John Tortorella Takes Subtle Shot at the Leafs, Backs Craig Berube with Strong Statement

While the Philadelphia Flyers aren't really going to be a threat for the 2024-25 season, they can play spoiler for a lot of teams, including the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are looking to keep pace with the Florida Panthers in the Atlantic.

So before both teams take the ice on Tuesday night, Flyers head coach John Tortorella gave some deserved credit to Leafs head coach Craig Berube and believes Toronto is on the path to success:

It's great to see the often feisty and grouchy Tortorella give credit to his contemporary, and it's a brief refresher from his normal confrontations with the media.

Tortorella is no stranger to facing the Maple Leafs, having done so every year since 1999-2000 and has seemingly always stayed in the Eastern Conference except for a pit stop in Vancouver.

He's coached 23 seasons so far, registering a 770-647-37-165 record and has coached the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Canucks, Columbus Blue Jackets and now with the Flyers.

Berube and Tortorella never faced off before this season, as Berube coached the Flyers coincidentally, and Tortorella was coaching the Vancouver Canucks, then held out for a year before going to Columbus.

Both men are no strangers to speaking their mind, and it feels like at times Berube borrows a lot of mannerisms from Tortorella; who as polarizing a figure as he is, is still one of the NHL's most successful coaches.

Toronto takes on Philadelphia at home, where Berube and company are trying to get back in the driver's seat while the Flyers look to play spoiler to the Maple Leafs; the puck is scheduled to drop at 7PM ET.