[James Iacovone] sur Twitter J’adore ça de Torts.
— James Iacovone (@JimIkeHW) May 12, 2023
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JimIkeHW
@Flyers de Philadelphie
[James Iacovone] sur Twitter J’adore ça de Torts.
— James Iacovone (@JimIkeHW) May 12, 2023
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JimIkeHW
22 Comments
[Me on Reddit] I hate this from Torts.
Look, I’m very happy for them that their little country club is still open, but man, they could at the very least admit that they’ve been incredibly insular over the years and it’s led to some awful on-ice product.
And yes, Fletcher was part of that little club. He’s been connected to Clarke since the 90s and Clarke recommended him.
Can they just stop pushing back on it and admit that it was a thing? We’re not wrong for being skeptical.
Torts is everyone’s worst boss. He is a bully. People will like him because he is outspoken, but he always makes it about him. Lecturing the fanbase about how the organization is perceived is exactly why the players hate going to rink everyday and it showed on the ice.
The most frustrating thing to me is that everyone talks like we’re the only team who does this and that hiring former players is lazy. Who are the GMs of the sharks, avs, rangers, and others? Former players for those teams. The shiniest, most recognizable name doesn’t qualify someone as the “best person for the job” just like having spent a small portion of one’s career playing for a particular team shouldn’t automatically disqualify them. So many “fans” just seem so stuck in the mud because the previous few leadership groups have been disappointments that they are totally unwilling to have any sliver of optimism for the future. I get it, but it’s getting really old trying to come find some common ground with fellow fans here just to be met with constant negativity and pessimism about every tiny little thing they try to do to signal the turn of the page. It’s exhausting.
Why Torts?
Because we have been dealing with it for 50 years. Forgive us if we’re a little pessimistic about an ex-flyer hire once again.
When a 2 year employee at a company is trying to rah-rah the 15 year burnt out vets about how this new manager is gonna turn things around if we just give them a chance.
Me:[takes drag of cigarette] »Yeah, sure thing Torts, this time it’ll be different.🙄 »
We’re upset because at this point we have no fucking idea if they’re hiring guys on merit or not.
I like torts but had a “fuck off” feeling when hearing that. Torts may want to look at the past and realize this club is a fucking joke and the fans are tired of the same old BS.
It’s not the person, the players, or the fact that they’re alumni. I will always love Dave Schultz talking about beating the piss out of someone. I will always love Bernie being a creep asking girls to touch his stanley cup ring. i will always love hextall taking a run at chelios. I will always love danny briere fist pumps.
What is it then?
It’s the inability, from a specific line of thinking — ‘the bullies’, to adapt to a game that has changed over the last 20 years.
It’s the inability to think outside the box when it comes to signing FA’s.
It’s the inability to be creative when scouting and finding talent that no one has.
It’s the inability to groom talent and create superstars.
The game has evolved for the better and here we are as a franchise that sometimes forgets that Rocky is a fictional character.
Oh, all this? It’s been funded and controlled by a corporate overlord in Comcast (who i worked for, might i add) who has been ‘OK’ with mediocrity because mediocrity still makes you green/black in the ledger books.
I think he completely misses the point here but I also think that’s intentional. While I disagree with the decision making process I’m totally fine with Torts saying this to boost the new brass. Better to cultivate a unified front, even if it’s a shitty front.
the question is What in the world make Keith Jones qualified for this role while other people in that role have started out as advisors, or GMs, etc.
He has ZERO experience in the front office. and the the other choice was Eddie O? seriously? I think what this hire shows is that other qualified people wouldnt even want this job/title in Philly due to the lack of power they’ll have. Philly has made the President of Hockey Operations a farce.
I don’t mind the hire, and I quite like Torts. But the question in the back of my mind is always, did I miss the part where Briere and Jones had Stanley Cup success in their careers? Like, have they won it? Or assembled teams that have before?
I’m not saying only people who have done it can do it again. But we’re not picking from an alumni base that had championship years.
it’s an easy thing to cherry pick. we went outside the organization for fletcher and hakstol, look what that did for us.
Torts: “These guys are great for the job—and they’re also they guys who cut my checks.”
I happen to agree with John here, but he really ought to climb down off his high horse after all the happy shit he talked about that idiot Fletcher for 2/3 of last year
The same flyers that haven’t gotten us a cup in 50 years? The same flyers that haven’t gotten us out of the first round in a decade? The same flyers that drove this organization into the ground? Gee i wonder why people don’t want the same people who haven’t done anything for the franchise in half a century
My issue isn’t we hire former flyers
My issue is we KEEP former flyers that we fired for failing at their jobs.
I didn’t want a flyer because I didn’t want a guy who didn’t work out to be here for 4 decades as an old glory figure. But Briere has at the very least given me some hope for his seemingly forward thinking ideas and the way he pissed of Barber and crew. I’m willing to give him an optimistic shot, but if he sucks, for the love of god don’t keep him until my infant daughter gets married.
I don’t get why everyone considers Briere part of the old boys club, the dude was questioned his entire career about being too small even for his immense skill. There’s no way he sticks to the old boys style of being big makes up for skill. He will be great for getting the best players on the ice size be damned. Jonesy has also been one of the most vocal about how shit the team has been even while being their on air personality dude has no problem saying what he thinks. He was never the most talented or the biggest player on the ice but he was always one of the smartest. These two while they may be former flyers, they are absolutely not « old boys club » types. Hell even Therien is excited again, that should show you that they’re not part of that club cause that dude hates the old boys club and frankly probably rightly so.
John Tortorella is a perfect counter to the nihilistic emo dipshits that’ve been doing nothing but crying around here.
Chuck Fletcher wasn’t a former Flyer
I don’t think Torts is talking to fans that feel the way I do, which is: It is completely fair to question/ judge their hiring practices in this case. They didn’t have a process for the GM position, just hired Briere because Comcast likes him as a person.
The Jones hiring : I don’t mind as much but definitely weird and screams “typical Flyers”.
Also it’s tough to listen to “new era of orange” when almost everyone keeps their jobs and promote from within when the Flyers have mostly been an embarrassment.
I absolutely fucking love torts