Report: Former Canucks coach Tortorella wanted team to buy out Burrows

John Tortorella's tenure behind the Vancouver Canucks bench was short and tumultuous, but the details emerging since he was fired suggest the situation was even more adversarial than originally thought.

According to Globe and Mail columnist Gary Mason, Tortorella wanted Vancouver to buy out veteran forward Alexandre Burrows.

Burrows, 33, has two years remaining on a deal with a cap hit of $4.5 million. He struggled under Tortorella and finished with 15 points in 49 games - his lowest total since 2006-07. Having a coach who wanted him off the team probably didn't help his production.

Mason also reports players felt Tortorella was not fond of practice and clashed with forward David Booth over punctuality at a team meeting Booth was actually early for.

Tortorella apparently clashed with the coaching staff as well as the players. Mason says Tortorella never spoke with Utica Comets coach Travis Green, which seems counter-productive considering Green should have valuable input on Vancouver's AHL prospects.

If these reports are accurate, Trevor Linden's comments about how "a fresh start was needed" make even more sense.

[H/T: ProHockeyTalk]