Was digging around to find out when Gord Clarke became director of player personnel and came across this article from Brooks that he posted after the 2010 season. I especially love this part:
"John Tortorella's last two full seasons behind an NHL bench have resulted in finishes of 30th overall with the Lightning in 2007-08 and 21st overall this season. He has a small-market mentality, does not understand at all what New York is about and is a professional bully who has earned the enmity of nearly everyone with whom he has come into contact.
I regret that I have become so personally entwined with this coach that I'm compelled to stipulate that I am not engaged in a vendetta against him. I have neither written about nor spoken of the breakdown in our relationship and have no interest in doing so.
But I must state that my relentless criticism of Tortorella -- whom, by the way, I enthusiastically endorsed for the job a week before he replaced Tom Renney -- is the cause of the rift and not its effect.
I do not believe a coach can win in this league by creating an environment of underlying tension, or by constantly screaming at players, or by changing line combinations every five minutes, or by obsessing over players staying out of the penalty box at the expense of protecting teammates, or by trying to win with two forward lines.
At the time that article was written, it was 100% true.
Kudos to Torts for adjusting over the last 2 seasons.
"I do not believe a coach can win in this league by creating an environment of underlying tension, or by constantly screaming at players, or by changing line combinations every five minutes, or by obsessing over players staying out of the penalty box at the expense of protecting teammates, or by trying to win with two forward lines."
I don't think anything has changed in regards to the above. The only difference is in the W column.
If Hank isn't on this team Torts would be out of a job.
"I do not believe a coach can win in this league by creating an environment of underlying tension, or by constantly screaming at players, or by changing line combinations every five minutes, or by obsessing over players staying out of the penalty box at the expense of protecting teammates, or by trying to win with two forward lines."
I don't think anything has changed in regards to the above. The only difference is in the W column.
If Hank isn't on this team Torts would be out of a job.
You think hes as much of a jerk and standoff-ish as he was the first half of his tenure here??
at the end of the day Torts knew what he was doing and Brooksie was just like the ignorant whiney overreacting fans that flood this place at the slightest hint of imperfection
If everyone around here, brooksie and myself included, ate all they crow they've earned then the species would be wiped off the planet
At the time that article was written, it was 100% true.
Kudos to Torts for adjusting over the last 2 seasons.
Whatever adjustments Torts has made, I believe to be minimal. The real adjustment that has occured is to the team, not the coach.
I mean what's more likely to be the cause?
A 50 year old coach that has been in his professions for 10+ years, or
A hockey team that has had about 50% turnover since 09-10?
You give Torts another ****** hockey club and you'll see some or all of these same criticisms by little Larry again.
If you still think all Torts does is scream at his players, doesn't allow teammates to stick up for each other, and juggles lines any more than other coaches in the league, you're an ignorant hockey fan
To me, this team is all about Hank and shot-blocking, NOT Torts. The only thing I enjoy about Torts is his grumpiness with the media. He has plenty of young offensive talent, yet I don't see any of them flourishing. He's lost Dubi and Anisimov should be putting up better numbers. Oh yeah, the PP keeps getting worse and worse and worse.
Sorry, but I'm not ready to slurp Tortorella's D yet.
If you still think all Torts does is scream at his players, doesn't allow teammates to stick up for each other, and juggles lines any more than other coaches in the league, you're an ignorant hockey fan
This is the thing that gets me. If you go to practically any one of these boards you'll see people posting stuff about "what kind of crazy lines will our coach come up with tonight?" There are a limited number of ways a coach can make adjustments without fundamentally changing the structure of a team, and changing the lines when they aren't working is pretty much the most important one.
He clearly changed ina significant way last year. Posters here who should be informed enough to know better don't see it or recognize it. Oh well no skin off my scrot
this is two straight years where the team is universaly and damn near flawlessly executing the system is plays. when the whole team buys into the system and works consistantly as hard as the rangers do then you have to give credit to the coach.
last years team was very well coached but couldn't score enough goals. This years team is very well coached PLUS gaborik has been playing in beast mode all season.
to act like Torts isnt a big part of why this team is sitting in 1st is being blatantly ignorant
Whatever adjustments Torts has made, I believe to be minimal. The real adjustment that has occured is to the team, not the coach.
I mean what's more likely to be the cause?
A 50 year old coach that has been in his professions for 10+ years, or
A hockey team that has had about 50% turnover since 09-10?
You give Torts another ****** hockey club and you'll see some or all of these same criticisms by little Larry again.
Tom Coughlin changed. Torts is still a ****** at times, but from what I can see, he still commands a lot of respect in the locker room. I don't think he's as bad as he was when he first got here. He's softened a bit.
Either way, it doesn't matter. Brooks wrote that a team couldn't win that way, yet Torts won it all in 2004 with Tampa. So either he's still the same ****** and that style can produce a winner. Or he's less of a ******, yet he still has this team in 1st place.
Ever since he got that new hip in 2010 he's been a little less... Antagonistic I guess you could say... Not saying the hip replacement had a huge impact, just pointing out a correlation.
Torts was a rabid dog when he first got here. His behavior was inexcusable.
Torts has changed a lot. He's still human, and rips into players every now and then, but lets not forget he inherited a veteran team. Veterans dont like being yelled at, whereas youngsters can still view it as constructive.
He's a big reason behind the team's identity, but a healthy Gaborik, the addition of Richards and Henrik having the best season of his career have little to do with Torts' style or approach
The usual over simplifications and speculation stated as fact from the fan base.
Tort's has made some adjustments, but essentially he's the same coach he was. Little things can mean the difference between mediocre and great results. Which is what we are seeing, imo.
He's a done a masterful job as the Rangers head coach thus far.
Still pealing the paint off the wall , but also motivating, molding and making his team better with solid coaching of simple fundamentals.
"I do not believe a coach can win in this league by creating an environment of underlying tension, or by constantly screaming at players, or by changing line combinations every five minutes, or by obsessing over players staying out of the penalty box at the expense of protecting teammates, or by trying to win with two forward lines."
I don't think anything has changed in regards to the above. The only difference is in the W column.
If Hank isn't on this team Torts would be out of a job.
When the team is generating offense Torts has stuck with line combos...I think this is a no win for a coach, if the team isn't generating offense and a coach stays with the combo's too long then he's stubborn...I don't recall what Brooks was complaining about when he wrote this, but I don't believe this is a valid criticism anymore since this team is either 1 or 2 in fighting majors.
