1) With the firing of John Tortorella after only 1 season the books are closed, sort of speak, on the unofficial 'trade' of coaches last summer. To review; after their teams' respective disappointing seasons John Tortorella then of the NY Rangers and Alain Vigneault of the Canucks were both relieved of their head coaching duties. Within weeks both had found employment, with the other's former team. Tortorella getting hired by the Canucks and Vigneault taking Torts' old job in New York.
2) Both are polar opposites of each other is almost every way. Tortorella, the fiery hot head, and Vigneault the more reserved type who rarely would be seen in a tirade, and never anything like Tortorella has been known for. To start the season it appeared that Tortorella of the two had made the easiest transition with the Canucks getting off to a decent start. Meanwhile the Rangers seemed to take much longer to find their new 'identity' and struggled to stay in the Eastern Conference's playoff picture. However, after the New year both teams fortunes seemed to go in opposite directions.
3) The Canucks downfall can almost be traced back to one incident when Torts chased Calgary Flames coach Bob Hartley. The incident was sparked by Flames coach Bob Hartley’s decision to start his fourth line in the game, prompting Tortorella to send out his fourth line. The resulting "line brawl" racked up 152 penalty minutes in just two seconds of play It was Tortorella’s actions in the hallway to the Flames' dressing room that drew the biggest rebuke from the League. Hartley refused to acknowledge Tortorella when the Canucks coach profanely protested the lineup move with a tirade directed at the Calgary bench. So Tortorella followed the Flames to their dressing room entrance and had to be physically restrained from going after them.
4) His two week ban coincided with the teams' fall out of playoff contention. Sure, the myriad of injuries didn't help, but when your coach 'loses it', and banned from being around the team it isn't helpful for the cause. Fast forward to yesterday. While the Rangers were winning their first round playoff contest Tortorella was being fired by the Canucks. Clearly the Rangers won that trade!
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