NHL Playoffs: Rangers Coach Gives Short Shifts To Media

John Tortorella handles the media kind of like he’s handling the New York Rangers: he’s brusque and unapologetic. Torts “sticking it” to the reporters assembled in the media room after games is a press-hater’s dream.

Win or lose, the fiery head coach has kept his words to an absolute minimum under the bright glare of “media availability” time, while during the whole uncomfortable-looking encounter he’s either seething under the surface or outwardly dismissive.

One of the issues here, and he has alluded to it before, is the revealing of information. Reporters and columnists are trying to file for deadline, and they want to get the coach’s side of the events which had just transpired on the ice. But Tortorella feels it’s not to his benefit, or in the Rangers’ interest, to say too much about, well, anything. When asked to respond about benching one of his top scorers, Marian Gaborik, despite his team needing a tying goal in Game 2 on Wednesday night, Torts simply said: “No… I’ll keep it in the room.”

What’s even more LOL-worthy is that when a reporter asked the Slovakian winger about his butt being stapled to the end of the bench for almost all of that final period, the Rangers forward said: “I don’t know; you’ll have to ask him (Tortorella) about that.” Of course!

Then there’s the media issue. Torts has a well-known antipathy to some of the columnists and others who pepper him (or used to) with questions, at least until Tortorella decided to release as few words as possible.

Tortorella also has to watch his step. He has been fined $50,000 by the league this season for indiscreet comments made to the media, including $20,000 in the latest incident which occurred after a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 5 where he freaked out in front of reporters after Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik went knee-on-knee with Rangers forward Derek Stepan.

“It’s a cheap, dirty hit,” Tortorella said at the time. “I wonder what would happen if we did it to their two whining stars (Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin) over there. I wonder what would happen. So I’m anxious to see what happens with the league with this … just (no) respect amongst players. None. It’s sickening.”

So now Torts plays his cards close to the vest when it comes to media relations; his mannerisms and curt responses are the subject of a mix by DJ Steve Porter. That Youtube video will have to suffice for entertainment value, because Tortorella has discovered that honesty is not the best policy — and it can be costly, too.