Cam York takes ‘full responsibility’ for benching, role in reported confrontation with John Tortorella

Cam York knew the questions would be coming after he sat on the bench for the entirety of the Flyers’ 6-4 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.

It’s not every day you see a team’s top-pairing defenseman dress and not play. Interim head coach Brad Shaw said after the game York’s punishment was for a disciplinary issue and confirmed on Friday it was an organizational decision.

And, it was totally unexpected after York played only 3 minutes, 50 seconds against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday after then-coach John Tortorella was spotted by TSN’s cameras angrily yelling down the bench that York was done and that Shaw could only play five defensemen the rest of the way.

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So York walked into the locker room in Voorhees, took a minute to get his shoulder and elbow pads off, put his hat on backward, and stood in front of the cameras and recorders, ready to answer questions on Friday morning.

“I’m not going to get into the details of it,” York said when asked for comment. “I will say this, I take full responsibility for my actions, and it’s been addressed here in the locker room, and it’s something that I’m going to put behind me and move on from. So we’ve got eight games left here, and that’s my focus right now. So we’ll leave it at that.”

At 24 years old, it showed a lot of maturity from the defenseman, taking the weight of what The Inquirer has learned was a heated argument — there was nothing physical — between him and the now-fired Tortorella in Toronto.

Tuesday’s benching came after York, who was on the ice for Ryan Poehling’s goal, overskated the puck behind the net while being pressured after a defensive-zone faceoff. John Tavares’ shot then went off his skate and into the net seconds later to tie the game.

Tortorella and York had always had an interesting relationship. In his first season, Tortorella made comments that he didn’t think York was an NHL defenseman and had him yo-yo between Philly and Allentown.

“I’ll admit, when I sent him down, I tried to pick a fight with him when I sent him down, I was so upset with his camp,” Tortorella said about sending York down before training camp was over in September 2022. He said this on March 11, three days after York was a healthy scratch for the second time this season.

“I think he went to Lehigh, he put the time in. I felt he had a chip on his shoulder coming back here, mainly at me. I was so proud of him as far as where he brought his game to.”

Last season, Tortorella said York was the team’s best defender. York averaged 22:37 of ice time across 82 games as he and partner Travis Sanheim played against the NHL’s best.

But this season, after returning from a shoulder injury that cost him most of November, York has struggled to refind his form. In 58 games, he has just 15 points after tallying twice that many last season.

The blueliner acknowledged his game has been inconsistent but didn’t agree with the healthy scratch in March, especially since he hadn’t gotten an explanation from Tortorella about why.

“Whatever he thinks, I don’t know,” York said then. “If there was communication, then maybe I would understand. But I’m not sure, really. I’m going to play as hard as I can here, and like I said, this last little stretch of games here, just want to play some of the best hockey that I can.”

York was not the first player to say they didn’t know why they were scratched by Tortorella. Sean Couturier, Bobby Brink, and Morgan Frost all responded similarly when asked if they had been told what they needed to work on to get back in the lineup.

“I’m not playing to prove him anything,” York said on March 11. “I’m playing for the guys in this locker room and the logo on my chest. I’m not playing for him necessarily, if that makes sense.”

York did feel remorse for putting his teammates in a bind this week, as they skated with only five defensemen for almost two full games. But on Friday, he also credited Tortorella for helping him develop his game.

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“I have nothing bad to say. He taught me a lot of really good things, and was a really good coach for me,” said York. “And I’m going to use a lot of things that he taught me down the road in my career. So, he’s a really good coach, and I wish him the best of luck down the road.”

According to Shaw, York will be back in the lineup on Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres (1 p.m., NBCSP, NHLN). The defenseman, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, now has a familiar face running the bench for the remainder of the season.

Shaw is not Tortorella. He has a different demeanor and personality — his reaction to Matvei Michkov narrowly missing a hat trick on Thursday showed that — but he still respects his long-time co-worker. On Friday, Shaw wouldn’t throw Tortorella, who he also worked with in Columbus, under the bus when asked whether he is the type of coach to bench a player for 50 minutes.

“I’m not going to get into that,” he said. “I don’t want to answer a question that can be used against Torts. I don’t think it’s in anybody’s best interest, so I’d rather not answer that.”

Shaw has run the Flyers defense for almost three seasons and has seen what York can do. He does expect the young defenseman to come back strong and play hard on Sunday, not just for himself but because “we’re going to need a good player because the rest of our D are a little tired.”

“We have lots of young guys that are sort of on different tracks as far as how mature they are and where they’re going to get to,” Shaw said. “You learn through the good and the bad and, hopefully, at the end of the day, he’s a better person at the end of the day for what happened.

“It’s over now, and we’ve dealt with it, and we’re going to move forward.”

Shaw said Tortorella left notes in the coaches’ room and players’ room when he went to collect his things. ... Goalie Ivan Fedotov was off the ice first Friday, a strong indication he will be the starting goalie against the Sabres. Sam Ersson stayed on after Aleksei Kolosov, taking shots from fellow Swedes Emil Andrae and Olle Lycksell. ... The Flyers will honor Bob “The Hound” Kelly on Saturday after the former Flyers forward and long-time front-office staffer recently announced his retirement.

» READ MORE: The Flyers didn’t fire John Tortorella. He fired himself. And his timing was right.