John Tortorella ripped Flyers reporter Anthony SanFilippo in postgame press conference over questionable Kevin Hayes report

Ryan Conway
January 11, 2024
Flyers
0 Comments

Flyers coach John Tortorella, who is famous for being testy with the media, took some time during his postgame presser to come after Crossing Broad’s Anthony SanFilippo. Torts was clearly unhappy with his report that Kevin Hayes heavily influenced Cutter Gauthier’s decision to ghost the Flyers organization, and he wasted no time letting him know about it.

Tortorella came into the press conference looking for the Snow the Goalie host so he could give him a piece of his mind:

JUST ABSOLUTELY RIPPED HIM AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH pic.twitter.com/1CO1QZLV0G
— TLY (@TheLibertyYell) January 11, 2024

Of course, in typical fashion, he had to go back in for one last dig:

“Is that the silly podcast you guys do?”

Tortorella cooked him like a perfectly done wagyu steak out in M Lot. pic.twitter.com/bNEpCvNaFv
— Brian Coulter (@PhilaBCoulter) January 11, 2024

Well, that was absolutely hilarious, to say the least. There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s dive right in.

First off, Torts is usually driven to anger by bad/redundant questions in his older age, so to see him come in hot like this really turned back the clock. Vintage stuff from the paisan himself.

It was a complete and utter pantsing from start to finish. I was texting back and forth with my man Chris Stumpo of hit Flyers podcast The Liberty Yell and we were cracking up at this incredible display.

Despite the fact that I and everyone else in this town pretty much hate Kevin Hayes, it was nice to hear Tortorella jump to his defense at this moment. He got a ton of undue flack for this, which is ridiculous because there are so many other valid reasons to dislike him as a Flyers fan.

Tortorella capping it all off by turning to another reporter and saying, “Go ahead, I’m sorry,” with a smile on his face was just perfection. I love Torts, and this whole undressing was like watching Picasso paint.

I also have to respect SanFilippo immediately identifying himself immediately. He knew Torts was coming downhill with a head full of steam and he stood in there and took the shots he was dealt.

Personally, I don’t think he completely made up this report. He’s clearly well-connected with the Flyers organization. Someone inside the building absolutely told him this, and he reported it because it came from a trusted source. Pretty standard journalistic practice if you ask me.

But at the same time, too close a connection can cloud judgment. It’s like when your best friend tells you he ended things with a girl and you wholeheartedly believe him, but it turns out she was the one who dumped him. You believed him because he’s your friend and you wanted to believe it, which isn’t inherently wrong from a moral standpoint.

Sadly, pretty much everyone knew this report was fishy from the jump. Once Tortorella caught wind of it, there was no way this wasn’t going down in some capacity.

Regardless of how you feel, it’s obvious there’s only one takeaway from any of this. The Liberty Yell is the best Flyers podcast in Philadelphia.

Don’t believe me? Debate a wall. Or do the smart thing and give their latest episode a listen.