John Tortorella Rips Into Flyers Reporter Behind Kevin Hayes Rumor After Confronting Him At Press Conference

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John Tortorella has never been shy about speaking his mind over the course of his NHL coaching career, and he once again lived up to his reputation when he confronted a reporter at a press conference on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, the hockey world was treated to an uncharacteristic amount of drama courtesy of the Philadelphia Flyers, who made a fairly stunning move by trading prospect Cutter Gauthier (who was drafted with the fifth overall pick in 2022) to the Anaheim Ducks.

We soon learned that the transaction stemmed from Gauthier informing the team he didn’t want to sign with them in the spring of last year, and after Philly’s attempts to see if he’d be open to changing his mind were reportedly rebuffed, the franchise opted to cut its losses by swapping the forward for Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick in the draft in 2025.

However, plenty of people were convinced that explanation didn’t tell the full story—including longtime Flyers reporter Anthony SanFilippo, who claimed Gauthier was influenced by Kevin Hayes, a former Flyer (and fellow Boston College product) who didn’t exactly enjoy his time in Philadelphia thanks in no small part to some bad blood with John Tortorella.

Hayes made it very clear he disputed that report, and while he and Torts may not have seen eye to eye during their time together, the head coach came to his defense in a big way following the game between the Flyers and the Canadiens on Wednesday night.

During the press conference held in the wake of his team’s 3-2 win over Montreal, Tortorella paused to see if SanFilippo was in attendance before tearing him a new one after learning he was, calling his report “bulls—” and accusing him of going after a “good man” in order to drum up attention for his “silly podcast.”

Hell hath no fury like John Tortorella scorned.