Well that was fun!!! Torts is here! pic.twitter.com/ngccco2LeF — Ann Schmaltz (@annschmaltz) June 21, 2013

Will John Tortorella work out in Vancouver? Is he precisely the sort of hard driving, bombastic motviator the Canucks need to get them over the hump? Or will he alienate a veteran team?

I have no godly idea, but one thing is for certain: this is going to be an incredible gong show. In fact it already is.

Read past the jump.

John Tortorella arrived at YVR this afternoon and was greeted by a throng of Vancouver media (including our own Patrick Johnston). With Canucks employees and security in attendance, Tortorella was walked out of a side door at Vancouver International Airport and loaded into a black escalade without answering any questions:

Tortorella arrived. I pap. "You have time for a few Qs," I ask. "Uh, no," Torts answers. I then ask: pic.twitter.com/yP2Pv0Mai0 — David Ebner (@DavidEbner) June 21, 2013

You can watch video of John Tortorella strolling through the Vancouver airport here, courtesy Matt Lee.

Once again we had a man on the ground at YVR too, so we won’t get too sanctimonious about this, but I think Mike Martinago pretty much nailed it:

People hate on TMZ. That was some TMZ-type shit on Torts at YVR. — Mike Martignago (@MikeMartignago) June 21, 2013

John Tortorella’s interactions with the media will be a major story line going forward, and that’s already been demonstrated in the handful of hours since Gary Lawless first reported that a deal between Tortorella and the Canucks was close.

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Tony Gallagher pretty much suggested in his take on the reported hire that Tortorella has been told to tone it down by Canucks General Manager Mike Gillis:

During the first interview, Gillis and Tortorella not surprisingly discussed the coach’s goofy relationship with the media in New York and clearly both parties agreed that unless the coach changed his style it would be a complete circus here. So one would expect a completely different, more laid back Tortorella when he faces the media, at least until the stress of a season builds.

Gallagher’s colleague Ed Wiles meanwhile wasted no time brandishing his kitchen knife and absolutely carving Tortorella and the organization as a whole over the reported hire.

Mike Gillis will join the Team 1040 for an interview at 3:15 PM PST, presumably to offer the world’s most tepid denial of the Gary Lawless report (which has now been corroborated by a wide variety of sources).

In other words, we’re T-Minus one-hundred-and-eighty minutes into the John Tortorella era in Vancouver, and already the absurdities are multiplying exponentially. So yeah, welcome to Vancouver, Mr. Tortorella.





