From John Tortorella’s early days as ‘fireball’ Sabres assistant, he always ‘kept his beliefs’

By Matthew Fairburn (The Athletic)

People can’t take their eyes or ears off John Tortorella. The Philadelphia Flyers coach is in his 35th season coaching professional hockey in the NHL and AHL. He’s again a strong candidate for the Jack Adams Award. And at 65 years old, Tortorella’s coaching tactics and personality make him a regular debate topic among those who watch and cover the NHL.

In the last month alone, Tortorella was ejected from a game and suspended for initially refusing to leave the bench and then made waves for scratching his captain and refusing to explain why.

Rick Dudley knew Tortorella before all of that. Dudley is the one who gave Tortorella his first NHL assistant coaching job with the Buffalo Sabres in 1989. Long before he had won more than 700 NHL games, a Calder Cup and a Stanley Cup, Tortorella ended up on Dudley’s radar because of what he did grinding away in the ACHL. Dudley was in Flint, Mich., coaching in the IHL. Frank Perkins was Dudley’s player-coach and often told Dudley stories about a smart and feisty player he had in his days with the Virginia Lancers in the ACHL. Dudley knew Tortorella only through Perkins’ stories and repeated endorsements.

Then, out of the blue, Perkins died in the middle of Flint’s season. Dudley and his players were shocked and devastated.

“That one was maybe even tougher than Tim Horton,” Dudley said by phone. “I was responsible for the team. I was the coach and the GM and I had to regroup the team.”

Tortorella made the trip to Perkins’ funeral, and that’s where Dudley first met him. He recalled talking to him for a while, swapping stories about Perkins. He understood then everything Perkins had told him.

“I found him to be an energetic young guy who had a brain,” Dudley said. “I knew him through Frank and Frank talked very highly of him. I knew somebody I respected a great deal respected John. That gave him a leg up.”

The next season, Dudley got a job coaching the Kings’ AHL affiliate in New Haven, Conn. The Kings wanted him to hire a player-coach to be his assistant, but Dudley insisted on a non-player assistant. The Kings eventually agreed.

“But they didn’t offer a hell of a lot of money,” said Dudley, who added he was almost embarrassed to make the offer because of how expensive it was to live in New Haven.

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