The New Jersey Devils’ uneven start has already sparked an early coaching conversation, and one NHL analyst thinks John Tortorella could be the name to watch if things keep sliding.
Arthur Staple raised the possibility on the Morning Cuppa Hockey Podcast while talking through Sheldon Keefe’s outlook in New Jersey. The Devils are 1-2-0 through three games, and the early warning signs have been hard to miss on the defensive side.
“I’m curious to see, does it go 10 games, does it go 15 games... Is there someone out there that they feel like can step right in here?
I’m just throwing a name out there ’cause he’s always available. [...]
Does John Tortorella come in? Jack Hughes’s got a good relationship with him from the Olympics.
John Tortorella come in and try to turn this team around. [...]”
That conversation comes with the Devils already dealing with too many chances allowed in dangerous areas and too many soft goals around the crease. Their special teams haven’t helped either. The power play opened the season 0-for-10 before finally scoring in the first period Tuesday, and the penalty kill has now become another issue.
New Jersey has three days before it plays again, with the Vancouver Canucks set to visit Saturday afternoon. That break gives the Devils a chance to sort through the problems from their first three games and work on adjustments in practice.
Tortorella, meanwhile, is currently without a job after finishing last season with the Vegas Golden Knights.
He was hired by Vegas on March 29 to replace Bruce Cassidy with eight games left in the regular season, then guided the club to a 7-0-1 finish before taking the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final.
Vegas fell 3-0 to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 6 on Sunday, and Tortorella didn’t exactly shut the door on his next move when asked about the future afterward.
“I haven’t even … I’ve got to swallow this a little bit.”
Tortorella brings 24 seasons of NHL coaching experience and has worked for six teams: Tampa Bay, New York Rangers, Vancouver, Columbus, Philadelphia and Vegas. His regular-season record sits at 777-648-166 with 37 ties, and he has a 70-72 playoff mark. He also won the Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004.
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