DeAngelo sounds off on Tortorella, calls one of his decisions 'ridiculous'

When John Tortorella was hired as the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers last summer, there was plenty of speculation that he would butt heads with Tony DeAngelo. That speculation has turned out to be true, as evidenced by DeAngelo's end-of-the-season meeting with reporters on Friday. DeAngelo did not hold back on his first season under Torts, especially the coach's decision to scratch him in the last five games.

"He's the coach of the team, so you've gotta respect that, and I respect what he does. Do I agree with it, what happened in the last five games? Absolutely not. I think it's ridiculous that I didn't play in the last five."

Asked if he had any conversations with Tortorella on why he was sitting in the press box during games, DeAngelo would only say he had discussions with Tortorella, but was unwilling to say what they were about or whether anything was accomplished.

"My whole life, I've wanted to be a Flyer, and now I am, so I don't take it for granted at all," said DeAngelo. "It's something that means a lot to me so I'm not gonna let any relationship stuff get in the way."

Tortorella, in his usual blunt manner, had told reporters earlier this season that he had no issue with DeAngelo's offensive game, but added he was surprised over how much work the blueliner needed on defense.

"I'm a little bit - not disappointed - but the defensive liability is something we need to work at. I didn't think the amount of work that we need to do with him...I didn't think that at the point in time when we got him," Tortorella said at the time.

DeAngelo has another year on his contract with Philadelphia and he told reporters Friday he absolutely wants to be back with the team. It's going to be a tough go, though if he continues to be a healthy scratch in the future.

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