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Torts admits he doesn’t like Hartley following Sedin hit

Brian McGrattan, Tom Sestito

Referees get in the way of Vancouver Canucks head coach John Tortorella as he screams at the Calgary Flames bench during first period NHL hockey action at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia Saturday Jan. 18, 2014. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)

AP

The state of the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks in the standings likely dictates that their rivalry is lower on the NHL totem pole, but that doesn’t mean the hatred isn’t there. Apparently the two teams’ head coaches are already developing some serious disdain in their first years going head-to-head.

Canucks bench boss John Tortorella did his best to hold his tongue about Paul Byron’s hit on Daniel Sedin, yet he still acknowledged his distaste for Bob Hartley of the Flames.

Update: Here’s full video with Torts’ comments:

On the bright side, Tortorella was able to keep those bad feelings in check enough to avoid visiting the Flames locker room this time around

Here’s another look at Byron’s hit on Sedin from Sunday:

Not surprisingly, the situation prompted differing viewpoints from different teams. Byron defended it:

... While Daniel’s twin brother thought otherwise:

It’s still early, but perhaps the most important takeaway is that Daniel Sedin appears OK, at least so far:

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins