"It's A Dumb League': Flyers Head Coach John Tortorella Weighs in on Maple Leafs' Morgan Rielly Incident with Senators' Ridly Greig

"It’s a dumb league," Tortorella said. "I guess the thing with the young athletes is sometimes you have to wait your turn, as far as gaining respect and not wanting everything right now. Not expecting everything right now as far as ice time, as far as your contract or whatever it may be. Sometimes it’s good to wait your turn and earn it. I think that’s where the athletes have changed. 

"They have entourages around them that I think direct them the wrong way and the hierarchy of a room, the hierarchy of what it is to be a pro. The process you have to go through as a pro. I think it’s lost with the athlete now. It’s something I miss terribly in being in the league for so long and seeing to where it’s gone to now. 

"Great athletes, great skill, great speed. But the mental and the understanding of what it is to be a pro and respecting the National Hockey League, that’s where I have some struggles"

Greig, 21, was cross-checked in the head by Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly, 29 after seeking retribution for Greig's move.

Tortorella expressed his displeasure before with some of the antics of the younger players in the game. Before accepting the head coaching position with the Flyers on June 16, 2022, the Stanley Cup-winning coach was working as an analyst with ESPN and weighed in on Anaheim Ducks forwards Trevor Zegras and Sonny Milano combining for a goal. Zegas, while behind the net, flipped the puck onto his stick and flipped it to Milano in front of the net batting the puck into the goal. 

Some where calling it the "Dishigan', a take on the Michigan goal where it looks like it's going to start that way before the pass.

"I'm not trying to be a fool here but I'm not sure sure it's great for the game," Tortorella said. "If you did that in the late 90's-2000's, you'd get your head taken off."

Tortorella acknowledged that they play is cool and it's skilled.

"I'm not trying to be difficult about it. It's fun to watch. I just think our game has gone so far away from what the game should be. A hard game. An honest game. It's too showman."

The NHL definitely is in the midst of finding the right balance of selling the game and the respecting the old-school nature of it.

Rielly is set to appeal his five-game suspension won Friday in front of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in New York City.