Philadelphia Flyers general manager Danny Briere revealed that the urge to fire head coach John Tortorella didn't stem from one isolated incident but grew progressively more serious over the past few weeks.
"I felt it was time," he said Thursday, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia. "You're going to ask me, 'Is there one thing that happened?' It's not one thing, it's a series of things that have happened and probably a little bit more in the last three weeks that have escalated since the trade deadline."
He added, "I'm not going to get into the specifics of what we've dealt with, that's not fair to Torts. ... We had just some different opinions on different things."
Tortorella raised eyebrows after the Flyers' 7-2 setback against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday when he admitted he wasn't "really interested in learning how to coach" another losing season.
Briere advised against zeroing in on the bench boss' comments as the driving force behind his firing, pointing out that they'd come after an emotional defeat.
"I tend to be careful with that and not put too much stock into it," he said. "I put it more as, he was frustrated with how things have gone lately, and he was embarrassed by the loss that night."
Briere said he wasn't sure if Tortorella inadvertently sent a message that he wasn't invested in the players.
Tortorella amassed a 97-107-33 record over three years in the City of Brotherly Love. The Flyers finished last season just four points outside a playoff spot, but it's been tough sledding in 2024-25.
Philadelphia is in last place of the Metropolitan at 29-36-9. The team has picked up three wins in March and snapped its second six-game losing streak of the campaign Thursday.
"Not just on him, on all of us," Briere said when asked if the constant losing was wearing on Tortorella. "It's not easy. That's the toughest part of the rebuild, is going through this. I really hope this is rock bottom for us today, and this is the turnaround."
Briere gave Tortorella credit for instilling a no-quit attitude in Philadelphia, noting he did a "tremendous job" with the younger players, including rookie Matvei Michkov.
"Torts is a complicated man, he's a complicated coach," the executive said. "He's a blast to work with because he challenges you. I truly believe he made me a better GM."
As for who will replace Tortorella, associate coach Brad Shaw is taking over for the last nine games of the season. Beyond that, Briere hasn't given it much thought.
"One thing I can tell you is we have a young team," he said. "A coach that can teach is going to be important to start with."
