Tortorella to coach Team US in 2016 World Cup

“Yeah, I want to coach again, ” Tortorella said then.

In an announcement which will reportedly be made official tonight and which would come as a huge surprise, John Tortorella will be named Team USA’s head coach for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

John Tortorella is prepared to make a comeback at coaching hockey – on a temporary basis, at least.

Tortorella, 57, a Boston native who led the Lightning to its only Stanley Cup victory in 2004, is the winningest American-born coach with 446 victories. The Rangers’ best season under Tortorella was 2011-2012, when they finished first in the Atlantic Division and lost in the conference finals in the postseason.

Tortorella also coached the New York Rangers from 2009 to 2013 before being fired following the 2013 season. He said in a Tampa, Fla., radio interview that he spent the bulk of the year developing his own “analytics package” and tracked every 5-on-5 goal scored in the league with longtime assistant coach Mike Sullivan. Problems arose in January 2014 when he attempted to enter the Flames’ visiting locker room to fight head coach Bob Hartley. Everyone coaches their players to block shots now, though perhaps not to the kamikaze-extent Tortorella preaches.

According to usahockey.com, Team US general manager Dean Lombardi worked on selecting Tortorella for the past month.

Nashville’s Peter Laviolette and Buffalo’s Dan Bylsma, who coached the USA team in the Sochi Olympics in 2014, were also thought to be candidates, as was Columbus’ Todd Richards.

Tortorella does have experience with Team United States of America , leading the squad during the 2008 World Championships and serving as an assistant to Ron Wilson during the 2010 Olympic Games, ironically enough in Vancouver. The most recent World Cup of Hockey was won by Team Canada in Toronto in 2004.