The Vancouver Canucks have named John Tortorella as their new coach. He's expected to be introduced later Tuesday at a press conference scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.
"We are proud to introduce John Tortorella as Head Coach of the Vancouver Canucks," general manager Mike Gillis said in a statement released by the team. "John has coached championship teams and is passionate about winning. He has a proven ability to bring the best out of his players and we believe he has all of the qualities to bring our team success."
The Canucks had been searching for a replacement for Alain Vigneault since letting him go after seven seasons shortly after the Canucks were swept in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the San Jose Sharks. Vigneault was hired last week as Tortorella's replacement as coach of the New York Rangers.
Tortorella was fired by the Rangers shortly after New York lost in five games to the Boston Bruins in the second round of the playoffs.
In an interview posted Tuesday on the Canucks' website, Tortorella said he looks forward to combating opinions of him that many formed during his tenure in New York.
"I think it's come to the point with me where I'm kind of being defined as 'that lunatic,' not only on the bench, but also after games with media," he said. "I don't want to be defined that way, but I do make my own bed in that type of situation and I need to make some corrections, I need to make some adjustments in that part of it.
"I'm dealing with an older team here, as I look at the roster, I think I need to respect the older players and some of the processes they've gone through and make adjustments with myself as far as how I handle them."
In 13 seasons as coach, Tortorella has a record of 410-340-67, with 37 ties. He's led his team into the playoffs six times, including a Stanley Cup championship with the Lightning in 2004.
"This is an adventure and it's an honor and a privilege," Tortorella told the Canucks' website, "and I couldn't be happier as far as where I'm at at this stage of my career and to have an opportunity to do this in the province of [British Columbia] with all the people that are glued into this team. It'll be a tremendous challenge, but I couldn't be happier."
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