Think times are tough for the Vancouver Canucks in 2022? Just wait to discover the fascinating exchange between Ryan Kesler and John Tortorella during the 2013-14 season.
Midway through Kesler’s 10th and final season with the Canucks, the team was underperforming and heading into its first non-playoff summer since 2008. And with Tortorella at the helm, the atmosphere inside the locker room has quickly become intense over the past few months.
Following an embarrassing 6-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on March 6, 2014, the 6-foot-2 center was called into his coach’s office to discuss his recent performance. This conversation, however, did not end peacefully.
“[I] come in and we go over the video and every clip about me,” Kesler said in an interview on the latest episode of Spit Chiclets. “Like over and over again, and he finally stops the clip and he goes, ‘I’m f-king worried about you, Kes. I’m really worried about you, you want out of here. And I said, ‘you don’t have to worry about me.’ And the trade deadline has passed now, so I’m staying.
“I get up in my cubicle, his nose is like my chest, and I look at him like, ‘You want to do this about me and you again?’ And we just went back and forth. And then he throws a tantrum, throws the remote, and he’s like, ‘I don’t give a damn about here.’ And he leaves.
Afterwards, Kesler’s teammates praised him for standing up to Torts, something seemingly unheard of before. But the 2010-11 Selke Trophy winner refused to fall into that same crowd.
“I had a bunch of young guys who were like, ‘Oh, this is the best thing I’ve ever seen,’ because no one ever resists it,” Kesler said. “Everyone respects him, but they’re also afraid of him.”
Later in the day, things heated up again between Kesler and Tortorella, but on the ice this time. It was then that the 23rd selection of 2003 believed to let go of the gloves in front of his coach.
“So he comes on the ice, and I skate, and he comes and pushes me on the ice,” Kesler said. “It’s in Vancouver, there are cameras in the stands, in the stands. And I’m like, ‘Holy shit, we’re doing this right now, I’m going to fight a trainer. Like, I’m fighting a trainer, on the ice, right now.
Instead, Tortorella unexpectedly applauded Kesler for pushing back on his previous criticisms. The former Canucks head coach even offered to return his “A”, which had been removed from his jersey earlier in the season.
Kesler gave a hilarious response to the gesture, admitting he already knew they wouldn’t be returning to Vancouver the following season. And he was right.
“He pushes me again and I turn to him and he’s like, ‘I love it, Kes. That’s why you’re gonna come back. If I’m back here and you’re back here, you’re gonna recover your ‘A’. And I say, “Wrong, I won’t come back here and you know you won’t come back here. So it won’t happen. And he starts laughing and skating.
It’s not every day that a player almost fights one of his coaches. Given Tortorella’s background, it’s no surprise that he was involved in this kind of incident.
Kesler last played with the Anaheim Ducks in 2018-19, but has yet to officially retire. However, this is likely to happen very soon. The 38-year-old’s career consisted of 1,001 games split between two franchises (the Ducks and Canucks) from 2003-19.
The right-handed forward scored 258 goals and 573 points during his time in the NHL. He has scored 20 or more goals in nine of his 15 professional seasons.
Tortorella, who now coaches the Philadelphia Flyers, is in his fifth different franchise since beginning his NHL coaching career in 1999. So far, the team is off to a promising 4-2 start- 0.
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