Gary Bettman and the NHL Reveal Why John Tortorella Received Such a Significant Punishment

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Graham Montgomery
March 11, 2024 (7:00)

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Flyers coach John Tortorella had quite the night yesterday. Today he is facing the consequences of his latest temper tantrum.

Flyers Coach Suspended Two Games For Refusing To Leave Bench After Ejection

The veteran coach was suspended for the second time in his career today after he let loose on the referees is yesterday's game against the Capitals. The Flyers coach was set off after his team went down 4-0 early and one of his players was unnecessarily called for a misconduct penalty. Following the call, Tortorella refused to stop yelling at the referees. Eventually this lead to the officials calling a bench minor on the team and ejecting the coach.

Today, the NHL gave its ruling on Tortorella. He has been suspended for two games and given a 50000 dollar fine. The league added some justification for their decision.

NHL Says Tortorella Set Dangerous Precent By Refusing To Leave Bench

According to NHL reporter Anthony Di Marco, the league told the Flyers that Tortorella's actions set a 'bad precedent' for the league. They claim that the coach refusing to leave the bench could lead to other coaches taking similar approaches in the future, potentially causing problems the league does not want to deal with.

NHL told PHI that Tortorella set a dangerous precedent by refusing to leave the bench.

But fair to question the handling by the officials - a rookie who struggled dealing with an emotional game and a veteran who felt pressure to take control & (possibly) overreacted.

That being said, we do not really know exactly what happened that lead to the ejection. We can tell that the coach was furious as he was obviously cursing at the referees, but we will never know exactly what was said, especially by the refs themselves. This had lead to influential people in the hockey world calling for more transparency from the refs.

One thing I'd like to say: I really believe this is a case where we should hear from the officials. I don't think it benefits anyone � including the referees in this case � that we can't hear what happened here.

However, this is a lost cause as the league will likely never make itself more transparent when it comes to the officiating. For now, we will have to be satisfied with their explanation of the incident.

As seen on NHL claims Tortorella's actions caused 'dangerous precedent