John Tortorella, Tampa Bay Lightning
Wasn´t it just a few blinks ago that Jon Gruden was the golden boy who absolutely owned Tampa Bay? It seems like a fair number of folks now see ol´ Chuckie as a little tarnished, what with his bull-in-a-china-shop moves in the front office and his willingness to hire thugs for his defensive line. Gruden´s real crime, though, was going 7-9 after a championship year. But wait, this Best-Of is for Torts, the Lightning head man, the guy who took a team known only for its potential and made it a winner. As in Stanley Cup champs. Didn´t he make a bunch of great moves during the playoffs? How about when he engaged in the war of words with the Philly coach and took the heat off his team? How about the way he rallied the troops after every loss? How about winning those Game Sevens? It sure looked like Tortorella had a system that fit his players and players that fit his system. Most of all, he was the architect of something that brought terrific civic excitement to our corner of the world, and for that we salute him. Plus, doesn´t he look good in a double-breasted suit?
This article appears in Sep 22-28, 2004.