Tortorella stands by iPad ban: 'I don't give a flying s*** how I'm perceived'

Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella said Friday he will be standing by his ban on players looking at iPads on the team's bench.

Tortorella removed the screens ahead of Wednesday's 5-3 win over the Washington Capitals and said Friday they won't be back on the bench moving forward.

"We're not gonna have them," Tortorella said. "We have a TV we can't take out because it's built right into the rink right by my feet, so if someone really needs something, we'll have an ability to do that, but that's going to be a tough sell.

"I think what we need if we want to keep on growing here, is 'just get ready for your next shift.'"

Tortorella noted that the ban is also meant for the coaches, who can "overcoach" when they're able to see replays rather than focusing on real-time plays.

While considered a controversial move among some, the 64-year-old said he is exclusively focused on seeing the team improve.

"I don't give a flying s*** how I'm perceived because it's my job to coach the team," he added of those who have doubts about the ban.

Removing the iPads came after the team posted a 4-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday and during a stretch in which the team has won six of its past seven games.

After Wednesday's win, Tortorella specifically pointed to forward Travis Konecny, who leads the team in goals (24) and points (46), as a culprit of focusing too much on the replays. Konecny had a hat trick in the first game of the ban on Wednesday.

"We took the video off the bench," Tortorella said after the win. "We don't have them on the bench anymore. I just want them worrying about the next shift. I think it is a major problem with us understanding momentums of the game. You cannot understand momentums of the game if you are looking at the iPad all the time. So, we took them off. We are not even going to use them, so they watch the game and see what is next.

"TK does that within his game all the time. He is one of the ones that looks at that damn thing all the time."

The 25-year-old forward said he was unbothered by criticism he received for reviewing his play in-game.

“Everyone was chirping me because I’m always watching them,” Konecny said. “But I don’t care.”

The Flyers, who sit seven points back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, will face the Capitals again on Saturday.