Your John Tortorella Media Exchange Of The Week

((HT: Hockey Webcast))

The HQ has had to deal with New York Rangers head coach John Tortorella on a few occasions when we've covered his old team, the Tampa Bay Lightning. He's not the kind of coach that will deal with shenanigans or stupid questions.

If you don't know hockey, or haven't been paying attention, he'll let you have it.
And we totally dig that...

In the Rangers 2-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, his star scorer Marian Gaborik dropped gloves with Daniel Carcillo- who has been known to drop with anyone short of his own mother if he needs to... and Carcillo got the best of the fight with seven straight rights...

((HT: MSG/NHL))


Carcillo is a Flyer for one reason, but Gaborik is a Ranger who doesn't fight...
Torts wasn't happy with the Flyers bench, either... the whole thing was a mess. The HQ is of the mind that Torts was well within his rights to kvetch on this one.

Larry Brooks of the New York Post has evolved into one of Tort's un-favorites...
As evidenced by the postgame scrum...
((HT: MSG/NHL again))

Do Not Anger John Tortorella

((HT: TSN/NHL))

It really doesn't matter if the New York Rangers are winning or losing under the tutelage of John Tortorella. If you ask a stupid question, you get a stupid answer back and you're called out for being an idiot.

Rightfully so...

If you dump a beer on the guy, expect the horns...
Kinda like Friday night against the Washington Capitals...
Jim Schoenfeld was the voice in reason in all of this...???
See for yourself...

Yep, It's Tortorella...

((HT: Bob McKenzie/TSN))

McKenzie is reporting that Torts ((pictured, thanks Scott Audette/Getty Images)) is on his way to New York City to take care of what needs to be taken care of to make sure he's the next coach of the Rangers.

McKenzie continues:

But that doesn't mean the issues between the two teams have been solved.
''It's very complex,'' one source said.

But it would appear that all involved are now acknowledging Tortorella is going to coach the team.

Tortorella's path to the Ranger job was cleared, sources say, because the Lightning gave Tortorella written permission in June to seek other employment and that permission was never revoked.

But sources say there are still some outstanding issues that have clouded the whole situation, involving other members of the Tampa Bay organization. The Rangers and the Lightning, with the input of the NHL, are attempting to resolve them and while a negotiated settlement is possible, it could well be that formal tampering charges could be filed by the Lightning against the Rangers before all is said and done.

This may have something to do with Lightning assistant coach Mike Sullivan, who reportedly has a clause in his contract that he could join Tortorella if Tortorella were to be named head coach elsewhere in the NHL.

But whatever issues exist between the two teams, they are not enough to prevent Tortorella from being on the ice with the Rangers at practice Tuesday morning.

Those of us at OSG HQ think the source is someone very close to Torts himself, and we can't way for the Boston-born guy to head-butt the New York media.

Should be fun...

This absolutely screams of video and audio goodness-awesomeness on a bazillion levels...

Kinda like this...

((HT: CBC/NHL))

Or this one...

((HT: The Score))