Flyers John Tortorella Had Hilarious Reason He Was Glad He Skipped Team's Charter Flight Back From 4 Nations

The 4 Nations Face-Off gave us some of the most intense hockey in recent memory, and if you thought the tournament the NHL made up a year ago didn't mean a lot to those on the ice and even behind the bench, you'd be mistaken.

In fact, that's why Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella said he was happy to pass on the team's charter flight back from Boston — the site of the 4 Nations finale — and instead made the drive down I-95 back to the City of Brotherly Love.

Torts served as an assistant coach under Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan on the Team USA coaching staff at the tournament. So, considering the Flyers played on Saturday, less than 48 hours after the championship game, the team had a charter flight ready to go so that Torts and any other team personnel in Beantown could get back to Philly with plenty of time before they took on the Edmonton Oilers in a Saturday matinee.

The Philly bench boss said that he always planned on driving back home, but the idea of flying back with Flyers Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim — both of whom have some shiny new 4 Nations gold medals from their time on Team Canada — made Torts realize that driving may have been a good call, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jackie Spiegel.

I mean, can you blame him? Does Konecny seem like the kind of guy who would have some chirps ready to go after a win like that? If you ever heard mic'd up clips of him, of course he does.

Once everyone was back in town, the Flyers' return to action went very well with a 6-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers, and they'll be back in action on Tuesday night when they take on their cross-state rivals the Pittsburgh Penguins.