As training camp approached, Aaron Portzline conducted an excellent interview with Coach John Tortorella over at The Athletic. There was one passage in particular that caught my attention:
AP: You fired off another letter to the players this summer.
JT: Yes.
AP: Has any player ever written back off that letter?
JT: It’s a great question. The answer is yes, and it was this summer. Now, I’m not going to give you his name, but it’s one of our top players …
AP: Of course it’s Dubinsky.
JT: (laughs) Don’t even try to goad me into it. It wasn’t Dubi. I got a text back from them that said something like, “I’m gonna be better. I’ll be f***ing ready.”
So my question is: which player sent that text?
The Criteria
- A “top player”
- One who may have had a disappointing season last year
- One who would casually swear in a text to his head coach/
The Suspects
Brandon Dubinsky: Torts lied, and it was totally Dubi
Nick Foligno: Wait a minute, you’re saying, didn’t Foligno have a good season last season? Of course, but it wasn’t as good as his 2014-15 All-Star season. You know he wants to do even better.
Matt Calvert: Not a “top player” per se, but still the longest tenured one, and one looking to improve his game and stick around.
Ryan Murray: It’s always the silent types that surprise you when they drop an F bomb.
Boone Jenner: Who are we kidding, it was 100% Boone
What do you think? Any suspects that I missed?