In Part I of an exclusive interview with Stan Fischler over at MSG.com, John Tortorella talks about Sean Avery's lack of consistency last year..."After I benched him against the Thrashers, he played his best hockey but I don't know why it came down to that. Despite what some have said, I put no handcuffs on him. I want Sean to show his personality. Last year I gave him a lot of opportunities and now that I think about it, I may have left him in too long. The bottom line is that if he's not involved, he won't play."
...i'm not so sure I believe Tortorella here. What other reason could it be that Avery all of a sudden after two great years under Renney suddenly doesn't play his game under Torts. Especially after what happened duing the Caps series back in 2009.
During the interview Torts also says that Brandon Dubinsky will be playing wing this season and that he hopes Artem Anisimov will be able to move up in the lineup.
Regarding the goaltending situation, Torts says he hopes that Biron will play between 17 and 20 games next season.
...i'd like to see Biron get closer to 25 games, but that's just me.
And finally here's Torts on why Rangers fans should be optimistic about the future of the Rangers organization...
"I feel good about what we did so far this Summer," he shot back. "We didn't deal any of our kids and the foundation for the team is in place. We have to build a club without relying totally on free agency.
"We want to keep our youthful core and keep adding to it."
...amen.
Part II of the interview will be posted tomorrow.
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16 comments:
"Regarding the goaltending situation, Torts says he hopes that Biron will play between 17 and 20 games next season."
If you go back to the beginning of last year he said the backup would play more games. NOPE. Didn't happen.
I love that Torts sticks up for his players. "After I benched him against the Thrashers, he played his best hockey."
Torts is a sack of s**t. There is no reason for him to so regularly hang is players out to dry in public.
What Did You Guys Think When He Screamed At Delzotto On The Bench?..Watching Hockey A Long Time Can't Recall Ever Seeing That..At Least Not On Camera.
Did he really cut loose on MDZ? He's just a kid? Didn't he say something about how he would accept some mistakes from young players but not veterans? Sometimes I like his fire & the team definitely needs some of that but don't tear into a 19 year old kid, it won't help. He didn't bring himself up from the OHL.
I call Bravo Sierra on Torts. Even if he didn't say anything directly to Avery, you know those comments Torts made when he was with TSN or the CBC or whatever about Avery were lingering in the air, and I'm sure Torts did nothing to clear the air when he became coach.
My guess is that he eventually HAD to say something to Avery as the season went on. That would explain the rise in Avery's effectiveness later in the season.
And that crap with DZ was totally inappropriate.
I disagree on Torts say abaut that he gived Avery oportunites on last season, he put Avery on 4 and 3 line, i don't remeber see him on second. So what oportunite he gived?
chef, read this on Torts yelling at MDZ: http://nymag.com/daily/sports/2010/02/these_low-scoring_rangers_loss.html
Thanks for that NY Mag link. Kevin, do you think as the season goes on you could link us to various NYR coverage from NY Mag as part of your aggregate news scouring? Thanks in advance!
Thanks Kevin, I actually remember the blizzard game. Torts really just needs to calm down. Players will just tune him out, we've all had that boss at some point, and we probably didn't work too hard for him either. I know players make a lot of cash & are driven, professional people yada yada yada but they are not robots & still have the ability to stop caring if pushed.
I'll do what I can Jack. You can always e-mail me links at nyrfan94@yahoo.com.
orts may not have specifically talked to Avery about penalties, but when your team philosophy is, take penalties and you sit...
Seriously Chef Dave, you're sticking up for athletes who give up? I don't give a crap if the coach or manager or whomever calls them every name in the book and yells at them 24/7. They are in an elite group of people who have been blessed with the skills to be considered the best at their particular sport. The day they look at their sport as a job and not as an absolute privilege is the day they need to retire. Adult players need to man up or get the #$%^ out!! If the coach is screaming at you, it's probably because you did something stupid!
You Don't Need To Be "Screamers" Behind The Bench ..Just Ask Arbour & Bowman.(in your defense chef)
How did all the screaming work out last year? Pretty great for the first month I guess.
Yes, and the subdued approach worked wonders under Renney, Sather, Trottier, Low, Muckler, and Campbell right? It's not about who the coach is, it's about the players understanding that their being on this team and in this league is a privilege and not a right so they should be giving 100% every night. Unfortunately, most pro athletes seem to be Prima Donna babies. You say one negative thing about them or a coach yells at them and they shut down. Grow up. Tortorella has a Stanley Cup on his resume, how many of the current Rangers can say that, besides Drury?
I love that Torts sticks up for his players. "After I benched him against the Thrashers, he played his best hockey."
Torts is a sack of s**t. There is no reason for him to so regularly hang is players out to dry in public.
My question would be- is the coach not supposed to bench Avery because in your mind Avery should not be benched and if Torts mentions it in that text-isn't it common public knowledge that he was benched and that the result of the benching was a positive result. I see no problem in Torts saying that he played his best hockey, kind of a compliment, unless you don't like Torts and then anything is wrong with the coach.
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