Yes, you can because the players got tired fast with his yelling, and screaming type ****ods. These are grown men that make millions of dollars. They certainly don't need to belittled by this idiot on a daily basis. You can't take a strictly offensive minded player like Gaborik, and change him into a checker, and expect the same offensive output he's been putting up for years. You could say the same about Rick Nash, and Brad Richards. Sure you can ask them to be more defensively responsible, and you hope they listen, but at the same time yelling, and screaming, and embarrassing them in the press on a regular basis will only get a rebellious response from your star players. This moron benched his star player who makes millions of dollars a year in the final elimination game against the Bruins, with their season on the line. Who does that?
Having said that, I hold GM Glenn Sather responsible for giving his coaching staff players that don't fit into his style of coaching. Sather has made stupid decisions regarding player signings for years. He needs to go, too. Until then this franchise will not be able to move forward.
Torts is a good coach who has a very slim window to succeed in. After a few years his shtick gets old and tiresome. To be honest I'm glad he got fired. He played guys in positions they were uncomfortable in and was too loyal to guys like Richards. Our power play was a joke all year. Good riddance.