York expected back in Flyers lineup vs. Sabres after benching on Thursday
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Defenceman Cam York has been at the centre of the drama this week for the lowly Philadelphia Flyers, but the fifth-year player is hoping to return to normalcy when the team plays the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
The difficulty began in Philadelphia's 7-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, where the defenceman - who has averaged 21:01 of ice time this season - played only 3:50, and didn't see the ice after a crucial turnover led to a John Tavares goal midway through the first period.
That loss to the Maple Leafs was the final game behind the bench for coach John Tortorella, as he was fired by the team on Thursday morning.
Later that night, against the Montreal Canadiens, York dressed but did not log a shift in the 6-4 loss. Interim head coach Brad Shaw told reporters post-game that York sat for "disciplinary reasons."
Kevin Kurz of The Athletic cited a team source Friday that said "it's fair to say" something happened between York and Tortorella in Toronto, with it being put to him that "they probably both crossed the line."
"I'm not going to get into the details of it," York said after practice Friday. "I will say this: I take full responsibility for my actions. 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. We've got eight games left here, and that's my focus right now. So, we'll leave it at that."
The benching forced the Flyers to skate five defencemen in the loss to the Canadiens, with York's regular defence partner Travis Sanheim skating a season-high 30:28.
"Obviously sitting on the bench there in that type of game is never fun," York said. "Five [defensemen] is a tough thing to do, and you never want to put your teammates in a situation like that."
Sanheim, who averages a team-high 24:31 ice time in his eighth year with the Flyers, tried to supportive of his teammate in the midst of a trying situation.
"Obviously I've been through situations, maybe not the same, but difficult times," Sanheim said Thursday. "Just try to keep [York's] mind straight, and try to see some positives and try and help him out as best I can. He's obviously a great player and a big part of this team. We obviously missed him, and hopefully, he can get back in."
"That's a process," Shaw said on Friday. "You 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. You learn through the good and the bad."
York, the 14th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, is a pending unrestricted free agent this off-season.
He has four goals and 15 points in 58 games this season, a drop in production after tallying 10 goals and 30 points - both career highs - in 82 games a season ago.
If York is feeling frustration over the benching and subsequent firing of Tortorella, he isn't showing it in his words.
"I have nothing bad to say [about Tortorella]," York said Friday. "He taught me a lot of really good things and was a really good coach for me. I'm going to use a lot of things that he taught me down the road in my career. He's a really good coach, and I wish him the best of luck down the road."
The Flyers have eight games remaining on the schedule and are second-worst in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Sabres. Shaw wants York to keep moving forward and growing as the end of the season approaches.
"Hopefully at the end of the day he's a better person for what happened. It's over now, and we've dealt with it, and we're going to move forward."