Rangers coach John Tortorella received news Wednesday that he was fined $30,000 for his negative comments aimed at the officiating crew of Monday’s Winter Classic. In response, he offered a back-handed apology.
“Might as well get my money’s worth. They sucked. Flat-out sucked. It was an epic display of horrific officiating and they had an agenda,” the Rangers coach said. “I don’t even blame the [expletive] refs, the call clearly came from the top. Those [expletive] sheep were probably scared they’d lose their jobs. Oh, and I’m sorry.”
Tortorella accused the NHL of forcing the refs to get the game into overtime by awarding Philadelphia’s Daniel Briere a penalty shot in the last minutes of the third period.
“Honest to God, I thought I was a Buffalo Wild Wings commercial,” revealed Tortorella. “Then I remembered this was a hockey game, and you’d sooner see a [expletive] rugby commercial in America.”
Tortorella went on to say that despite his team winning, the bad calls put a damper on the celebration. He also stated he had no problem with the Flyers or their personnel.
“To be fair, I think they told Briere to miss,” Tortorella admitted. “At least I hope they did because any moron knows you don’t go five-hole on Henrik [Lundqvist].”
The NHL warned Tortorella they will not tolerate any further ridicule, but due to a byline in the NHL rule book, cannot fine him twice in one week.
“You want to know the truth? I blame the [expletive] HBO cameras,” the fired up coach added. “They can’t fine me, can they? No? Good, [expletive] them. I can’t wait til those [expletive] leave our locker room.”
Follow Vin on Twitter – @vc_wg – He’s desperate for attention.
