John Tortorella rips NHL's softness: “Makes me sick”

He's one of the most outspoken head coaches of the last several years in the National Hockey League, and he had no shortage of opinion after Garnet Hathaway was tossed from their game against the New Jersey Devils following his heavy hit on defenseman Luke Hughes. 

For those of you who missed it, take a look at the hit in question below and make the judgement for yourself: 

For Tortorella, it's a major problem in today's NHL that bone-crushing hits seem to be trending downward. 

“I’m glad the kid isn’t hurt,” he said. “A really good player, a young man in this league. But that’s a problem in our league right now. Our players in this league do not put enough emphasis on making sure you’re protecting yourself from hits like that, making sure you absorb hits like that because we’ve kind of tried to turn this league into a no-hit league. And now people aren’t ready to be hit." 

"I think it’s a lost art in how you take hits. And I do think looking at the clip, I think he thinks it’s icing. A mistake was made, and we’ve got good refs and we’ve got good linesmen. A mistake was made last night, and what bothers me is we had to suffer for that mistake, losing a player."

Tortorella then reiterated his stance that the play should not have even resulted in a penalty called, much less an ejection from the game.

"But I believe the league, it’s a no-go. There is nothing wrong with the play; it shouldn’t even have been a penalty. But it just screams to the athletes in our game, ‘Be prepared to be hit because big hits are allowed.’ Nowadays, I’m not so sure because everyone puts their arms up when there’s a big hit. It makes me sick. What goes on in the league here on big hits That’s part of the game.”

Recommended articles:

• John Tortorella benches one Flyers forward after playing just 56 seconds!
• Trade aborted in Philadelphia, and Flyers' fans are relieved!
• New feud erupts in Philly with yet another Flyers forward on his way out under Tortorella!
• Ryan Dzingel describes an epic Tortorella meltdown in detail.
• John Tortorella lands in hot water!