Tortorella defends Thompson, says Flyers won't shy away from power play criticism

A hot-button topic when it comes to the Flyers is the power play.

What are the issues? Is it coaching? Is it personnel? Is it strategy?

The questions are out there because the numbers are tough to comprehend. Last season, the Flyers were plagued by an NHL-worst power play at 12.2 percent. This season, it hasn't been much better at 14.7 percent, third to last in the league entering Monday.

Assistant coach Rocky Thompson is in his third season overseeing the units. The problems preceded his arrival. In 2021-22, the season before the Flyers hired Thompson, they had an NHL-worst power play at 12.6 percent.

Thompson has felt some heat, though, because the Flyers' power play has ranked last in the NHL over his three seasons combined. But John Tortorella won't let his assistant coach take all the blame.

"That's the stuff that bothers me, when I have people ripping my coaching staff," Tortorella said in a four-part sit-down interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia's Ashlyn Sullivan. "If I could have the people that think Rocky is some sort of idiot sit down and watch his presentation and how he handles himself as a coach and how he does things, I wish they could see that before those comments are thrown around. Because he is such an intelligent coach."

Starting last offseason, the Flyers have tapped into resources like special advisors Patrick Sharp and John LeClair and pro scout Dany Heatley for insight on the power play. The team's rebuild will need more answers on the man advantage moving forward.

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"We need to add skill, we need a power play quarterback just to quarterback it," Tortorella said. "There are a lot of different things. Certainly not shying away, it has been a struggle, it has been a struggle. We're trying to get better at it each and every day, but no one person should be blamed for that."

Part 1 of the Tortorella interview aired Monday in Flyers Pregame Live. You can watch it above. Tune into Flyers Pregame Live on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET for Part 2, Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET for Part 3 and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET for Part 4.

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