John Tortorella to be U.S. coach for World Cup of Hockey
Last coached in NHL with Canucks in 2013-14
John Tortorella is prepared to make a comeback at coaching hockey, on a temporary basis, at least.
USA Hockey announced late Monday night following ESPN's Monday Night Football broadcast that the 57-year-old Tortorella would run the American bench at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in Toronto.
"There's no greater honour than to represent your country and I'm humbled to have this opportunity," Tortorella said in a statement released by USA Hockey. "We'll have one objective and that will be to bring the World Cup championship back to the United States."
The Americans won the inaugural World Cup of Hockey in 1996, with Canada capturing the 2004 tourney.
The Boston-born Tortorella, renowned for his combative personality, has been out of the NHL since May 2014, when he was fired after one season of coaching the Vancouver Canucks. He has 14 seasons of NHL experience and was the league's coach of the year in 2004, when he also won a Stanley Cup championship with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"We're excited to have John as head coach of our World Cup team," U.S. general manager Dean Lombardi said in a statement released by USA Hockey. "He knows what it takes to win at the highest level and I know that our entire management group looks forward to working with him and his staff."
Tortorella has a 446-375-115 career record, which makes him the winningest U.S.-born NHL coach. He also coached the New York Rangers, and has ties to USA Hockey.
Tortorella previously coached the U.S. team to a sixth-place finish at the 2008 World Championships. He was also a two-time assistant, most recently serving under Ron Wilson on the U.S. team that won a silver medal at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
The NHL and NHL Players' Association are jointly organizing the World Cup, which will be played before the start of the 2016-17 season.
The tournament will feature eight teams representing the U.S., Canada, Russia, Sweden, Czech Republic and Finland. The two remaining teams will be made of a mix of players. One will consist of North Americans 23 and younger, and the other made up of European-born players whose countries aren't represented.