The good, bad and ugly of life with Tortorella
Canucks players say their former coach has a great hockey mind — if only he could control his emotions
Alex Burrows knows there’s a lot to like about John Tortorella.
The former Vancouver Canucks coach has been rightfully lauded for his charitable endeavours and the engaging side of his personality that has to go into hiding behind a National Hockey League bench.
He’s working wonders with the Columbus Blue Jackets, but he left lasting impressions in Vancouver — some good and some not so good, depending on who you talk to.
Ask Burrows about Tortorella and you get just that. The good? The passion to push the Canucks’ potential.
The bad? The Torts Tunnel Tirade on Jan. 18, 2013, and that Heritage Classic lineup snub of Roberto Luongo on March 2, 2014.
“We had a lot of good talks with him in the players’ lounge about his dogs, and he’s a good human being,” Burrows said.
“It’s just sometimes he would get real passionate and sometimes that would take over and you didn’t understand sometimes what he’s thinking. He’s really knowledgeable. He knows the game and how it should be played and really wanted to win. But my biggest thing is I don’t understand why Lou didn’t play in the Heritage Classic. That’s one where some day I would like to know his reasoning behind it.
“But he was in charge, and I guess it’s tough to make some decisions.”
When Eddie Lack made a surprising third-straight start, it put the wheels in motion to try to move Luongo yet again starting the night after the Heritage Classic.
A trade deal that couldn’t be done before would eventually come to fruition with the Florida Panthers. So, there’s that. And what does Jannik Hansen have to say about his former coach?
In a memorable 5-3 win in Columbus on Nov. 10, 2015 — with Tortorella behind the Blue Jackets bench — Hansen was aligned with Henrik and Daniel Sedin, had a goal and three assists and was a plus-5. But he didn’t do a breezeby of the Blue Jackets bench to stick it to Tortorella.
It was the ultimate revenge for the Canucks winger, but Hansen preferred to take the high road. He got more than an earful from the coach in a memorable Nov. 28, 2013 game in Ottawa. When Clarke MacArthur scored in the first period and Hansen wasn’t quick on the back check, Tortorella lost it.
He started chirping at the Canucks winger when he returned to the bench and repeatedly pointed to places on the ice where Hansen should have been.
And when the Dane sat down, the cameras zoomed in to catch the coach in full lather and poking his player in the shoulder to drive home points.
Hansen would play just three minutes, 11 seconds in a 5-2 win.
“He was great at motivating,” Hansen said. “Very charismatic. He wanted to win above all, so you can’t question his motives and passion.
“Could I have done without some of the stuff? Of course.
“Obviously, we had a tough year and it was the first year where we really had a lot of injuries (six by the Olympic break) and any time the twins (Sedins) go down, you’re in a lot of trouble — and we missed the playoffs.
“Was it his fault or our fault? Probably a combination of a lot of things.”