The Philadelphia Flyers are having a miserable season. With 65 points from 73 games, they have the worst points percentage in the Eastern Conference. With the season all but over, the head coach has taken matters into his own hands. John Tortorella was fired from the Flyers' head coach position, the team announced.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman broke the news, originally reporting that the coach had stepped down. “The Philadelphia Flyers are making a coaching change. Hearing that John Tortorella has stepped down,” Friedman reported.

Tortorella was in his third season in Philadelphia and 23rd season as an NHL head coach. He has two Jack Adams Awards as the coach of the year, one with the Tampa Bay Lightning and another with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Last year, he got the Flyers painfully close to the playoffs, but they fell short.

Related Philadelphia Flyers NewsArticle continues below
Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet gestures during a game against the Winnipeg Jets in the third period at Canada Life Centre.
NHL rumors: Flyers, Bruins, Kraken linked to former Canucks coach
Matvei Michkov and Travis Konecny on either side, a silhouetted Philadelphia Flyers player in middle, 3-5 question marks, hockey rink in background
3 early Flyers trade targets after 2025 playoff elimination
Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (55) against the Winnipeg Jets at Wells Fargo Center.
Flyers hit with brutal Rasmus Ristolainen injury timeline after surgery

Tortorella had recently flamed the Flyers' goaltending and himself after brutal losses. Philly lost 7-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 25, and he crushed the coaching afterwards. “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.”

The Flyers have not played since that brutal loss on Tuesday. Brad Shaw's first game as the Flyers' head coach will be on Thursday at home against the Montreal Canadiens.

Shaw has had one previous run as an interim head coach with the 2005-06 New York Islanders. He was a Tortorella assistant with the Blue Jackets and Flyers, which followed a decade-long run with the St Louis Blues. If he can galvanize this lost season, maybe he can get his first full-time head coaching role.