Last week in the NHL: Tortorella fired after reported altercation with player, Marchand goes on rat duty in Panthers debut

Every week, we’ll update you on all the important musings in the hockey world over the past seven days — from the NHL and beyond.

There were plenty of viral happenings on and off the ice this past week, including John Tortorella being let go after a reported altercation with one of his players, Brad Marchand making an impact in his Panthers debut, Leon Draisaitl returning to the Oilers in electrifying fashion, Patrick Roy losing his marbles after a controversial no-goal costs the Islanders, another record for Sidney Crosby, a hilarious Alex Ovechkin sighting, a massive senior-league brawl and more.

Here are the top sights, sounds and news you might have missed in hockey last week.

John Tortorella fired after reported altercation with Cam York

Veteran head coach John Tortorella was shockingly relieved of his duties with the Philadelphia Flyers last week with just a handful of games remaining in the regular season.

It was a strange time to be fired, for sure, but the reported details of the circumstances surrounding Torts’ dismissal start to paint a picture as to why. Flyers beat writer Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reported that an altercation between the head coach and young Flyers blueliner Cam York led to the team axing Tortorella.

Kurz noted that York was benched by the fiery head coach for nearly the entire game (the final 50 minutes) last Tuesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and added that a “non-physical” argument between player and coach took place after the game and “they probably both crossed a line.”

York declined to comment on his benching when asked on Friday, and wouldn’t get into details or talk ill of his former coach.

“I’m not going to get into the details of it,” York said. “I will say this, I take full responsibility for my actions. It’s been addressed here in the locker room. It’s something that I’m going to put behind me and move on from. We’ve got eight games left here and that’s my focus right now. We’ll leave it at that.”

York took the high road, praising Tortorella as a “really good” coach who helped him immensely during the early part of his NHL career.

“I have nothing bad to say. He taught me a lot of really good things and was a really good coach for me. I’m going to use a lot of the things that he taught me down the road in my career. He’s a really good coach, and I wish him the best of luck down the road,” said York.

According to Kurz, it was the combination of the altercation with York and these comments from Torterella after the 7-2 loss to Toronto last Tuesday that finalized the Flyers’ decision to let go of the veteran bench boss.

“This falls on me,” Tortorella said following the game. “I’m not really interested in learning how to coach in this type of season, where we’re at right now. But I have to do a better job.

“So this falls on me, getting the team prepared to play the proper way until we get to the end.”

Flyers GM Daniel Briere said on Thursday that an “accumulation” of factors led to the decision to let Tortorella go.

As of Tortorella’s dismissal, the Flyers sit in second-last place in the Eastern Conference with a 29-36-9 record and are destined to miss the playoffs once again, as the team has in every season since the 66-year-old was hired in 2022.

Marchand makes strong Panthers debut, claims the perfect souvenirs

Former Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand was finally healthy enough to make his Panthers debut over the weekend, and his first game in Florida uniform couldn’t have been any more fitting.

Late in overtime versus the Utah Hockey Club on Friday, Marchand set up former foe-turned-friend Sam Bennet from behind the net before the latter buried the game-winning goal with his second tally of the night and Marchand’s first point as a Panther.

The post-game tradition of Panthers fans throwing plastic rats on the ice after big wins at home continued, and Marchand, who has been labelled one himself by many of his opponents and fans because of his style of play, decided to scoop up a few souvenirs after the game in true Marchand fashion.

An electric clean-up job from the former Bruin.

The family man had his reasons for scooping up a few of those plastic rats.

“It was one of the things my kids said right away, they asked about the rats,” Marchand said after making his Panthers debut.

“I was like ‘I don’t know when it happens, but if it does, I will grab a couple.’ So, I did.”

Marchand had mixed feelings about putting on a different uniform for an NHL game after spending the first 16 seasons of his career with the Bruins.

“It was still different today,” said Marchand after his first game since March 1 because of an upper-body injury.

“Every day that goes by, I feel a lot more comfortable, a lot more a part of the group. When you play, and you’re in everything day-to-day, it definitely helps that go quicker. I am excited to continue to build with the group here.”

His new linemate, Sam Bennett, said the two former rivals patched things up during their time together playing for Canada during February’s 4 Nations Face-Off.

“Sometimes that’s just the way it works out,’’ Bennett said. “You can be rivals and enemies one day, and as soon as you put on that jersey and play for the same cause, everything is washed away. You’re instantly great friends and teammates that are looking to win together.’’

With Marchand now in the mix, this team is going to be a nightmare to play against come playoff time once again.

Draisaitl returns with a vengeance in record-setting effort vs. Flames

The Edmonton Oilers have missed Leon Draisaitl over the past handful of games as their star forward was sidelined with an undisclosed injury, causing concern among fans that his ailment was more serious than originally thought with the Stanley Cup playoffs looming.

Well, that concern was put to rest in a major way on Saturday.

Draisaitl — who is chasing both a Rocket Richard (leading goal-scorer) and Hart Trophy (MVP) as the regular season winds down — put the Oilers on his back in his return against Edmonton’s provincial rival, scoring twice, including the overtime winner, to lead the Oilers to a 3-2 win.

Draisaitl’s effort resulted in a couple big milestones, too. With his first goal of the night, Draisaitl became the first (and likely only) player to pot 50 goals in the NHL this season. The Oilers star also became just the 15th player in NHL history — only the fourth born outside North America — to hit the 50-goal mark in four different seasons.

After the game, the man of the hour couldn’t downplay how much scoring 50, once again, means to him.

“I grew up as, well, certainly not a goal scorer,” Draisaitl said, per Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. “Always been a passer, and I worked a lot at (the scoring) part of my game. For that to shine through still means a lot to me,” he said.

Draisaitl’s second goal of the game, the game-winner in the extra frame, was his 51st of the year but more importantly his sixth overtime tally of the campaign, setting a new NHL record for most OT goals in a season by an individual player.

What a night.

Patrick Roy loses it after controversial disallowed goal: ‘We don’t need Toronto’

In a tight-knit battle for the final wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, the New York Islanders appeared to bury the game-winning goal late in regulation against the Columbus Blue Jackets — a team they are battling for said playoff spot with.

The goal, however, was immediately waved off by officials for goalie interference, and New York ended up losing 4-3 in a shootout, giving up a crucial standings point in the process.

After the officials waved off the goal immediately, the situation room in Toronto was called to review the play — confirming the no-goal call on the ice.

This did not sit well with Islanders head coach Patrick Roy, to say the least.

“I think I saw it the same way you guys saw it. Palmieri was out of the crease and we tipped it in, and I think their goalie pushed him away at the same time. So, that’s how I see it,” Roy Seethed.

“If Toronto is afraid to overturn calls made by their referee, we don’t need Toronto. That’s all I want to say.”

Roy continued:

“It’s a guessing game all the time. We’ve been called back so many times, it feels like, in the last week or two. And it’s just really getting frustrating when we’re pushing for a playoff spot. That’s obviously a game-winning goal late in a hockey game. And to me, it’s just unacceptable.”

With just nine games remaining, the Islanders sit three points back of the Montreal Canadiens for the final playoff spot in the East.

Goal of the week: Jared McCann

A fitting baseball-style goal from Kraken forward Jared McCann on MLB Opening Day.

Image of the week: Alex Ovechkin

The man sitting just five back of Wayne Gretzky’s elusive NHL goals record crushes Subway and Cheetos before games.

Legend.

Milestone of the week: Sidney Crosby

Just like Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby continues to prove year-after-year why he is one of the game’s true GOATs.

Quote of the week: Nikita Grebenkin

What a line from Flyers prospect Nikita Grebenkin following his trade from Toronto at the deadline.

Scrap of the week: Brawl breaks out in New Brunswick

Senior-league hockey in Canada just hits different.

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