On Thursday the Philadelphia Flyers shocked the hockey world by relieving head coach John Tortorella of his duties. The Flyers also announced that Brad Shaw would get a raise from the Flyers associate coach to the interim head coach. In the Flyers last 7 games under Tortorella the team went winless, losing 6 of the games in regulation. Tortorella was hired by the Flyers prior to the 2022-23 season. Since then, he has had a 97-107-13 coaching record. In his first two seasons as coach for the Flyers, the team has failed to make the playoffs and look poised to miss again this season. Since Shaw has taken over as interim head coach the Flyers have ended their winning drought with back-to-back wins against the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabers. 

With Tortorella still a highly regarded coach around the league, I would imagine there are a good number of teams interested in signing him. Here are the top five teams I see as a potential fit to sign the veteran head coach this off-season:

New York Rangers

With the Rangers taking a massive step back this season I can see the team going in a different direction from Peter Laviolette. Bringing Tortorella back for his third tenure as a Rangers head coach makes a lot of sense to me. Unlike the other teams on this list, I can see him signing before the season ends to give the Rangers a much-needed spark in their playoff push. 

Boston Bruins

Tortorella’s coaching style is a great representation of what the Bruins want their team to be. It is very clear the Bruins value grit and toughness in their players by their recent signings and picks in the recent years. With the Bruins firing Jim Montgomery earlier this season and the team’s struggles under intern head coach Joe Sacco there might be an opening for the head coach job. I think the Bruins will be all in on the former Flyers head coach.

Vancouver Canucks

With current Canucks head coach, Rick Tocchets’s contract expiring this off-season and the team not meeting expectations I do not think it is far-fetched that both sides will not be able to agree to a contract. Despite the rocky tenure with Tortorella in the 2013-14 season, the uncertain future with Tocchet can lead to a surprising reunion between the Canucks and Tortorella.

Chicago Blackhawks

Adding a highly respected head coach like Tortorella might be the first step in getting the Blackhawks out of their rebuild. With a talented group of young players, bringing Tortorella in might be a great opportunity to show them what it takes to win games.

New Jersey Devils

Sheldon Keefe’s first season as the Devils head coach has definitely had its ups and downs as they got off to a good start but have struggled recently with the injuries they have had. While this is not really Keefe’s fault it does feel like he might have lost the room a little bit.