{"numbering":"asc","slides":[{"index":1,"title":"The five time John Tortorella was the worst","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/washington/2018/04/09/torts-split.jpg","caption":"

Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella has a long history of not making nice with coaches, players and fans.

With the Capitals facing the Blue Jackets in the 2018 NHL Playoffs, we're taking a look at the worst side of "Torts."

"},{"index":3,"title":"Torts vs. Ovi","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/washington/2018/04/09/tortorella-ovechkin.jpg","caption":"

We start with a recent and very timely entry.

On Feb. 26, Blue Jackets forward Matt Calvert was ejected for butt-ending Alex Ovechkin in Columbus' 5-1 over Washington.

As Ovechkin made his way to the bench, he exchanged several choice words with Tortorella.

Although Tortorella apologized the next day, with the Capitals and Blue Jackets facing off in the playoffs, tension will be at an all-time high.

"},{"index":5,"title":"Torts vs. the Media","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/washington/2018/04/09/tortorella-rangers-media.jpg","caption":"

John Tortorella does not like the media.

The Lightning were eliminated by the Devils 4-2 in the first round of the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Following a 3-0 loss in Game 5, Tortorella refused to answer questions from the media, using "We know what we did" as a stock response for every question.

When a reporter from the New York Post asked him exactly what exactly Tortorella was referring to, the coach responded with "A waste of time" and told the reporter to "Get the f— out of there."

Three years later, "Torts" was back in the New York metro area, this time as the head coach of the Rangers. On January 21, 2010, Tortorella was face-to-face with Larry Brooks, the New York Post reporter from 2007. You can watch the interaction here, but it ends with "Torts" saying "You were probably beat up at the bus stop most of the time."

What a swell guy.

"},{"index":7,"title":"Fighting the Flames","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/washington/2018/04/09/john-tortorella-flames.jpg","caption":"

On Jan. 18, 2014, the Flames and Canucks engaged in a game-opening line brawl.

As the puck was dropped to open the game, every player on the ice dropped the mitts and began throwing punches. The Flames sent out their "enforcer" line to gain retribution for an incident from a previous game.

Tortorella was incensed. That's not the issue here, though. The issue here is what he did during the first intermission.

Tortorella, now enraged, tried fighting through arena security to force his way into the Flames locker room to confront head coach Bob Hartley.

"Torts" never did get his hands on Hartley, but watching him try sure was entertaining.

Tortorella was suspended by the NHL for 15 days without pay.

"},{"index":9,"title":"Tortorella yells at coach ... again","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/washington/2018/04/09/trotz-yelling-rangers.jpg","caption":"

Years before he went after the Flames, Tortorella found himself in a similar situation as Rangers head coach.

On March 19, 2012, Devils head coach Peter Deboer sent out his "enforcer" line to make a statement. Tortorella responded with his own goon line. You probably know what happened next.

When the dust (and blood) settled, "Torts" could be seen howling at Deboer from his bench, hurling obscenities and spittle New Jersey's way.

"},{"index":11,"title":"National anthem controversey","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/washington/2018/04/09/tortorella-usa.jpg","caption":"

Tortorella did not waste much time creating controversy in 2016. Shortly after he was named United State Men's National Hockey Coach for the World Cup of hockey, "Torts" made it very clear where he stood on national anthem debate.

“If any of my players sit on the bench for the national anthem, they will sit there the rest of the game.," he told ESPN's Linda Cohn during an interview on Sept. 6.

"I'm not backing off," he told reporters after a Team USA practice just a day later.

Tortorella is a proud man, one whose son was active U.S. Army Special Forces and deployed in Afghanistan at the time. Respecting the flag and the country are admirable and patriotic. But so is allowing others to decide their stance on their own.

To make matters worse, Tortorella's squad was eliminated from the 2016 World Cup of Hockey without winning a single game.

"},{"index":13,"title":"Squirting Water at Capitals Fans","image":"https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/archive/assets_media_gallery/washington/2018/04/09/tortorella-rangers-caps.jpg","caption":"

The Capitals entered Game 5 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs first-round matchup against the Rangers trailing three games to one.

A loss at home who end the team's season in disappointing fashion yet again.

Then Tortorella lost his cool, getting into a shouting match with Capitals fans during the game. Tortorella unraveled in the third period, throwing a water bottle at the heckler and tried grabbing a players' stick in order to spear the fan through the opening in the glass.

The Capitals won the game 4-0, won the following two games to win the series, and "Torts" earned a one-game suspension.

"}]}

The six times John Tortorella was the worst