Disturbing scene involving John Tortorella could land him in the same boat as Mike Babcock in the NHL!

The Philadelphia Flyers are moving on after firing head coach John Tortorella and focusing on the team’s retooling, but they cannot quiet down the chatter surrounding the reported altercation between the former head coach and his defenseman Cam York. It reported that “something happened between Cam York and John Tortorella in Toronto, that contributed to the coach’s dismissal last week and that “they probably both crossed the line.” York was consequently benched by interim head coach Brad Shaw, who only stated it was for disciplinary reasons.

Former NHLer Ryan Whitney revealed more on yesterday’s Spittin Chiclets podcast, revealing what was said by Torts and how personal he got with York, who finally had enough. That’s reportedly when the blue liner got in the bench boss’ face, sick of the abuse, as Tortorella reportedly told him that if he were to re-sign as a free agent in Philly, he would bury him.

After the incident, York declined to offer specifics but took full responsibility for what happened and the role it played in Tortorella’s firing.

However, with what the crew of Spittin Chiclets revealed on air, many are wondering if we’ve seen the last of Torts in the NHL, seeing that we’ve seen in the past how abuse can be the final straw for some NHL coaches.

Ever since he was fired from Toronto, former NHL head coach Mike Babcock has seen former players come out and exposed further details that have made him one of the most controversial figures in the hockey world. By now, most fans know the stories of Babcock dating back to his time with the Red Wings in which he allegedly verbally assaulted forward Johan Franzen, leading the Swedish forward to later label Babcock as “the worst person I’ve ever met”. Multiple power trips that included scratching Mike Modano rather than letting him play his 1,500th game and scratching Jason Spezza rather than let him play in front of friends and family in his Maple Leafs debut have forever tarnished his reputation in the eyes of most. There is of course the infamous Mitch Marner incident in Toronto, in which it was reported that Babcock forced the young player during his 2016-17 rookie season to rank his teammates in a list based on work ethic and then shared that list with the rest of the team. Last year, his tenure as Columbus Blue Jackets head coach lasted not even two months, as he resigned from his position before training camp even began after revelations that he invaded player privacy by looking through their phones was released.

The good thing for Tortorella is that some players, even York, still have good things to say about him and his coaching skills.

“He taught me a lot of really good things,” York said. “He’s a really good coach, and I wish him the best of luck down the road.”

Tortorella, who ended his tenure in Philadelphia with a 97-107-33 record and 227 points in 237 games, could get another shot behind a bench in the NHL, unless this altercation with York and what was exposed of it lands him in the same boat as Babs.