Tortorella praised for gentler side with Golden Knights competing for Cup

Legendary hockey reporter Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Also known as "The Hockey Maven," Fischler blends his insight and humor for readers each Wednesday. The beginning of the Stanley Cup Final provides an inside look at Vegas Golden Knights coach John Tortorella.

"John Tortorella is a sweetheart. What a soft-hearted guy."

What? Is there another John Tortorella?

No, it's not a joke, far from it. There are witnesses to underline the point.

Tamara Linde worked with the Vegas Golden Knights coach for four years. They were volunteers caring for lost canines at Pet Rescue in Harrison, New York, when "Torts" coached the New York Rangers. 

"We would walk the dogs," Linde said in an email, "and also let them off leash so the dogs could socialize. John was incredibly friendly and down to earth. He got along with everyone.

"He once even organized a meet-and-greet adoption event in Manhattan's Riverside Park, where several Rangers came to mingle with their fans. Torts and his family loved dogs and wanted them placed in homes where they could live long, happy lives."

Away from the crowds, he is a different person than the man behind the bench. Former ESPN producer Vic Morren worked with him when he was an analyst during the 2021-22 season. Now co-host with Neil Smith on the "NHL Wraparound" podcast, Morren speaks of Tortorella as if he was his favorite uncle.

"I love the guy," Morren unabashedly said on the "Bottle Rocket with Alena Sycheva" podcast May 30. "He's as nice as can be even when he doesn't have to be nice. We developed a rapport working together. He was polite, engaging and we became good friends."

Tortorella, a Boston native, is grateful for getting another chance to be an NHL coach. 

"I'm very fortunate," he said after the Golden Knights swept the Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final. "In fact, I'm thrilled to coach this special group."

Recalling that he's been in the coaching business for more than two decades, Tortorella noted that he never tires of the game. 

"There's an attraction in it," he said. "That's the coolest thing."

The Golden Knights success partly has been rooted in the players' successful defensive posture. One source close to the team, after examining Tortorella's coaching style, said that "Tortorella's X's, O's and positive personality have inspired the team." ESPN analyst Erik Johnson, a retired defenseman who played 17 seasons in the NHL, affectionately remembered him when they were together with the Philadelphia Flyers for two seasons (2023-25).

"So happy that Torts gets another crack in the NHL," Johnson shared via X after Tortorella replaced Bruce Cassidy on March 29. "Learned a TON from him my two years in Philly. Will be an instant boost for Vegas. He is a straight shooter, and you know exactly where you stand, even if you don't like it. The passion and fire is still there. LOVED playing for him."

Others respect Tortorella encouraging his skaters to "play their game and make plays." He admits that he's learned to be a better coach "by coaching with them" and by listening to the players and not overcoaching. 

"This team activated itself," Tortorella said. "We coaches are like guidance counselors. The players are the ones who handle it. The stars will be stars; it's the other pieces that must come
through. This is a team that just understands. So far, we found a way."

The intensity that has been Tortorella's persona was developed as a youth. Craig Wolff of the Newark Star-Ledger probed his early teammates and associates to gain insights during his tenure as Rangers coach from 2009-13. Among them was John Cooper, Tortorella's hockey and baseball teammate at Concord-Carlisle High School in Concord, Massachusetts. 

Cooper said that he wished "others could see his friend's gentler side." That "gentler side" was not apparent immediately after the Golden Knights' six-game win against the Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference Second Round. Bucking Stanley Cup Playoff media regulations, Tortorella inexplicably skipped the traditional post-game media scrum. He was fined $100,000 and Vegas will forfeit a second-round pick in the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft.

William Tortorella, John's electrician father, told Wolff that he "had his own voice telling him what to do. John never relaxes." Veteran sportscaster Gary Thorne, who handled play-by-play for the University of Maine when Tortorella skated for the varsity hockey club, said he was "the conscience of the team. He was black and blue after every game. He went further than his body could take."

Tortorella, who turns 68 on June 24, has changed little since guiding the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Stanley Cup in 2004. I covered some Lightning games that season and recall how intense he was handling such stars as Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis. That intensity remained as he climbed the NHL coaching ladder.

When the Rangers fired Tom Renney 61 games into the 2008-09 season, it was Torts who replaced him. The two remain friendly.

"I'm happy to see what he's done with Vegas," Renney said during a recent Bottle Rocket podcast. "We share the odd text and stay in touch from time to time. I'd love to spend a couple of days with him simply to talk."

Asked about the Golden Knights as a whole, Tortorella simply said, "It's a group that just understands." So, apparently, does the coach.