John Tortorella, the two-time Jack Adams award winner who led the Tampa Lightning to a Stanley Cup in 2004, and the Philadelphia Flyers will have a meeting on Thursday to negotiate a potential contract that would see him become the team’s next head coach, Sportsnet can confirm.
Details of any possible arrangement between the parties are not believed to be solidified at this time.
The longtime NHL bench boss most recently coached the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2015 to 2021. He coached Columbus to its first playoff series win in franchise history in 2019, thought the team struggled in what proved to be his final season, failing to make the post-season and finishing tied for last in the Central Division with the Detroit Red Wings. Tortorella spent the last season working for ESPN as an analyst.
Other candidates for the job included Barry Trotz, Rick Tocchet and Bruce Cassidy, who was hired by the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
Tortorella, 63, has also coached the Lightning, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. He won a Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004 and was the first American-born coach to reach 500 career NHL wins.
Tortorella's record across his 20 coaching seasons is 673-541-37-142, a mark that places him 14th on the NHL's all-time wins list.
The Flyers' head coaching position became vacant after the regular season when the team cut ties with interim head coach Mike Yeo, who replaced the fired Alain Vigneault in December.
The Flyers have missed the playoffs each of the past two years, falling out of post-season contention altogether after a string of appearances that saw them advance to the second round just once since 2012. Philadelphia has clinched just three playoff series since reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2010.
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