Tortorella will not return next season

The Lightning will announce at a 5 p.m. news conference that coach John Tortorella will not return next season, according to a news release:

TAMPA BAY – Tampa Bay Lightning Executive Vice President and General Manager Jay Feaster announced today that John Tortorella will not return next season as the team’s head coach. Tortorella has one season remaining on his contract.

“This has been a very difficult decision because of everything that John Tortorella has meant to and done for this organization,” Feaster said. “Torts came to Tampa and not only built the foundation under our club but he also changed the culture and raised the expectations, eventually leading us to the Stanley Cup in 2004. What he accomplished during his tenure in Tampa was nothing short of remarkable and our organization will always owe him our thanks, gratitude and deep respect.”

“At the same time, we need to look to the future of the both the club and the organization, and we must make decisions with the future in mind. John was entering the final year of his contract and extending his contract was not a viable option. Having him enter and coach the season in a lame duck status was not something I was prepared to recommend to ownership.

“John Tortorella is a very good hockey coach and an even better person. By making this decision now, both the existing and incoming ownership groups are attempting to give John every opportunity to pursue the numerous head coaching vacancies that exist throughout the League. We thank John for his many years of loyal and dedicated service to our franchise and our community and we wish him and his family every continued personal and professional success.''

(Photo: John Tortorella hoists the Stanley Cup after the Lightning's 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames in 2004. AP photo. Click to enlarge.)

Comments

[Blindside Czech]

Ooooh, Little Johnny wanted to stay, eh? That's too bad. Hope the door didn't leave too big of a bruise on your backside (or ego).

You think Puppet Boy, aka Jay Feaster, is dusting off hsi resume. I hear McDonald's is always looking for management trainees.

[JP]

There certainly are quite a few fair-weather fans around here. You guys don't know how good you have it. Sure the Bolts struggled last season, but at least you're able to go to the games. I don't live anywhere near Tampa (or any NHL city for that matter) and I would love the chance to go see the Bolts play live, regardless of who the coach is or whether the Bolts are the worst team in the league. I'd love a great replacement coach as much as the next guy, but at the end of the day, whoever OK chooses - it'll still be my Lightning. So I'll take a page from Torts' book and say "Shut yer yaps" and stop taking the Lightning for granted. Be a REAL fan and go to the games to SUPPORT the team (including the coach).

[GP]

NTMM,

Agreed. I t hink Feaster is keeping a seat warm .... especially since OK is not keeping him in the loop. It looks like Feaster is just running the day to day operations until the sale is finalized. Since he is signed through 2011, it may be hard to eat his entire salary. They could definitely use him somewhere in the front office but very far away from player personnel decisions. The next GM of the Lightning should be Craig Patrick. I worked with him in Pgh and he is absolutely one of the best GM's around. The current Penguins (besides the HOssa trade) are pretty much the team he assembled through the draft.

[Not The Marlboro Man]

Torts is gone and allot of us were calling for his head months ago. I didn't jump on the band wagon until this season when the team quit on him early in November. The team was jamming along fine and then all of the sudden you saw this stinky losing attitude wreak havoc over the whole team.

Should Torts have been fired? I can't be the judge of that because like the rest of you, I don't know what the every day operations are like within the team and I sure as hell don't know what kind of demands are placed on an NHL coach on a daily basis.

The only thing that I can judge is that this team went from 1st to worst in a matter of 4 years. Does all the blame belong on Torts? Absolutely not, but the coach always pays for the sins of the franchise it seems. New owners always think that they can come in and fix all the problems by rearraging the furnature alittle bit and getting a new coach.

In my oppinion, Jay Feaster is the one who should have been held responsible first because he destroyed this team immediately after 2004 season. It was evident Feaster didn't know what he was doing. The record speaks for itself and there are plenty of sources such as the Hockey News and others which back my slant on the rant. So in Tort's defense, you can't make chicken salad out of chicken $&@*.
Jay Feaster really should have been the first to hit the streets...it is a significant mistake on the part of the new ownership to keep Feaster around for more shananagins and bafoonery. It is also a slap in the face to John Tortarella that he was let go before Feaster. If nothing else, out of respect and admiration for the Stanley Cup Torts helped bring this team, Koules should have been a better thinker and let that blob Feaster take a hike first. Feasters terrible decisions (ala Marc Denis and others)were far worse than anything Torts ever managed to screw up.

If this team is to take a new direction, they should start by cleaning house from the top down, not the bottom up. I firmly believe that the woes of this organization stemmed from the ownership to the bench. Not the other way around.

[Josh]

This has nothing to do with "The way professional sports is". Torts had a bad team that Feaster brought in and chained Torts to it. There are 3 proven coaches out there and 1 TV analyst. We're getting an analyst. Great. I can't think of a better way to raise Stamkos.

Let's not forget that we've had the worst net in hockey for a while now. That has nothing to do with Torts. He's had nothing and we lost. Not his fault. The GM should be leaving from stripping Richards of his line, trading Modin for a minor league salary cap paper weight, trading richards for an ok goalie, must I go on.

[Moodaddy]

Thanks for the memories Torts. Many of us will miss you dearly. I believe that this should have been Feaster's funeral. Oh well, I'm sure that you'll be fine and rebound soon. We'll always remember the cup year. Thanks.

[Jonathan]

This is the worst move ever by the Lightning. Ever since the Bolts won the cup Feaster has made some bad moves, and this year, the Lightning had some very tough injuries to key players. So it all lies on the head of the only man that was able to get this club to earn respect around the league. What a bunch of trash. Just to top it off, let's replace a proven cup winner with a guy who hasn't been behind the bench in years, which is the rumor with Melrose. This deal smells as bad as the city of Detroit.

[GP]

Wow ..... what a range of posts!

I have to give kudos to Shane and Hockey Chic for saying it how it is. The last time I ever watched a sporting event because of a coach it was Randy "Macho man" Savage's manager Elizabeth.

Give me a break for all of those saying they will not renew tickets.
So what everyone is saying is that they are content with being last overall? I don't care if OK hires Don Cherry or Emilio Estevez and his flying V, any change is a step forward from last season. Torts is a fine coach and I have no doubt he will go on to be successful somewhere else but his time in Tampa had run its course.

I love the moves so far this offseason and that would include Melrose. Who wants to come to Tampa to coach? Why would Burns, Wilson, or anyone else with an impressive resume choose Tampa? You have to get a Melrose or someone else with little experience. Like an earlier post, I like John Anderson of the Chicago Wolves. He deserves a shot. I stated that I wasn'
t sure if I was going to renew my season tickets until I saw what happened during the offseason. I wanted to see change and we are starting to see it. I will definitely be renewing my seats now. All of you who are not renewing, please say you have Center ice 100 level seats and I will be calling my rep asap. I'd be happy to take your seats from you. When you decide to jump back on the bandwagon, you can have my old ones.

Good luck Torts ... you are a class act in the community and I know Tampa fans wish you nothing but the best!

I think Feaster will be kept on in some capacity because I believe his contract runs through 2011. He is a lawyer ... maybe he can proof read the contracts of the players the new GM brings in.

[Jim]

This isn't good news. I liked Torts and I think he could've righted the ship. OK Hockey is starting to really worry me, what with the Melrose rumors floating around and all. Torts will land on his feet with a quickness; I don't know if the Bolts will. Johnny T., we'll see you hoist a Cup again soon. Uncle Feaster, watch your back; I don't think Oren Koules is done weilding his axe. Oren, your fan base depends on your next move. Think long and hard about it.

[Fred]

Please, no Melrose.

[Don in St. Pete]

I agree with Hockey Chic and have been saying this on the Blog for a week. The Smellrose rumour is a smokescreen until the ownership deal gets approved. These guys are businessmen and as such, have certainly been doing their homework. I respect what Torts brought at the time when we needed it sorely, he taught us how to win and made us believe we could do it every night. He turned boys into men and squeezed every drop of talent from every member of the squad on our cup run. His time has passed though, the faces have changed but the message has gotten stale. I expect Feaster to be gone by this time next year, not this year. There's to much coming too fast with the draft, free agency and hiring a new coach and resigning new players for Norfolk. I hope they'll consider some of the less obvious choices for the Head Coaching Position. I like Craig Ramsay. Then there's the Anderson guy up north who's won 5 AHL championships. Burn's is probably the best fit from amongst the ex-coaches on the market. I don't feel that Ottowa or Toronto are a good fit for Torts, so my guess is he ends up in San Jose, Florida or Atlanta.

[Edgar]

this is unbelievable. Now they will hire a clown that is totally clueless. Torterlla is one of the best coach in the NHL. This is bush league by the new ownership. Jay Feaster should had been the first one to go. This was a setup for John to get fired for no reason. Melrose no thank you!! This makes me mad. Arrogance by the new ownership. Who ever hires Torterella, he should win a Stanley Cup to shove it front of the Lightning organization face.

[Bob]

Torts future with the Lightning was not our (the fans) decision. I appreciate what he brought to the team and the results (CUP). I think there are many reasons in the decline of our former Stanley Cup Champs, sure Torts shoulders a large part of the responsibility, but there is plenty of blame to go around. I also point the finger at the ownership for not investing in the team once they decided to sell the team.

Anyway, I wish Torts the best. For several reasons I haven't decided if I will renew my tickets. One factor will be Mulletman behind the bench. If he is there, I'll put things on hold. I take hockey seriously and won't spend my hard earned money on a team where the ownership and coach are destined to screw it up. I think Andreychuk should have been given a shot, IMO certainly better than Mullethead. Now lets see what these guys will do to build the team in the off season.

[mike]

Get RON WILSON OR PAUL MAURICE torts deserved to get fired we had the worst record in the nhl. All u people sayin u will not attend any lightning games u guys are crazy WHY. He needed to go players were quiting on him
ITS TIME FOR CHANGES!!!

[Robert]

Ok "The Mullet" coached teams to the calder and Memorial cups. But he has been an "armchair coach" for 12 years. His best performance was in Slap Shot 2! If this turns into Melrose Place, can Resident Evil be far behind?

[red wing fan]

John Tortorella is a good coach, I hope the next coach can bring you a cup like Tort has.It's a lot eaiser to fire the coach then the 23 players.Did someone mention Barry Melrose, yikes I feel sorry for you in the bay area.

[TroyB]

Letting Torts go was the final straw for me. Lightning just lost me as a season ticket holder. I am finished. I'll split my time and money between Dallas and Minnesota.

[ajax]

da blog is a buzz.
I think many of us liked the coach Tortorella once was.
That said, and you can certainly blame Feaster, but, BUT John was never interested in making lemonade out of lemons. John wanted 100% OJ and the hell with anyone who got in his way.
The losing got to him and I think it wore him down and took him down to a level I hope he remembers. He certainly did not handle the fall with grace, being his own worst enemy.
He might go on to 5 more Cups, etc etc. But he is not the teacher that was needed the last two years. I think of Ruff in Buffalo and how he has handled his teams and himself thru some very tough times, with a meager budget, a depressed economy and bankruptcy hanging over the team. He was a strong leader thru it all. He was always in it for the "long haul"
Torts wasn't and his impatience and his temper wore thin and eventually he said the absolute wrong thing. "maybe I am not the guy anymore"
Gang, in most any other business in the world the GM would of asked for his resignation right there on the spot. I would have.
Anyway, whatever he does is of no consequence to our organization from this minute forward. Good luck Torts and how do "we" build from here??
It was time.

[boltflasher]

Hey chic: you may be right about the smokescreen thing and if you are, there will be alot of egg on alot of faces both here and on some other rumour mills....

[Rudy]

It’s can’t get any worst!!!!
Now maybe Torts get a filing how Dave Andreychuk felt when he waste him.
Mullet maybe is not a best choice, but since he is an “analyst”, he know lot about all team, he has more time to watch everybody then stubborn Tort, who lately was watching only himself in a mirror. I’m confident he is going to be fine. And if Torts leave – we going to sign Vincent for sure, because otherwise he leave to Toronto. But if Torts going to Toronto (hopefully ) then is no way to force Vincent to go there. And like a bonus, Torts going to screw up Toronto, as he did to Tampa, and we have one less team to worry about.
Be O P T I M IS T Y C, nothing can be worst then last two seasons.

[The Empty Seats in '08-'09]

THANKS to the new ownership group ...
We're certain to have plenty of room to breath!

[cw]

this sucks.

[vic]

Well that does it....if melrose is the next coach I find myself at home, maybe wacthing their games on tv. I don't know...some how this whole thing feels wrong. I don't like what's happening to the Lightning and I don't see things turning around any time soon...kind of like the economy.

[Keith]

Thank You Coach

Good Luck with your new team, whereever that may be (except when your team plays our beloved Lightnings)

[Phil]

Thanks Torts and goodbye. Part of being a coach is being able to motivate your players. Torts seem to have one method to do that -- and it has run its course. One would have to believe that OK Hockey did some talking with current management and players. With V4 needing re-signed OK had to at least get a feel for what the players thought of the coach, right?
Hopefully the next coach will earn respect from the Team and treat the fans to more facetime. Torts had the personality of a pit viper and that just wasn't necessary 24x7.

GO BOLTS!!!

[LM]

This change in ownership has already proven to be a joke. Oren needs to get over being an "involved" owner and let his coaches do the coaching. This guy is coming in with his little minor league experience and thinks he can run a NHL team. Come on Oren, Melrose? This ain't a Hollywood movie your producing. You better come back with something better than that. Any owner of any professional team that has tried to be the "involved and hands on" owner seems to lead their teams to the ground. I will continue to watch the Lightning because of the guys, but Oren you better make some better decisions then you've already have or you WILL loose fans. We want a REAL QUALITY coach not Hollywood!

Torts, you deserved better than this. Thanks for giving us the Stanley Cup, we are gonna miss you around here. Good Luck with your future coaching position.

[Patty]

Thanks for the Cup and your commitment to this community, Torts. Best wishes to you wherever you end up.

[JME4]

The one word that comes into my mind with the firing of John Tortorella is RESPECT! He earned RESPECT from his players by showing them the proper way to earn a Stanley Cup. He demanded that the organization RESPECT the players and the game that they were a part of. I am not sure that they new owners were willing to give the RESPECT that Torts would require of them. Thanks Torts for your passion, effort, and community devotion. The Bay area will always RESPECT you!

[Jim in NJ]

PLEASE READ:

The ONLY thing Feaster has done was help us rob Phoenix of Khabibulin (from the other side! how's Mike Johnson doing nowadays? lol).

He's done little since, Torts wasn't the problem and the ONLY reason I'm happy he's gone is so he stops getting blamed for this mess.

Torts: GOOD LUCK! not that you'll need it!

[karma]

Turtle,
You have regained my respect.
Alright, it's now past. I won't dwell on what could have been, but what needs to be. (I just wish they could have traded Torts for a couple of draft picks! The guy is a winner and a commodity and will have a job in a week.)

Find a coach who understands the new CBA and will anticipate the revisions. Spend on some money on players -- sign Vinnie to the long term deal he deserves. Build in the draft. Stay loyal to the fans.

Good lord. I can't believe this has happened and we get nothing from it. Reminds me of those Glazer boys and the way they treated Tony Dungy. My guess is that Torts said "Jay, fire me already!"

I'm sad for the disadvantaged children of Tampa that John and his wife were so committed to. Good luck buddy.

[Mike13]

Finally, Ted gets his wish!

Like many said above, JT is a very good coach, but it was clearly time for him to move on. Just as he said himself. Its all good. No hard feelings.

Rumor is that Wilson is headed to Toronto. Don't be surprised if Tortorella ends up in Ottawa. If that turns out to be the case, I don't forsee Emery sticking around very long.

[Joe Schmo]

I liked him and wished he stayed...but we're seeing and about to see ground up changes under the new owners....which is a good thing.

They shut his yap in Tampa Bay.

[Rodger]

Feaster said "we owe him our thanks, gratitude and DEEP respect". Your right we do! Letting him go isnt any of those thing's. last season wasnt the coach's fault. your dealing with no defense and a salary cap now in hockey. THIS RANKS RIGHT UP THERE WITH THE BUCS LETTING DUNGY GO! Good luck coach, maybe your next team wont let you down.

[Shawn]

Maybe if they had fired him early in the season when most franchises would have done so, we wouldn't have sucked so much in the second half of the season. But then again, we can thank him for getting us Stamkos.

And to all you bad fans who are saying you aren't coming to any more games if they hire Melrose: Good riddance. You obviously don't care enough about the team anyway. Now we won't have to hear you whiners complaining in the stands.

[Nan]

I am going to support the players no matter who they bring in as coach. I love watching Vinny and Marty play no matter what! If Koules does bring in Melrose, I hope it is on a one year trial basis just in case he really is bad!
I was a supporter of Torts and think he is a great coach given the right team and circumstances but his time here had run out. Even he realized it! I wish him the best of luck!

[Herb]

Bon voyage Torts but the real problem was left behind. If Melrose is named coach, it will get much worse, I hope to GOD that Melrose stays at ESPN so I can ignore him like I have ignored ESPN since the network dropped hockey coverage. Torts,thanks for the cup and the memories that came with it.

[TJ]

Thank you for all your hard work "Torts". I, for one, will miss you. I'm not saying it wasn't time for a change nor am I going to stop supporting this team just because he isn't the coach any longer. This game and this team is bigger than any one person, the head coach included. But John Tortorella was one of the best things that happened to this franchise (besides getting VL4 as a #1 draft pick and signing MSL as a free agent) and he will be missed. Good Luck to you John. You'll land on your feet somewhere. You're too good a coach not to. Thank you for the 2004 Stanley Cup and taking this franchise to places it's never been before (or since).

Best wishes for a speedy new job somewhere that they need your tough attitude.

That being said, I am ready for next season to get here and anxious to see how this franchise moves forward. The worst part about that is having to wait 4 more months to find out....

GO BOLTS!

[BE]

Sorry to see you go, Torts. I wish you the best of luck.
As for your replacement...

C'mon Pat Burns!
Stay away Barry Melrose!

Hopefully the Lightning will come to their senses and hire a proven winner for a coach. Not an average coach-turned broadcaster with a bad haircut.

[wahls]

It was Torts time to go (heck, at the end of the season even he thought it was his time to go until he changed his mind). This does not speak negatively on his coaching abilities, it is just how the business works. Coaches rarely stay around as long as Torts was here. He will have success somewhere else I am sure, please don't let it be in our division. Sending him to Ottawa or Toronto would be quite the site to behold, imagine Johnny T dealing with the Canadian media! Ha! HNIC would have to get a quick sensor for his press conferences. I personally think he would be a better fit in SJ, he could whip those pansies into shape and they have a goalie who could handle the pressure of constant breakaways.

It is sad for everyone involved how it was handled, but really everyone is to blame for it. The NHL shouldn't have put such a gag order on OK when they knew they would approve his ownership. JT shouldn't have run his mouth to Duemig at the end of the year when he was unhappy. All of these things got the ball rolling for the circus this has become.

And really people, you should support the team no matter who the players on the bench are or who is calling the shots behind the bench. I know that no matter what happens, I'll still be cheering for the Bolts and making it to as many games as I can.

Be optimistic, we can't get any worse than we were this year. No where to go but up!

[hockey chic]

Well guys there you have it. We all knew that one way or the other Torts would be out.

I have said for many months that unless he could and was willing to change that he was out of here. I like the Man and I appreciate what he did for the town. However, it was not Torts that brought the cup here it was the team THE BOLTS!

Furthermore, the people that say just cause Torts is gone you are not going to renew or attend games, like they say do not let the door hit you in the A##.

I am hoping of course for the best with this team and the new ownership. Did you ever think that the Melrose thing may be a smoke screen so Oren can hunt down the real talent.

I will be there rooting on the team whenever I am not playing myself and I will bring my loud mouth German attitude with me. I hope of course to see you all there.

ps I do hope Torts rebounds and gets another position as I am sure he will. He is a good coach just not what we currently needed for this team.

Go Bolts!

[Ray]

Too bad about the way Torts was dumped,
but its that way in the pros. The problem is his "style" DEMANDS a super-star goalie, not even a very good one will work. Also how about coaching de-
fense to hit someone or come out with the puck once in a while. Remember how well Feaster/Torts treated Andreychuk? Torts leaving is not a sad thing, but good luck to him. Feaster HAS to be next.

[matt]

Without the red-line, Tortorella's system was flawed. Without a world-class goalie, Tortorella's system was flawed. Without the perfect blend of personnel on offense and defense, Tortorlla's system was flawed. Maybe a tweak or a slight change may have done him some good instead of blaming this and that.

[Mike]

Can't say it's a bad thing Tort's is gone, but if Melrose is hired, I'm never going to another Lightning game... along with the rest of the former fans.

[Kevin]

Torts is a good coach so long as he had the personnel to work within his system. His system works, and we know that from the Stanley Cup year. That being said, we don't have the personnel for his system anymore, and he was unwilling to change. Instead of adapting his system to make the players work, he was trying to adapt the players to his system, which failed. I hate to see Torts go, but they had to do something, this team is far too talented to finish in last place.

[mike]

Good WE NEED A CHANGE will had the worst record in the league. He hasent past the first round in the last 2 years we were in the playoffs. this is good we need changes

[Carl]

When Tort
s spoke about Wilson when the sale was first announced you knew he would be gone if the deal fell throw. Then at the end of the season he felt he and Oren would butt heads as Oren wants to be an involved owner. No one should he surprised by this move. He was a good coach but he only has himself to blame.

[Al]

Some team is going to get a fabulous coach!!! Good luck Torts!!!

[shane]

question...all these people who say that they now will not support the Lightning because Torts is no longer coach previously went to Lightning games just to watch Torts? Look, we all can agree, every single one of us, that the lockout royally screwed the Lightning more than any single person. Every single move made my Feaster and Torts, collectively, have been in efforts to improve the team. The effort was there. Unfortunately, (and I'm saying this as A HUGE torts advocate) that method failed, and is no longer working. No doubt in my mind Feaster will be gone before long, entire new faces will be wandering the halls of the Lightning, and we may very well be on for a wonderful season and turn around much like the Flyers had. What I'm saying is keep your heads up, because Torts or no Torts, what i come down to is a Lightning fan, and of course I will be there cheering them on.

Shane

P.S. I remember some of you people also saying you would refuse to buy new jerseys too, and after a while they've grown on me and I like them better than old.

[Mike]

It only took one season for the bolts to figure out Craig Ramsay was the teacher and the calming effect around the lighting storm

[bear]

Have always felt that Torts squeezed every drop that could be had from this team. Problem was Feastie gave him a smaller lemon to squeeze every year.

Good luck Torts!!You are perfect for the Sens or Sharks and will be back in the show long before these sad sacks.