA director of public relations, admitted she was nervous when Tortorella reached out about wanting to work with the organization based on his reputation. But it took almost no time for those concerns to be allayed.

"I discovered that when you get him talking about dogs in particular, but animal welfare, he doesn't really stop talking," she said. "Which is something very different from his media interviews when you get one- or two-word answers. And he's really passionate about the cause. I actually have gotten the completely opposite experience than I thought we would. He's been nothing but warm to us, nothing but wanting to help."

Because of Tortorella's activism, Kocher said a bridge has been built linking the PSPCA and the Flyers.

"We just are now feeling more and more intertwined with the organization," she said. "Whenever they are doing something, they will invite us. ... (Flyers forward) Scott Laughton actually came to our gala, Bark and Whine (Nov. 18). So it's really kind of extending out beyond just John, although, of course he is the driving force."

Animal welfare long has been a passion for Tortorella. During his time coaching the Rangers, he would visit the Westchester Shore Humane Society in Harrison, New York, before and after practices and games to walk the dogs and spend time with them.

However, the facility had fallen into such disrepair that in 2012, he and Christine joined in a lawsuit that led to the facility closing.

"He came down and he started walking the dogs until they probably dreaded him coming because he would tell people, 'No, you can't come back, that isn't a long enough walk,'" Christine said. "He actually came in like a bulldozer to make sure."

Eventually the animals were transferred to the SPCA Westchester in nearby Briarcliff Manor, which was able to get the dogs the treatment they needed, and Bonanno-Spence said that within a year almost all the rescued animals had been adopted.

The Tortorellas' involvement led to The John and Christine Tortorella Family Foundation helping to create and fund The Way Home Program, which pays for a full-time trainer to work with dogs with behavioral challenges to improve their chances of being adopted.

"We get in so many animals and some of them need just very basic training," Bonanno-Spence said. "Luckily some of them are highly adoptable, they can go to families, they are good with dogs and cats and kids. But then you always have a handful that sadly didn't get the socialization they needed when they were younger or weren't treated very kindly. Those are the ones that kind of ... at a lot of places kind of get kind of lost in the mix. So that's why they really wanted to have a trainer on hand who could really dedicate their time to them."

Military charities also are top of mind for Tortorella, in part because his son, Nick, is a member of the United States Army Rangers.

So when Atkinson approached him with an idea to help Team Foster raise money to purchase a service dog for a member of the Flyers Warriors hockey team, Tortorella arranged for his foundation to join with Atkinson's Force Network Fund, Flyers Charities and the Flyers Alumni Association to combine for a $30,000 donation.

Flyers Charities executive director Cindy Stutman said in her 25 years with Comcast Spectacor, which owns the team, it's the first time she's seen player, coach, team and alumni work together this way.

"That's just a small thing that Torts does," Atkinson said. "You ask other coaches or other staff members that he's been associated with in any team, they'll be the first to say that he's one of the only guys, if not the only guy, that reaches out on birthdays, holidays, if a family member is sick, just to see how they're doing. I think that speaks for itself."

Tortorella also has done work behind the scenes to help the next generation of coaches.

Pennal said Tortorella has participated in the NHLCA Female Coaches Program, with Princeton University women's hockey coach Cara Morey taking part in development camp and training camp this season after previously working at development camp.

Last season, he allowed assistants Brad Shaw, Rocky Thompson and Darryl Williams each to coach at least one game after the Flyers were eliminated from playoff contention.

"I never felt like an assistant coach," Sullivan said. "I felt like we co-coached. We were in it together and we coached together, we came to the rink every day and we were trying to find solutions to help our team grow and get better. I never ever once felt like an assistant coach when I worked with him all those years."

Tortorella also has been part of panel discussions during the NHLCA's annual meetings at the NHL Draft, sharing his career path.

He's also been a bit of a fashion trendsetter for other coaches.

"The first time I met Torts, it was to a dinner with the coaching staff at the time when he was with Columbus," Pennal said. "He actually had a bit of a cold and asked me, 'For the game tomorrow night against the [Toronto Maple] Leafs, I need to layer up a bit, I've got this fever and a chill,' and it was the night that he wore a sweater under his suit. First time an NHL coach broke the suit dress code."

He'll break another barrier when the puck drops in Seattle. Flyers general manager Daniel Briere hopes Tortorella enjoys the moment a bit more than he did March 23, the night he got his 700th win.

"We gave him the puck after the game and he didn't want to hear about it," Briere said. "He didn't want to talk about that. But that's Torts. He doesn't care about himself. It's not about him. Everything is about the team."

It's likely Tortorella's public reaction to coaching his 1,500th game will be similar. But like most other moments in his coaching career, the private moments could be different.

"I don't think he will minimize this, but I don't think he likes to dwell on it. I think he thinks, 'This is a game, I coach the game, I'm 65 and I've accumulated some games,'" Christine Tortorella said. "I don't even think he's being modest. I think he kind of takes it in stride and thinks that's really great and they're doing nice things for me. ... [He'll celebrate] maybe quietly and with the people that are happy for him."

And as those who know him best will say, that's who Torts is.

"What people say about you when you're not in the room speaks volumes about who you actually are, your character," Pennal said. "And you now understand that too, hearing what people say about Torts when he's not there."