“Just that, the layoff … it’s a lot of days, and I’ll tell you right now, it worries the crap out of me,” Tortorella said.
He then softened his stance. After watching his veteran team take to the ice for a crisp enthusiastic practice, he said he was impressed from what he saw.
“We have a good group that’s going to handle it the right way. We have a plan to try to be as prepared as we can. … I just worry about you losing your edge for just a little bit.”
He paused for a moment.
“I trust the group,” he then added.
And they trust him.
It’s a two-way relationship that has the Golden Knights just four victories away from the second Stanley Cup championship in franchise history, a concept that seemed so farfetched when Tortorella replaced the fired Bruce Cassidy as coach on March 29.
And it’s one that has the 67-year-old feeling grateful just to have this opportunity.
Sure, there are signs of the ornery coach that has shown he can be tight-lipped, if not snappy, at press conferences, for more than two decades. As such, he was fined $100,000 for failing to address the media earlier this month after the Golden Knights had just eliminated the Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference Second Round.
At the same time, there are indications that, at this advanced point in his career, in his life, he’s appreciating every single moment of this latest ride.
