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© St. Petersburg Times, published July 31, 2002
Lightning coach John Tortorella doesn't get much sleep during the season. "You may be in bed with your eyes shut, but you're always thinking," he said.
Not surprising for a coach who said some of his most productive hours are on the plane on road trips, dissecting game tapes on a portable video machine.
Is it any wonder Tortorella, with training camp just six weeks away and voluntary workouts beginning Thursday at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon, is so eager for the season to start?
"I'm really looking forward to it," he said of his second full season as coach. "I think the mind-set and foundation is as strong as it's been here for a long time."
Tortorella spoke to Times reporter Damian Cristodero, and for the first time confirmed a strained relationship with center Vinny Lecavalier, one he said he hopes will be mended. He also spoke about his job security and wondered why today's players don't take losing a little harder. He even lobbied, if you read between the lines, for more money in the hockey operations budget.
Q: Much has been made of your relationship with Lecavalier. Could you have handled it differently?
A: Sure, we have philosophical differences, but sometimes that's there between a coach and a team. Our relationship is tenuous at times, but it is by no means irretrievable. Compromises have to be made by both of us for our relationship to grow. Will we be best buddies? Probably not. But that doesn't have to be the case as long as we focus on what's best for the team. I just want him to be the best he can be. There is no question if Vinny is feeling good about himself and at the top of his game, this team goes to another level.
Q: So players and coaches don't have to like each other?
A: That's tough to accomplish sometimes. Every player has demands and challenges put on him by the coaching staff and each player handles it differently. But as long as there is mutual respect by both sides and you have that goal of winning, tenuous relationships can survive and can actually thrive.
Q: For example. . .
A: Sometimes it's almost better that a player says, "I'm not crazy about you but I'm going to show you." Sometimes that's a tremendous motivation.
Q: Lecavalier wanted more playing time and to be put more into critical game situations. Will that happen?
A: He is going to get opportunities to perform in every part of the game. We want him to get 20 minutes of ice time every night. If he is on the ice that amount of time and producing, we will be a much better team. The big key this year, and I'm so excited about it, is that unlike last year, Vinny will be in camp from Day1. I think he's going to have a great year.
Q: Trades were made for left wing Ruslan Fedotenko and defenseman Brad Lukowich. Are more moves needed?
A: The expectations being put on this team are to compete for a playoff spot, which means being an 85-plus point team. That will be a 16-, 17-, 18-point jump. That is the biggest and toughest step to make, and it doesn't just happen through your kids maturing. For any team to make the playoffs there has to be a full commitment from the whole organization.
Q: What about changes and improvements from the coach?
A: I consider myself a student of the game, and the entire coaching staff evaluates itself after every practice, after every game. Self-evaluation is a natural part of the teaching process to give players the best chance to succeed. Do I make mistakes? Every day. It is a game of mistakes. The key is not to dwell on them, answer them and rectify them right away. That's how you grow not only as a coach but as a player.
Q: Do you take it home during the season?
A: My family is the most important thing in my life. After that, I'm a hockey coach, that's my life. It's 24 hours a day every day of the year. To get an edge and be the best you can be as a coach, it has to be that way.
Q: Do players, in general, take it home?
A: I may take it to an extent where it's almost obsessive. That's just the way I'm built. But I'd like to see it a little more out of players. I know this is a game, and they have to live their lives, but I'd like to see players chew on it a little bit more with winning and losing before they let it go. At this level, winning and losing is everything. I think they would be better players if there was a little more intensity about it, that it is a loss.
Q: Does playing in Florida make that more difficult?
A: The geographics definitely come into play. This is not like playing in Toronto, Buffalo, Philly, Boston, Montreal. This is a great sports town and the expectations are growing, and where there are expectations, accountability has to come into play.
Q: How do you see that manifested with the organization?
A: As an organization, I would like to see us accept that challenge. We have grown as a team, accountability is there and our commitment and passion for the game is growing. But it still needs to improve. We have to hate losing. It all comes down to understanding the sacrifices that need to be made in learning to be a winner, and then making them to be a winner.
Q: How do you sleep during the season?
A: I don't (laughs). I get so much work done after games looking at tape and trying to process it. You want to know before going to bed and before that 10 o'clock practice the next morning what went right and wrong. That's the fun part, trying to figure it out and trying to get it right.
Q: Will a slow start next season affect your job security?
A: It's not about me. It's about the team. We, as a staff, believe the way to succeed is playing as a team. We push that message hard and we have every indication the players believe the message.
Are there going to be bumps in the road? Sure. But you can't go into a season, or anything as a coach, just happy to test the water. You have to go with a philosophy you believe in, one you're confident of and comfortable pushing to your team.
It's inevitable in pro sports you'll have to move on one day, but while you're there, you have to do what you believe is right. Does this coaching staff want to be part of this team as it goes to the next level? Absolutely.