Is John Tortorella joining Rangers as Mike Sullivan's assistant? NHL insider addresses viral rumor

News broke on Friday morning that Mike Sullivan had officially been hired as the 38th head coach in New York Rangers history.

Sullivan was immediately connected to the opening in New York once he became available, and general manager Chris Drury wasted no time getting pen to paper.

As the reports of Sullivan to the Rangers grew louder in recent days, several insiders were also linking the possibility that John Tortorella could join him as an assistant coach. David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period shared this on Thursday night on X (formerly Twitter).

"Following on this below from Vince’s original report, looks like #NYR are progressing on a contract with Mike Sullivan to be their next HC per @emilymkaplan & @KevinWeekes .John Tortorella, who worked w/ Sully on Team USA‘s 4 Nations bench, may also be returning to the Rangers," Pagnotta wrote.

However, that may not be accurate, as TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger provided his angle on the Tortorella talks. Here was his report on Friday morning on X, shutting down the speculation about a potential Sullivan-Tortorella reunion.

"Some speculation around Torts joining Sully on the NYR bench. I don’t believe there’s anything to that," Dreger wrote.

John Tortorella was fired by the Philadelphia Flyers in late March. He had one year remaining on his four-year contract signed with the team in 2022 prior to being relieved of his duties.

Mike Sullivan & John Tortorella have a plethora of experience coaching together

The connection between Mike Sullivan and John Tortorella is strong.

Sullivan began as Tortorella's assistant in Tampa Bay for one year in 2007-08 before joining him while he was the head coach of the New York Rangers from 2009 to 2013. He then followed Tortorella to Vancouver during his brief stint leading the Canucks during the 2013-14 season before taking over in Pittsburgh.

Most recently, Mike Sullivan had Tortorella with him as an assistant coach of Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. They clearly have a great relationship, which is why many were looking to connect the dots on another partnership back in New York.

It will be very interesting to see whether John Tortorella jumps back into coaching next season or if he takes some time off after the way things ended in Philadelphia.