97.5 The Fanatic Flyers Roundup: Tortorella’s Standard, Atkinson’s Health

The Flyers are through two preseason games, and just two weeks remain before the regular-season opener. Head coach John Tortorella and members of the front office have some roster decisions to make, but the health of veterans Cam Atkinson and Sean Couturier should be a bigger focus than two preseason outcomes.

Losses to the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders might not be encouraging, but they also aren’t a legitimate concern.

The Flyers entered camp hoping for fully healthy versions of Atkinson and Couturier, the two players on the roster with the most career NHL points. Neither veteran played in a single game in 2022-23.

Couturier skated for 18:05 in the preseason opener, a 6-0 loss in New Jersey. He expressed confidence in his health after his first live-game action since Dec. 18, 2021.

Atkinson, however, has not suited up for a preseason game. Tortorella, Atkinson, and Danny Briere have all downplayed the situation, chalking it up to general soreness and the reasonable need for a 34-year-old to manage his workload.

Fans of the Flyers have been absolutely crushed by injury news in recent seasons. Atkinson expected to begin the 2022-23 season fully healthy until a mysterious injury within days of the opener appeared. The injury ultimately threatened his career.

The situation doesn’t call for panic, but Tortorella himself has previously acknowledged the reason why fans will worry about Atkinson’s status. Just look back to his comments on The Best Show Ever on March 2.

Minutia surrounding the medical staff especially doesn’t inspire fan confidence. Atkinson should be fine for the season opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 12, but the organization should certainly recognize they don’t have the benefit of the doubt based on recent history.

John Tortorella runs a tough camp. It’s not exactly news that he’s a demanding coach, and he has consistently emphasized accountability and a high standard.

The two-time Jack Adams Award winner spoke on Thursday about selecting the final roster. Some players on the roster bubble, like Felix Sandstrom and Egor Zamula, must clear waivers if they’re sent to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to begin the season in the AHL.

Would the danger of losing a player on waivers outweigh camp performance when the organization makes its final roster decisions?

The players know the standard. The head coach and the rest of the organization must also stand by it. The Flyers have had a tough camp so far, and maintaining the competitive spirit is one of the stated priorities of the rebuild. It certainly looks like Rasmus Ristolainen and Garnet Hathaway understand that.

97.5 The Fanatic, the official radio partner of the Philadelphia Flyers, provides a weekly roundup with news, analysis, and the outlook on the 2023-24 season.

Scott Hartnell notched 327 goals and added 380 assists in 1249 NHL games with the Philadelphia Flyers, the Nashville Predators, and the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The scrappy left-winger became a fan favorite over the course of seven seasons with the Flyers from 2007-14.

He also created a lasting legacy as a loyal teammate, a colorful personality off the ice, and a pillar of charity in the local community.

Hartnell was one addition who helped the Flyers bounce back after the worst season in franchise history in 2006-07. The resurgence led them to an appearance in the Eastern Conference Final in 2008.

He helped the Flyers recover from a slow start to the 2009-10 season. The decision to make the switch to Peter Laviolette behind the Philadelphia bench sparked a remarkable turnaround. It ended with a trip to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final.

The line of Scott Hartnell (LW)-Danny Briere (C)- Ville Leino (RW) caught fire during a miracle playoff run in 2010, the most successful Flyers playoff run of the NHL salary cap era (since 2004). 

Flyers fans always latch onto players who aren’t afraid to drop the gloves, but Hartnell became even more of a recognizable personality during the HBO 24/7 series leading up to the 2012 Winter Classic. His legendary hockey flow certainly didn’t hurt either.

The height of his career came in 2011-12. He scored 37 goals with the benefit of skilled linemates Claude Giroux and Jaromir Jagr. 

The Hartnell Down Foundation was one of the most original humanitarian ideas you’ll ever come across. The notoriously ungraceful skater began donating money every time he fell to the ice in an NHL game. The #HartnellDown initiative provided “support to charities that support hockey, children, and communities around the U.S. and Canada.”

The hilariously self-aware charity initiative became one of many things that helped Scott Hartnell go down as one of the most beloved Philadelphia Flyers in franchise history.

You know the story. The Flyers rallied from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Boston Bruins in the second round of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Game 7 was extra poetic.

Hartnell and Danny Briere took early penalties that allowed the Bruins to score two power-play goals. Milan Lucic added another to put Boston up 3-0.

Hartnell lit the lamp to get the Flyers within one early in the second period. He assisted Briere’s tying goal later in the period to erase the steep deficit and sink the hearts of nervous Boston fans deep into their stomachs.

The work of Hartnell, Briere, and Ville Leino set up the legendary game-winner from Simon Gagne.

You might’ve enjoyed this moment, but the ensuing events probably spoiled the memory. The 2010 Flyers refused to quit. They snuck into the postseason with a shootout win in the 82nd game of the regular season. They complete the comeback against the Bruins. They rallied from a 2-0 series deficit against the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Final.

When they trailed the Blackhawks 3-2 in the third perod of Game 6 facing elimination, they weren’t out of magic just yet.

Hartnell scored his second goal of the game with just under four minutes to play. The (then) Wachovia Center crowd went wild with one last sliver of hope for an improbably Stanley Cup.

Patrick Kane ruined this one for Flyers fans.

The 2009-10 season had another excellent Scott Hartnell moment long before the playoff run. During a January matchup against the New York Rangers, Hartnell showed hated pest Sean Avery who was boss.

He landed three punches in one of the more one-sided fights you’ll ever see in the NHL.

The #HartnellDown initiative reached its peak during the winger’s only career All-Star season in 2011-12. His linemate Claude Giroux decided to take advantage of Hartnell’s system in a thoughtful charity endeavor.

Giroux was mic’d up during the 2012 NHL All-Star Game, and he admitted his plans to force another donation by knocking his own teammate down. Hartnell (surprisingly) stayed upright, but Giroux later tripped him on the way to the bench for a line change.

The rivalry with the Pittsburgh Penguins exploded in the spring of 2012. The return of Sidney Crosby late in the season made the NHL gush about the supposed Stanley Cup favorites. The Flyers had other ideas.

They made a statement on the NHL’s national Sunday afternoon broadcast on NBC.

The two Eastern conference playoff locks entered 4-on-4 overtime in a 2-2 tie. The 5-minute period ticked away, but Hartnell didn’t plan on leaving things to chance in a shootout. He took a pass from Briere and fired one past Marc-Andre Fleury with .9 seconds left on the clock in front of a euphoric Philadelphia crowd. 

The frustration of Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang is the sweetest part of this replay.

NBC milked the rivalry for all it was worth with a Sunday broadcast in Pittsburgh two weeks later. The Flyers asserted their dominance once again. They took a big lead into the final minutes before all hell broke loose.

Dan Bylsma sent Joe Vitale out with the game already decided. The physical depth piece drilled Briere at center ice in an unnecessary move that ignited mayhem. Peter Laviolette even swung a stick from the Flyers bench at the Pittsburgh bench.

However, it was Hartnell who stole the show. Pittsburgh fans had previously thrown trash onto the ice aiming for the visitor bench (they do it too).

Philadelphia’s leading goal scorer in 2011-12 started jawing with Pittsburgh fans behind the bench, and he playfully mocked one Penguins fan known around the Steel City as a Hulk Hogan imitator. The outrageous scene was probably only enjoyable from the perspective of Flyers fans.

Hartnell later buried any hard feelings by writing off the antics as a joke for a well-respected Pittsburgh fan who had previously made news for an inspiring battle with cancer.

Hartnell wasn’t a key offensive contributor in the most chaotic playoff series in NHL history. He finished with three assists in six games in the opening round of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He certainly wasn’t quiet the whole series though.

The Flyers responded to two dangerous Game 3 cheap shots by Pittsburgh winger James Neal with a memorable brawl. They defended themselves against a reeling, emotional wreck of a hockey team with poor leadership from their frustrated captain Sidney Crosby.

When Hartnell got tied up with Crosby during the brawl, Craig Adams stepped in to do his captain’s dirty work. The ensuing fight ignited the home crowd in Philadelphia. Hartnell left down the tunnel in the final minutes to a chorus of:

“You can’t beat us! You can’t beat us!” 

The Gordie Howe hat trick happens when a hockey player records a goal, an assist, and a fight in one game. Hartnell completed 2/3 of the feat on one play. 

A goal early in the first period wasn’t enough for him. He immediately dropped the gloves with Dion Phaneuf of the Toronto Maple Leafs. While the sequence was unusual, it was on brand for Hartnell.

He’d later finish off the Gordie Howe hat trick by assisting a Giroux goal.