John Tortorella talking about morning skate ahead of Wednesday night’s game against the Caps:

“I just call bullshit. I am very simply in my thinking. Play the game as hard as you can. I think we put so much thought into all of the ‘stuff.’ Morning skate, the stretching, the taping of your stick, the time you do it… it controls you and I just don’t agree with it. But I lost that battle years ago.”

It’s a good thought. Sometimes less is more. You have to consider the concept of diminishing returns. Does being a rink rat make you X percent better as a player, or is it mostly meaningless exercise in going through the motions? If you didn’t show up to something that was “optional,” you were chastised.

Same with the NBA as well. Does morning shootaround do anything for you? You’re gonna get shots up before the game anyway.

These ideas are hard to quantify, which is the problem. No one can put a number on the abstract thought of stepping away from the ice or the court. There’s no data to parse. Does going home and playing Playstation and clearing your head help manage your body and mental health? Let’s ask Call of Duty master, Ben Simmons.

Thank you to Torts for another great quote.