Safe is death, John Tortorella has decreed more than once.
Sports
Flyers 4, Canucks 1: Torts hockey wins the day, again
It didn’t work well in Vancouver, but you can see how it’s working in Philadelphia: his team isn’t deep on talent, but it’s deep on hard work and that’s why they’ve won 19 games on the season.
The 19th win was Thursday at Rogers Arena, as the Flyers beat up on Tortorella’s old Canucks and skated away 4-1 winners. And for Tortorella, it was his 723rd career win, putting him 10th all-time.
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None of the hockey on this night was pretty, but the coach they call Torts won’t care.
He got the win. That’s what counts.
There are no surprises to how the Flyers play.
“We talked about it before the game like we knew the way they play, they work hard, they play hard,” centre Teddy Blueger, the only Canuck to score on this night, said post-game.
“We knew it wasn’t gonna be an easy game. I don’t think it was a case of like, we were thinking, you know, this is gonna be an easy game coming off the break, whatever, but it’s hard to put a finger on exactly what it was but for whatever reason, we were just a little flat.”
Post-game, Rick Tocchet was disappointed in how his team played. The Canucks couldn’t get anything going, then blew three consecutive tires late in the second, which decided the game.
“Bad first period. We weren’t invested. They were. They came at us and we didn’t have any push. Then the second I thought, we just came back a little bit and then that five minute explosion, right, those three goals, huge mistakes,” he said.
“They lay their cards on the table: ‘we’re coming at you.’ And so we shouldn’t have been surprised, but in the first period for some reason we were on our heels.”
Tortorella, of course, was pleased by the win.
“I thought we were patient, I thought we checked well, and you just wait for a team to open up,” he said.
Ugly second
After an absolutely hideous first — somehow there were 20 shots on goal between the two teams — the Canucks looked to slowly be seizing control of the game.
Still, they couldn’t make much happen.
And then everything went pear-shaped.
It wasn’t a good night for the officials on the whole. They called Tyler Myers for interference on Owen Tippett, who essentially skated into the giant defenceman.
The Flyers have the worst power play in the NHL, but even they saw their chance and somehow snagged a goal by Egor Zamula to go up 1-0. Zamula floated a shot from the point that got through everyone, including Canucks goalie Casey DeSmith, for his second goal of the season — both against Vancouver.
Two shifts later, the Flyers scored again. The Canucks got caught defending an odd-man rush and the very handy defenceman Sean Walker jumped up into the play to take a cross-zone pass and wire a shot back against the grain.
“It’s on me for sure,” the big defenceman said about the turnover.
It was an awful stretch, one you knew would kill the Canucks’ chances.
“I think obviously everyone’s pissed off in here. Obviously we didn’t come and play our best hockey,” Noah Juulsen lamented. “We had a couple days off and that affected us but it’s no excuse to come out and you know, lay an egg. They’ve travelled and did all that.”
Nothing doing
Nils Höglander got benched in favour of Pius Suter in the third.
Asked about it, Tocchet started answering before the question was over.
“I didn’t see anything from anybody. I just trying to get people going,” he said, flatly.
Nail in the Coffin
Ryan Poehling is fast — one of the faster skaters in the NHL.
But when you’re on the power play, just take his space away.
And if you’re not covering him, make sure you cover the other guy.
He didn’t have Hathaway covered and the gritty forward got two chances at the puck, scoring on the second one.
That iced the game. The Canucks had pulled the game to 3-1 on a nice Teddy Blueger goal 25 seconds into the third period and were overall controlling play before Hathaway’s tally.
They were just 10 seconds into a power play that you figured they’d do everything they could to score on, but they didn’t.
Instead they let the game just slip away and it was of their own making.
Too loose
The NHL’s takeaway stat is as hard to sort as the giveaway stat — where’s the border line on some turnovers being take-aways versus giveaways? — but taken together, they do give you a sense of whether a team was responsible with the puck or not.
That’s not a winning strategy.
“We did turn over a lot,” Nikita Zadorov said. “I think we didn’t have speed. We weren’t connected on the ice, especially in the first period and we kind of carried it into a second.”
“They made it hard on us and we just kind of caved I think,” Ian Cole added. “I don’t think we had the proper response to the challenge that they put forth.”
Frustrated goalie
You had to feel for Casey DeSmith. He’s had such a strong season. And rarely has he seen his team commit gaffe after gaffe like they did on this night.
He didn’t have much chance on any of the first three goals — perhaps he might have liked to just be “bigger” on the Zamula goal, but there were a lot of bodies between goal and shooter — and then there was the fourth goal, which was a total breakdown in front of him, which he did everything he could to bail his team out on.
Add it all up and you can appreciate that DeSmith would be frustrated post-game.
He was so frustrated in fact that he told a reporter that he just didn’t want to speak post-game, which is definitely understandable.
No surprise
Juulsen threw a huge hit on Joel Farabee in the third period, which led to the Canucks’ power play that they woefully stuffed up.
Cam Atkinson of all people came after Juulsen and challenged him to a fight.
The fisticuffs didn’t actually amount to much. And while some may be frustrated a clean hit drew such a response, Juulsen said he wasn’t surprised he was challenged about the hit.
Bad ice
One other thing the Flyers figured out better than the Canucks was how to handle the ice.
The Rogers Arena ice starts turning really poor when the weather outside turns moist and the fact there’s been this midwinter warmth hasn’t helped matters.
The Canucks should be used to it, but the Flyers weren’t. Farabee wasn’t impressed with the surface but said the Flyers adapted the best they could.
“I think the hardest part playing here for me honestly is the ice. I find the ice is — no disrespect to the Canucks — but the ice is really bad here. So I find the puck bounces a lot of the game so you gotta just really simplify,” he said.
The Torts way
Tortorella hockey is a unique brand, no doubt.
So is Torts style, where for a few years now he’s been pushing past the traditional coach attire. Some games he still does wear a jacket and tie, but on other nights he’ll wear a sweater or a quarter-zip under his jacket.
And then there was Thursday, where he simply went with a classic coach’s windbreaker. No jacket. Certainly no tie.
The Captain returns
Markus Naslund got a standing ovation and saluted the fans.
In a very dull first period, it was the unquestioned highlight of the early going.
The former captain is in town helping one of his kids move.
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Jim Mullin is stepping away from Football Canada to concentrate on his post with the International Federation of American Football (IFAF).
Mullin confirmed Monday that after six years as Football Canada’s president, he is resigning from the post. His decision came hours before the national governing body’s annual general meeting.
“I believe now I can leave the organization in the capable hands of executive director Kevin McDonald, board chairperson Peter Baxter and the staff,” said Mullin. “I wouldn’t have left unless the organization’s future had leaders who could steward it to a new professional function.
“We’re taking an organization from the kitchen table to the boardroom table.”
Mullin will remain as IFAF’s general secretary.
McDonald was named Football Canada’s full-time executive director in June, while Baxter became the organization’s chairperson in August.
Before joining Football Canada, McDonald spent nearly 20 years with the CFL in various positions, including its vice-president of football operations.
“Someone who has a lot of experience as a leader in the CFL is who I want on the ground operating the organization on a day-to-day basis,” Mullin said of McDonald. “I think he can take it to where it needs to be as one of the (national sports organizations) and as an Olympic NSO that stand with the best of them.”
Baxter served as Wilfrid Laurier University’s director of athletics and recreation for over 23 years before retiring in 2022.
He’ll be Football Canada’s president until bylaws are updated in October.
“Peter is someone with tremendous integrity who understands the challenges of governance in this space,” Mullin said. “He’ll be able to respond to the new landscapes that exist in sports in Canada with its various landmines and be able to diffuse them.”
Mullin’s decision comes three months after Canada captured a third straight and fourth overall gold medal at the IFAF world junior football championship in Edmonton. It was the first tournament staged in six years due to the global pandemic.
There were plenty of challenges in getting the event back on the field. Football Canada also had to add a second team to replace a country that withdrew.
“Quite frankly, many nations were skittish about jumping back into international tackle competition,” Mullin said. “It takes money, it takes extraordinary planning and it helps when you have partners like (executive director) Tim Enger and Football Alberta to put all of that planning into it.”
The organization navigated a coaching change ahead of the tournament, promoting Warren Craney to head coach of Canada 1. He replaced Steve Sumarah, who led the program to gold in 2018.
“There were many changes we needed to put through from a Football Canada side and identifying Warren Craney to take over turned out to be the right choice,” Mullin said. “I get to leave my final year with a world championship, which is pretty nice.”
Mullin spent eight years with Football Canada, two on its board and six as president. He was first elected to the position in 2019 before being voted in for a second term in 2022.
Mullin is the fourth person to serve multiple stints as president in Football Canada’s 142-year history. A big part of the job was trying to establish consensus on national matters within an organization that consists of multiple provincial bodies.
During his time with Football Canada and IFAF, Mullin also worked to get flag football into the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. The sport’s inclusion is big for football globally, he said.
Mullin also helped Football Canada modernize its operation, comply with the Canadian Sports Governance Code, establish a reserve fund and develop Indigenous football in the country.
“Something I did coming out of the gate when I was voted in was creating a larger tent for football in Canada,” he said. “It wasn’t just about the (provincial sports organizations), it was about the sport in general so bringing in a path for associate members was extremely important.
“Working with Indigenous leaders, over quite frankly a long period of time, to be there to help them get Indigenous Football Canada started and off the ground was very rewarding. Working with (president/CEO) Kevin Hart and then seeing him and his people deliver that and create something I believe that’s sustainable over the long-term is another culture change within the sport.”
However, Mullin admits he’ll leave Football Canada with a regret.
“The core regret is we had to be reactive during the pandemic and that really took us away from our plan,” he said. “At the same time, I wish the reforms we brought forward in the last 18 months were brought along a lot sooner because we’d be ahead on things.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2024.
TORONTO – Hall of Fame hockey player Mark Messier will be among the on-air talent for Amazon’s new NHL broadcast.
Amazon has unveiled its plans for “Prime Monday Night Hockey,” which include Messier working as an analyst for select games.
The broadcast team will also include hosts Andi Petrillo, formerly of CBC Sports, and Adnan Virk, who’s worked for TSN, ESPN and the MLB Network.
Analysis will come from Blake Bolden, Thomas Hickey, Shane Hnidy and Jody Shelley, while play-by-play will be done by former NHL on NBC talent John Forslund.
Shows will be broadcast live from the home team’s arena, starting Oct. 14 when the Montreal Canadiens host Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Bell Centre.
Alongside traditional pre-game, intermission and post-game segments, “Prime Monday Night Hockey” will include an interactive feature where viewers who missed part of the game can catch up by watching a two-minute highlight package compiled by machine learning.
On Thursdays, Petrillo will host a studio show called “NHL Coast to Coast” featuring highlights, expert analysis and interviews with players, coaches and commentators.
Amazon also announced Monday that its six-part documentary “FACEOFF: Inside the NHL” will begin streaming on Oct. 4.
The series features both on-ice and behind-the-scenes moments with some of the league’s biggest stars, including Edmonton Oilers superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, Toronto Maple Leafs winger William Nylander, and Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes.
Amazon and Rogers Communications announced back in April that the companies had reached a deal that will see all national regular-season Monday NHL games in Canada streamed in English on Prime Video for the next two seasons.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – Five Western Hockey League teams — including four Canadian clubs — are vying to host the Memorial Cup in 2026.
The Canadian Hockey League announced Monday that the Brandon Wheat Kings, Kelowna Rockets, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Medicine Hat Tigers and Spokane Chiefs have all submitted formal bids to host the league’s championship tournament.
The teams will formally present their bid to a selection committee, which will evaluate the proposals based on business operations, local atmosphere/community engagement, event logistics, and hockey operations.
The winner is expected to be announced in December 2024.
Hosting guarantees a team a spot in the tournament, alongside the champions of the WHL, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.
The 2025 Memorial Cup will be played in Rimouski, Que., from May 22 to June 1.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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