A source told The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz that a confrontation between Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Cam York and former head coach John Tortorella in which they “probably both crossed the line” contributed to Tortorella’s firing Thursday.
The incident happened Tuesday during Philadelphia’s 7-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. York was benched for most of the game, playing only 3:50 across eight shifts.
York dressed for Thursday’s 6-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens but didn’t play at all.
Interim head coach Brad Shaw said York’s benching was for a disciplinary issue.
After the Toronto loss, Tortorella said he wasn’t interested in learning how to coach the Flyers through a rebuild and took responsibility for the team’s lack of progress this season.
Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said Thursday that “a series of things” led to Tortorella’s firing.
Tortorella was hired by Philadelphia’s previous front office and coached the team for almost three full seasons.
The Flyers went 97-107-33 under his leadership.
