John Tortorella Under Fire for Reckless Leadership Move
John Tortorella is no stranger to the spotlight. Throughout his career he has made several controversial moves and gotten himself into many odd situations which have generated lots oh headlines in hockey media. Now he's at it again.
Tortorella Makes Odd Choice For Flyers Captain
Like last season, the Flyers will not have a captain this year. That by itself is not particularly unusual. Teams often forgo naming a captain, instead choosing to name several alternate captains that share the leadership duties. Teams are allowed to play three players with letters on their jersey each game.
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What Makes Tortorella's decision here unusual is the fact that he named just one alternate captain in Scott Laughton. Laughton first wore the "A" last season. This means that the Flyers will have just one player with a letter on their jersey this season, at least for now. Notably, only the captains and alternate captains are allowed to directly talk with the officials. This comes up somewhat often when there is a review or challenge with the team captains often serving as middle men between the coaches and on-ice officials.
Tortorella explained his decision.
"We're in no rush to put letters on people because I want to allow people to feel that they have the opportunity to say something. As I've always said, we have great athletes in our game, and they respect the hierarchy of the locker room. You start putting letters on people because you think you need to put letters on people; it may stunt some other people. So we're going to leave that wide open."
Flyers Players React To Odd Leadership Situation
Scott Laughton, who is essentially the team's honorary captain now, commented on Tortorella's decision, speaking of it in a positive way.
"It gives a guy like Joel Farabee an opportunity to step forward. I think we have a great group for that — speak your mind and hold each other accountable."
Travis Konecny added his thoughts on the subject, stating that the players can figure things out on their own.
"Guys know who and when to listen, (and) to which guys. Guys set examples on the ice. You still can sense the guys that are trying to lead. Letters or not, guys in here know."
Previously on PuckReporter
| POLL |
13 OCTOBRE | 29 ANSWERS John Tortorella Under Fire for Reckless Leadership Move Should the Flyers add more alternate captains later in the year? |
| Yes | 11 | 37.9 % |
| No | 18 | 62.1 % |
| LIST OF POLLS |
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