Wednesday marked one month to the day that John Tortorella became coach of the Vegas Golden Knights.
It’s been an adjustment for him. It’s been a slight adjustment for the players having a different voice behind the bench after three-plus years of Bruce Cassidy.
For those asking the questions every day, there’s also been a change.
Tortorella has built a reputation for telling it like it is during his press conferences.
He’ll be blunt in his assessments. He won’t pull punches. Much like his thoughts on why Pavel Dorofeyev and Tomas Hertl were benched late in Game 4 on Monday.
One thing that the media has learned about Tortorella is he’s not a morning person. Such as we all are, to a degree.
But Tortorella makes it clear he wants nothing to do with anybody when the clock hits 10:45 a.m. for a morning skate.
First question: When the Utah Mammoth made their push in Game 4, do you chalk it up to expecting a push, or are there things to improve on?
“I’ll always look at the other team, but more concentrated on our team,” Tortorella said.
Second question: Did you like what you saw from the power play?
“Nope,” he said.
His morning skate presser lasted roughly two minutes, 20 seconds. About 45 of those seconds was used to pass the microphone around.
This is not an indictment on Tortorella with the media. It’s just another nuance that everyone is getting used to that some markets have known for years.
He’s definitely drawn some laughs, especially on his answers to some questions. There haven’t been any signs of disrespect from him. He is as a veteran coach of over 20 years of experience.
To get answers, you have to ask questions, apparently. It’s hard to do that when there are times there isn’t that kind of substance on gamedays.
That’s Playoff Torts. Nothing wrong with that. Just like the players, everyone has to adjust on the fly in the playoffs, too.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
