Tortorella speaks

Former coach of the year and Stanley Cup-winner John Tortorella addressed the media in a teleconference this morning for the first time since being fired by the Lightning on Tuesday.

The bullet points: he wanted to coach here next season.

+ He feels the team is not far away from being competitive despite finishing last in the NHL.

+ The team would be unwise not to at least consider assistant coach Mike Sullivan as his replacement.

+ He expects his relationship with general manager Jay Feaster to heal over time after their contentious season, but it will take time.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Why did the coaching change take so long?

I think you’re asking the wrong guy and why I think I was let go. The people that let me go, you need to ask them that. But having said that, when your team finishes 30^th in the National Hockey League, obviously it’s a pretty long year and not a great year by any stretch. I think eventually someone is going to have to give some skin here and it’s just part of the business.

In my mind it was inevitable and its part of the business. I understand that.

Did you want to return as coach?

Yes. I have to make my own bed here, too. At the end of the year I talked to (general manager) Jay (Feaster) after the exit interviews and I’m pretty honest about everything that goes around our team and I thought out loud to Jay and had a conversation to him, and maybe there was a different voice that could come into play here. You have such a long year and it's two days after the season. As I got away from it and I talked to my coaching staff, trainers and players, I don’t think that was the right way to go about it. And that is my responsibility. I don’t think the team is far away. I didn’t think the team is far away and I wanted to be part of the solution in trying to get that turned around, but unfortunately a few other people didn’t agree with me, and here we are.

Do you feel there was unfinished business with the Lightning?

It’s difficult. We all know this is part of the business. To me, I already miss the players. That’s what has really bothered me, and finally following a decision (being) announced yesterday, that’s what bothers me the most, because I won’t be with these players. Remember, I’ve been here seven years with the core of this hockey club and I’ve learned a ton from them as far as how you go about your business, about the game, about everything. I’ve been treated very well there, by you, the media, the fans there, and by the organization. the organization has treated me very well there. So when you build it – and that’s the hardest thing for me: we spent six, seven years in what I thought was an absolute comedy show when we started with it – and built it to a viable competitive team, winning a conference, winning some division titles, winning a Stanley Cup, and then you leave it now, you know, that’s difficult. It’s part of you and always will be part of me. There are no bitches with me as far as how I’ve been treated there, by everybody, the fans, the media and the organization. this is all part of the business here. So, I’ll miss that. I’ll miss especially being around the players, because we’ve gone through ups and downs as a group of men for a long time here, but I think, especially with the core, we’ve come to an understanding and I think there is a mutual respect there. there is definitely respect on my part to them.

Should assistant Mike Sullivan be the next coach?

I believe so, yes. I listen to all the people talking about this-coach, that-coach, who’s coming in, who should be there. God, look at ya. Look under your nose. Mike Sullivan is who I think is just a tremendous coach and probably – not probably, is – a better person. There’s no question as far as what he can do for a hockey club. And no one even speaks of him. That boggles my mind.

Do you wish to coach in the NHL again?

Absolutely.

Do you believe your firing was mandated by the current owners, new owners or Feaster?

I guess you have to say all three.

Jay Feaster, he has supported me tremendously through the years I’ve been there. I’ve given Jay many management opportunities and some managers would have said, ‘You know what, I’ve had it with you. I’m done with this.’ He stuck through it with me and believed in what we were trying to do and I think it’s a great lesson.  You go through the ups and downs of building a team ….

Jay did a great job in our organization as far as bringing some stability to it.

Will you lobby for your next job?
I don’t know how to go out there and push yourself onto peopleI’m not too interested in just sitting around and just collecting a paycheck. I want to work. But I don’t know how it all works.

-- BRANT JAMES, Times Staff Writer 

Lightning center Halpern injured in U.S. hockey team's loss to Canada

The United States tried to keep up with rival Canada on Tuesday at the world championships. And the Americans did -- until the final minute.

Dany Heatley scored the winning goal with 46.8 seconds left to lift Canada to a 5-4 victory in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

It was Heatley's second goal of the game.

"We didn't want to wait until the last minute, but we'll take it," said Heatley, who scored his fifth and sixth goals of the tournament.

"In the last minute of periods, we hurt ourselves," U.S. and Lightning coach John Tortorella said.

Meanwhile, U.S. captain and Lightning center Jeff Halpern injured his right knee during the game, Tampa Bay spokesman Bill Wickett said.

Halpern is not expected to play in the Americans' next game, set for Thursday. He will have a full evaluation today, Wickett said, and the team plans to issue a full report.

For the Canadians (3-0), Brent Burns, Jonathan Toews and Derek Roy also scored, and Cam Ward stopped 29 shots.

"We played really hard right to the end," Canada's Ryan Getzlaf said. "We take pride in those kind of wins. We were raised that way."

Zach Parise, Patrick O'Sullivan, Dustin Brown and Jason Pominville scored for the Americans (2-1), who were praised by Tortorella. "I thought they played their a---- off."

After the Americans fell behind early, Parise and O'Sullivan scored 2:17 apart to cut the lead to 3-2.

"I think we showed a lot of people that we're capable of playing at the same level as these guys," O'Sullivan said.

The Canadians extended their lead to 4-2 on a goal by Roy at 3:29 of the third period. He slammed a pass by Shane Doan past Craig Anderson, who replaced Tim Thomas after the second intermission.

"We don't necessarily rely on the pretty play; we don't rely on one individual guy," Doan said. "As a unit we're pretty solid, and we can count on our depth. If it takes 60 minutes, it takes 60 minutes."

Brown and Pominville scored 36 seconds apart on the power play to erase that lead.

In Quebec City, Capitals teammates Alex Ovechkin and Sergei Fedorov each scored, helping Russia (3-0) defeat Denmark 4-1.

Compiled from Times wires

Let's get physical

We have all heard coach John Tortorella bemoan the lack of physical play in the game. You don't even have to ask him about it sometimes and the conversation turns in that direction. Well, it was interesting timing Friday, when the coach went on a pretty colorful rant and called the league a "ballet'' and "soft.'' That night, the Lightning lost to the Devils and defenseman Dan Boyle said he wants to see the team be more physical, especially with the opposition's defense.

A nice thought, and one Tortorella acknowledged. But how can the players possibly be physical with the way the game is being called. The game that night against the Devils was a case in point. Considering the lack of physical play, it was possible zero penalties could have been called. But the refs found the smallest transgressions to call. Andre Roy's penalty was bewildering. Nick Tarnasky's slash a love tap and when the refs finally got around to calling a penalty on the Devils, a trip on Patrik Elias, it was as bogus as the calls made against the Lightning.

I grew up watching the Islanders on Long Island when guys like Gary Howatt, Bobby Nystrom and Gerry Hart hit everything that moved. It was a slower game back then but man it was fun to watch the physical play. There has to be a happy medium between letting the players skate and calling absurd penalties that have no effect on the game other than making players afraid to play physically.

I know we've discussed this before. I've written at least two stories about it, but after Friday's game I just think there is a disservice being done to the players and fans. Don't know how to solve it either. The powers in Toronto and New York seem to like it. I agree with Tortorella, though, in an attempt to bring in new fans by showcasing scoring and speed, the league is losing the die-hards. It's too bad.

Interesting moment: I recently spent an evening in the NHL offices in Toronto where they make the video reviews of all disputed goals. There wasn't much going on that night so the guys were free to talk and critique the games and the way the penalties were being called. At one point, NHL senior vice president Mike Murphy was disappointed a call was made against a player during a battle for a puck. The transgression was a shove. Said Murphy, "you should be able to shove in this league.''

Yes, at the very least.

For anyone interested, check out hockeyfansunite.com. It's a site run by an old-time hockey fan who hates seeing what the game has become.