The NHL announced on Tuesday afternoon that Columbus Blue Jackets’ head coach John Tortorella has been fined $25,000 for his conduct during a media availability on August 19 following the team’s Game 5 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning and elimination from the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
From the NHL
Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella has been fined $25,000 for his conduct during a media availability following Game 5 of the team’s First Round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, Aug. 19, the National Hockey League announced today. The fine is the collection of a conditional fine assessed Jan. 1, 2020.
The fine money goes to the NHL Foundation.
After a 5-4 overtime loss to the Lightning in Game 5 and elimination from the playoffs, Tortorella pulled a very Tortorella thing to do during Wednesday’s postgame media availability when he walked away after answering only two questions.
A reporter asked him how the experience in the Toronto bubble has been and being close and working with the players every day. “I’m not going to get into the touchy-feely stuff and the moral victories and all that,” a visibly frustrated Tortorella said, “You guys be safe.”
And with that, he got up from the podium and walked away.
Tortorella also caught attention on August 4, when he made blunt remarks about the team’s Game 2 qualifying-round loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs: “Toronto was really good. We sucked.”
#CBJ John Tortorella has now been fined $162,000 during his #NHL coaching career.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) August 25, 2020
He is a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, which is presented to the head coach who has “contributed the most to his team’s success”.
By Della Young