VOORHEES, N.J. — John Tortorella is not in the predictions business. He's not one for lofty goals.
From when he was hired in June 2022, the head coach has been transparent about the Flyers' long road to contention. About five and a half months ago, he reiterated that message at his end-of-the-season press conference even after his rebuilding club contended for the playoffs all the way up to Game 82.
Don't expect him to change his tune at the start of Year 3 here in Philadelphia. The thought of postseason promise didn't seem anywhere near his mind as October arrived Tuesday.
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"I don't look that far ahead," Tortorella said with two preseason games left. "I don't. I think we have plenty of things to do as we continue to build. We are still building. I just don't get that far ahead. It's just hockey speak, right? 'Yeah, we're here to win a Stanley Cup.' I don't believe in that. We have so much s--- to do with our team before we even start talking about that stuff."
While the Flyers are pretty young up front and have two relatively new defensive pairs, the outlook in net stands as their biggest question.
Carter Hart had started in the team's last five season openers. The Flyers parted ways with the franchise goalie this summer as the Hockey Canada sexual assault case plays out. The club is optimistic about Samuel Ersson, but he's just coming off his rookie year and entering his first season as a No. 1. Ivan Fedotov, his projected backup, is a rookie who turns 28 years old in November and has one career NHL start.
"We have a whole new goaltending situation this year. It scares the crap out of me," Tortorella said. "Because we don't start with Carter, it's Ers' first time really being the guy. As much as I love him mentally, I don't know how that all works out. So we can't get ahead of ourselves here and I want to make sure you guys understand that.
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"I love where the organization's going, I think guys have improved, but we've got some hurdles to figure out here, especially with our goaltending because it's a whole different landscape to start a new regular season."
Alexei Kolosov, a goalie prospect who initially did not report to camp, made his preseason debut Monday night in the Flyers' 4-3 loss to the Islanders. He flashed his athletic ability and quick glove.
Tortorella hasn't talked much about him since Friday when the 22-year-old took the ice.
"I have other things to worry about than that, that's why we have [goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh]," he said. "I don't know. I'm more concerned about Ers and Fedotov as we get later in the exhibition, to make sure they're ready to go."
In "such an important" Year 3 of his tenure, Tortorella won't forget the big picture. After all, he has said it from Day 1.
The Flyers have plenty of work to do, plenty of questions to answer.
"Everybody thinks you need to say, 'This is the goal,'" Tortorella said. "That's where you lose sight of how to build a hockey club as far as I'm concerned."
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