Craig Button breaks down John Tortorella's firing by Flyers after falling short of playoff spot yet again

NHL insider Craig Button weighed in on the Philadelphia Flyers' decision to fire John Tortorella. The 66-year-old veteran was relieved of his duties on Thursday, with the Flyers languishing in last place in the Metropolitan Division and not having won a game in regulation since Feb. 25.

TSN director of scouting Button appeared on "The Talking Point" to give his opinion about Tortorella being let go.

“Well, when you are at the bottom of the standings and you've won but once in your last 12 games, you're on the hot seat. The spotlight is squarely on the coach. That's just part and parcel of being a head coach in the National Hockey League,” Button said.

Button also analyzed the timing of the move by the Flyers' front office, saying that letting Tortorella go with only nine games left in the season was “a decisive move” by general manager Daniel Briere.

“And I think that Daniel Briere looks at it and says he's not going to be my coach next year. Why wait? Why? Why play out the string with a coach where you got to go and deal with them on an everyday basis, knowing that he's not coming back. You have to cut the cord. You have to cut it quick. You have to be decisive about it."

This was Tortorella’s third season with the Flyers, with whom he had a 97-107-33 record. He has a 770-648-165 career record, having coached the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks and Columbus Blue Jackets before.

John Tortorella has the second-most wins of any US-born coach in the NHL, behind current NY Rangers coach Peter Laviolette (841).

Flyers' president of hockey operations Keith Jones issues statement on John Tortorella

The Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday released an official statement on the firing of Tortorella. The franchise’s president of hockey operations, Keith Jones, publicly supported Briere’s decision.

"On behalf of the entire Flyers organization, we would like to thank John for his dedication over the past three seasons," Jones said via NHL.com. "We fully support Danny’s decision in making this change as he continues to do what is needed for the future of our organization.

"John Tortorella has made a positive impact throughout the Flyers organization, and we are grateful and appreciative of the opportunity to work with him. We wish John, Christine and their family all the best moving forward."

The Flyers have not made the playoffs for the past four years and look to be on course to miss out this season as well.