The Philadelphia Flyers are undergoing one of their all-too-familiar losing streaks. With five consecutive regulation losses in that stretch, they sit at 27-31-8, risking a potential basement finish to their 2024-25 campaign. As it stands, only five teams have fewer points than them.
Even two games ago, it was evident to head coach John Tortorella that his team needed a spark. But his vision for getting that spark was fairly controversial. Defenseman Cam York served as the sacrificial lamb in Philadelphia’s must-win matchup against the Seattle Kraken on March 8—he was a healthy scratch in the eventual 4-1 loss. Like any player in his shoes, the 24-year-old didn’t agree with his coach’s decision.
“Obviously, being scratched the other day was… I didn’t think I deserved a scratch […] If there was communication, then maybe I would understand.”
from – ‘Cam York speaks on Saturday’s benching, lack of communication with John Tortorella: “I didn’t think I deserved a scratch”’ – Charlie O’Connor – PHLY Sports – 03/11/2025
The second part of that quote is what spurred some discussion. York is one of the Flyers’ best defensemen in the objective sense, so being scratched for reasons unbeknownst to him is an eye-opener. That got the attention of a former Flyers defender, who also happens to be a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame: Chris Pronger.
Pronger Criticizes Tortorella’s Approach to York
Pronger took to X (formerly Twitter) to hash out his thoughts. Under O’Connor’s article, he recalled a similar situation with a different player from last season. Sean Couturier, who was only about a month removed from being named captain of the team, was a healthy scratch in back-to-back March contests. Puzzled as to why he was getting the doghouse treatment from his bench boss, he trucked along anyway. Here’s what Pronger had to say:
He did this with Couturier last year. What is the reasoning? Have the media gotten an answer? If the player is not playing up to par then explain EXACTLY what he needs to fix to be more effective. Not use “he needs to be better” That is a cop out
— Chris Pronger (@chrispronger) March 11, 2025
This isn’t just any player coming after Tortorella’s tough-love tactics, and it’s not just any Hall of Fame player, either. It’s Chris Pronger—a hard-nosed, old-school player criticizing a hard-nosed, old-school coach. These comments have just a bit more…
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