Flyers HC John Tortorella makes his feelings clear on 24-year-old defenseman

Philadelphia Flyers coach John Tortorella spoke to the media hours ahead of his team’s upcoming game on Sunday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The topics touched on how to improve the team’s defense, the state of the players after two weeks on the road, and defenseman Cam York.

“He's (York) been okay, still inconsistent. The big thing with Cam is just a little bit too deliberate. I’d like to see him play quicker,” Tortorella said. “He’s taken some big hits since his injury. His reads have been a little bit slow. His puck movement has been a little bit deliberate.”

This isn’t the first time he has challenged the 24-year-old defenseman. The Flyers coach has not been shy about benching York and even sent him to the minors when he was a prospect in the 2022-23 preseason.

Tortorella maintained that his actions were all to get York back in fighting form as soon as possible.

“I think he's improving. But I’ve told him, and I’ve told you guys, I’ve seen him play at a level that, quite honestly, I never thought I'd see him play at. We’re trying to get him back there," he added.

York has had an inconsistent season marred by injury. The defenseman had missed 13 games, the longest since his NHL debut, earlier this season and was a scratch for the Flyers’ 3-7 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Dec. 19. His coach clearly thinks he needs to knock the rust off.

Trying to think about defense first, says John Tortorella

While the Flyers offense has been clicking in recent weeks, John Tortorella remains focused on taking their defensive game up a notch. The Flyers are currently sixth in the Metropolitan Division, two points from a wild card spot for the playoffs.

Given the Flyers' recent uncertain form, Tortorella’s insistence on improving their defensive game makes sense. They lost 4-5 to the Kings on Dec. 30, shut out the San Jose Sharks 4-0 on Wednesday, and were thumped 2-5 by the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday.

“For the past few weeks our emphasis has been playing better defensively. We’re trying to be as simple as possible and think about defense first,” Torotella uttered. “We have played some good hockey. We’ve just got to stay within ourselves.”

With the Flyers facing off against one of the most lethal offensive units in the league in Toronto tonight, they will need their defense to sync as well as their offense for them to have any chance to win.