A confrontation between Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Cam York and former head coach John Tortorella in which they "probably both crossed the line" contributed to Tortorella's firing Thursday, a source told The Athletic's Kevin Kurz.
The incident occurred Tuesday during Philadelphia's loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. York was benched for the majority of the 7-2 loss, logging only 3:50 across eight shifts.
York dressed for Thursday's 6-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens but didn't take the ice. Interim head coach Brad Shaw said the benching was for a disciplinary issue.
After the lopsided defeat to Toronto, Tortorella said he wasn't interested in learning how to coach the Flyers through a rebuild and took ownership of the club's lack of progress this season.
Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said Thursday that "a series of things" led to Tortorella's firing. Tortorella was hired by Philadelphia's previous front office regime and coached the club for almost three full seasons. The team went 97-107-33 under his tutelage.
