John Tortorella Dispute Led To Flyers Defenseman's Benching

One of the Philadelphia Flyers' top defenseman didn't play in their first game without head coach John Tortorella.

Feb 6, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Cam York (8) against the Washington Capitals at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Flyers came alive in their first game after firing head coach John Tortorella, defeating the Montreal Canadiens 6-4 in interim coach Brad Shaw's debut on Thursday night.

However, it was hard to focus on the game itself when one storyline dominated everything else.

Flyers defenseman Cam York dressed on Thursday night, but didn't hit the ice for even a single shift, essentially just sitting on the bench for the entire game. Shaw said after the game that York, who's averaging over 21 minutes per game this season, was benched for "disciplinary reasons," but there's apparently more to this story.

A team source reportedly told The Athletic's Kevin Kurz that "it's fair to say" that something happened between York and Tortorella while the team was in Toronto earlier this week. The source added that "they both probably crossed the line."

Told from a team source that "it's fair to say" something happened between Cam York and John Tortorella in Toronto, that contributed to the coach's dismissal on Thursday morning. Was put to me that "they probably both crossed the line."

— Kevin Kurz (@KKurzNHL) March 28, 2025

York only logged 3:50 of ice time in the Flyers' 7-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, and didn't play after the first period. After that same game, which proved to be his last behind the Flyers' bench, Tortorella made some comments on his performance that drew quite a lot of attention.

"This falls on me," Tortorella said. "I’m not really interested in learning how to coach in this type of season, where we’re at right now. But I have to do a better job. So this falls on me, getting the team prepared to play the proper way until we get to the end."

We'll likely never know the full story between York and Tortorella, but with the details we do have, it seems plausible that there was indeed some sort of dispute.

At any rate, it seems like the Flyers are ready to put this saga behind them. Shaw confirmed that York will play in the team's next game, which comes Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres.

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