John Tortorella met the media on Tuesday as the new Vancouver Canucks coach with none of the verbal fireworks that have characterized his previous press conferences, as social media users took a cautious approach to the controversial benchman's hiring.
The Stanley Cup-winning former coach of the New York Rangers and the Tampa Bay Lightning cut a calmer figure than hockey fans have been used to, telling a news conference about how happy he is to be in the city and his passion for animal welfare.
Responding to questions about his angry displays in previous news conferences, he drew plenty of positive reaction when he said, "If you're a good loser, you're a loser."
Twitter users largely took a guarded approach to Tortorella's hiring. Twitter user Jason Oldham joked that, "John Tortorella is showing a creepy level of friendliness towards the media during this presser."
Meanwhile, Alex Kozovski asked, "Who is the polite, talkative guy answering questions for John Tortorella?"
Dave Lozo channeled the television show "Seinfeld" when he asked, "John Tortorella has a potential Lloyd Braun thing happening. #SerenityNow #InsanityLater."
Check out what Twitter users had to say about John Tortorella's first day as Canucks coach: