John Tortorella fires back after critics jump on his comments!

John Tortorella isn’t holding back in an interview with Nick Cotsonika. The former NHL head coach is fired up after blowback over comments he made while coaching the Philadelphia Flyers late last season.

The 63-year-old was fired by the Philadelphia Flyers on March 27 after a tough stretch and a verbal altercation with young defenseman Cam York. “It was kind of weird for me, getting fired with nine games left,” Tortorella said. He stressed he holds no grudges but was frustrated by some of the criticism following his comments after a 7-2 loss to the Maple Leafs in late March.

“I haven’t quit on a [bleeping] thing in my life. Those comments were totally taken out of context,” Tortorella said, addressing reports that he had given up on the team during a tough stretch.

Tortorella stressed that he loved coaching the team, but couldn’t bring himself to push players through a lost season.

“I didn’t like playing out the string… I wasn’t going to coach that way out of respect for the players,” he said.

Now, he’s turning his attention to the 2026 Winter Olympics, where he’ll serve as an assistant coach for Team USA. While he hopes to return to the NHL someday, for now he’s focused on scouting players and helping the U.S. build its roster.

“I miss preparing for camp. I miss the camaraderie. Yeah, I want to coach, so we’ll see what happens,” Tortorella added.

Torts even poked fun at himself, admitting to how hard it is to give up control behind the bench.

“I have to admit,” he said. “It’s weird for me. I don’t think I’m a very good assistant coach. I want to control things at certain times. When you’re running it, you’re barking, you’re setting up drills, and you’re getting them moving. I can’t do that.”

Even as he bides his time, one thing is clear: Tortorella isn’t going quietly. With training camps opening around the league earlier this week, Torts did not find a job in the NHL despite his resume, I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of Tortorella in the NHL.