I’ve been waiting to do the TORT REFORM headline for a few days now, just needed the Flyers to make the hiring official.

Here’s the relevant portion of the John Tortorella press release:

The Philadelphia Flyers have named John Tortorella the 23rd head coach in franchise history, according to President of Hockey Operations & General Manager, Chuck Fletcher.

“I am very happy to bring in John to be the next head coach and voice behind the bench of the Flyers,” said Fletcher. “John demands the best out of his players every single game. He is a Stanley Cup Champion and has a lengthy track record of both regular season and playoff success. During the interview process we discussed a number of factors that are crucial to bring this team immediate success and it became clear to me that his vision and style makes him the right person to restore a winning environment to our locker room.”

“This is a critical moment for our franchise, and Chuck has made a strong selection in John Tortorella as the next Head Coach of the Philadelphia Flyers,” said Dave Scott, Governor of the Flyers.  “John embodies the values of this franchise and city – hard work, grit, and determination – and I’m excited for him to get to work with our team right away.”

“I am very excited to be joining such a historic and well-respected franchise like the Philadelphia Flyers,” said Tortorella. “From my very first conversation with Chuck, I knew this was the right fit for me and I believe in the direction this team is heading. Having faced the Flyers for several years, I know firsthand how tough of a city Philly is to play in and I look forward to being on the right side of the bench on opening night in front of such a loyal and passionate crowd of Flyers fans.”

As you probably know by now, Anthony reported that the Flyers used an outside agency to land Torts. That’s funny to me, because Torts has been around forever and is a classic NHL retread hire. You don’t need a firm to lead you to TORTS, of all people. That would be like Kyle Scott asking a firm for writer recommendations and they come back to him with a list of names that includes Bob Wankel and Russ Joy.

But anyway, welcome Torts! This is gonna be amazing for content. Here’s a clip of him getting angry.