The New Jersey Devils have an opening for their head coaching position and there seems to be a perfect candidate that matches up with their roster. John Tortorella, most recently fired last spring by the Vancouver Canucks, could be destined for New Jersey as he fits with the defensive-oriented style of hockey that led the Devils to three Stanley Cup championships from 1994 through 2003.
Founders of the Dead Puck Era
New Jersey was the team that brought us the dreadful Dead Puck Era where television ratings fell like a rock and ESPN subsequently dropped the NHL. It was the Devils patented trap system that became the way to play the game and bore millions of fans into watching something else. Tortorella is the modern day poster coach of such tactics and, since the Devils have a popgun offense, he would seem to fit perfectly in giving New Jersey a new identity.
Paint Dry Hockey
With their best offensive player being the 42-year-old Jaromir Jagr, who scored a hat trick last weekend in a win over Philadelphia, the Devils cannot play effectively in today’s bright new era of speed and skill. New Jersey recently fired head coach Pete DeBoer as a sacrificial lamb, but that does not hide their lack of talent and offensive ability.
Tortorella is renowned for demanding that even star players block shots and for implementing a system that is so defensively oriented that his offenses are among the most incoherent and disjointed in the game. Since New Jersey doesn’t have an offense to begin with and can only win by stifling their opponents it would be a logical alternative.
Perfect Match
Tortorella is a native of the Northeastern United States and is brash and uber confident. He swears at a level that would make sailors blush. He would certainly be a perfect cultural fit in New Jersey for a team in desperate need of an identity. Since the Devils have drafted and traded so poorly in recent years, they now have the drones necessary to willingly dive in front of pucks to block shots for Torts and to play a system that emphasizes defense first, second, and third. Beyond that, regardless of how boring the Devils would be with Torts, he would more than make up for that with his epic rants and press conferences.
Flyers Free Fall
Last weekend’s 5-2 loss at New Jersey was the low point of the season for the Philadelphia Flyers and their fifth consecutive loss as they fell into a tie for sixth place with the pitiful Devils in the Met. Last year, the Flyers were able to compensate for their lack of defense with reliable goal scoring.
This year the offense has dried up as Philadelphia ranked 16th in the NHL for goals scored while ranking 24th in the NHL for goals against. It has proven to be a deadly combination to Philadelphia’s playoff prospects. Rumors that head coach Craig Berube is on the hot seat miss the point as management has failed to miserably to stock the blue line and the forwards are beyond tired of trying to bear the burden for success.
