Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella is once again telling someone to “shut up.”
This time, the victim is an agent of a player on his team.
While speaking to reporters Friday, Tortorella responded to a report from Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli that Philadelphia forward Joel Farabee’s camp “has voiced their displeasure to the Flyers as to how this season has unfolded” under his stewardship.
“This is news to me,” Tortorella said, according to NBC Sports’ Jordan Hall. “Is his agent popping off? Is that what it is? He’s popping off in the media that he’s pissed off about Joel? Oh, for God’s sake. They should just shut up.”
“The agent should just stay out of the business.”
Farabee, who is represented by Shawn Hunwick of KO Sports, Inc., has seen his ice time dip of late.
On Monday against the Calgary Flames, he played just 3:52 in a 4-3 win and he likely would have been scratched the following game against the Edmonton Oilers had it not been for a late injury to Travis Konecny. Tortorella has had a pattern of scratching regulars on his roster this season, including Kevin Hayes and, recently, Travis Sanheim.
Farabee, 22, has 26 points in 59 games this season after undergoing artificial disk replacement last off-season, something Tortorella wouldn’t accept as an excuse when the winger struggled earlier this season.
“I think he has been very inconsistent. I’m not going to let him hide behind his injury,” Tortorella said in December. “I think it’s plenty of time to get through that. I just think he has been inconsistent.”
Tortorella reiterated those feelings on Friday, but added: “In any stretch, I have not given up on Joel Farabee. I think it’s really hard to make an evaluation on him this year.”
Despite the reports that he could be a trade target ahead of next week’s deadline, Farabee said Friday he loves being a Flyer.
“For me right now, I’m 100 per cent committed to being a Flyer, I love being here, I love playing for the city. That’s all I’m really focused on. None of that stuff is up to me anyways. All I can really focus on is the game tonight and that’s where my head’s at,” Farabee said.
The Flyers are 14th in the Eastern Conference with a 23-26-10 record and eight points out of the final wild-card spot. They take on the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night.
.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper {
display: grid;
grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr);
gap: 20px;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper a {
pointer-events: none;
cursor: default;
text-decoration: none;
color: black;
}
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
