Bieksa makes a heavy revelation on Tortorella's tenure in Vancouver

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Cooper Godin
April 10, 2024 (8:00 PM)

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John Tortorella's stint with the Vancouver Canucks may have only lasted one season, but he left an impression on several members of the team during the 2013-14 campaign.

In a recent interview on the Nasty Knuckles podcast, former Vancouver Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa revealed that himself, along with the Sedin twins, went to management and wanted them to keep Tortorella as the team's head coach after the 2013-14 season.

I remember they brought a bunch of us into the GM's office after the season; they asked us, 'What do you think of Torts?' I was one of the guys, me and the Sedins, signed off on him like "we love the guy, we want him back,'" Bieksa said. "Is he hard and demanding? Yeah. Does he call guys out in the media? Yeah. But I mean he's a guy, he tries to get the most out of you and at times maybe his methods are a little bit extreme as you've seen in the past week or so, but the goal is to get you to play your best hockey."

There's no doubt that John Tortorella is hard to play for and for some players, they thrive off a coach who is hard on them, but for others, it's not their cup of tea. For Bieksa and the Sedin twins to give their vote of confidence in him to the Canucks' management shows the type of people they are and that they truly believed he was the right coach for the team.

Tortorella was hired in 2013 as a replacement for the winningest-coach in Vancouver Canucks franchise history, Alain Vigneault. During his single season behind the Canucks' bench, Tortorella led the team to a 36-35-11 record, which had them finish fifth in the Pacific Division, marking the first time in six years that they failed to make the post-season.

The Boston native would go on to spend six seasons behind the bench with the Columbus Blue Jackets, before being not being brought back following the 2021 season. Currently, Tortorella is in his second season with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Do you wish John Tortorella remained with the Canucks for more than just one season? Let us know what you think in the poll below.

Source - Noah Strang/Daily Hive: "We love the guy": Bieksa and Sedins told Canucks to keep Tortorella