Everybody loves a good John Tortorella rant.

The NHL's most brazen head coach was at it again on after his Columbus Blue Jackets were blanked by the rival Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night, insisting it was impossible for him to describe how poorly his team performed in the defeat.

For the standard-bearer of must-listen postgame press conferences, the 61-year-old's latest diatribe was, relatively speaking, pretty tame. Take a look:

Not his best, right?

Tortorella has noticeably mellowed over the years, but the hockey world still pays attention in hopes of a spark. We're going to grade his latest performance and then hand out some marks for the past outbursts that cemented his reputation as one of the NHL's greatest providers of sound bites.

'I don't have any words' - December 2019

Well, John, we wish you did. Your players have now lost five out of six - give them the gears! You can hear the utter disappointment in his voice, which carries significant weight in our evaluation, but the audience wants to see some of the fire that made him famous. Perhaps he saved it for the dressing room.

Grade: C+

'We sucked from head to toe' - October 2011

Now we're talking.

Tortorella had some beauties during his tenure with the New York Rangers, and this one was short, sweet, and scathing. "Sucked from head to toe" is by no means a common expression and the creativity deserves credit, especially when directed at a Rangers team that went on to win 51 games that year. Did this speech ultimately galvanize the club en route to a 109-point season? We're not saying it did, but we're not saying it didn't.

Grade: A-

'A major-league fine' - September 2013

Few things irk Torts like a phone ringing during one of his press conferences. He made it clear that he disliked it in New York, and he calmly threatened to walk out of the room when it happened again in Vancouver. "Major-league fine" wasn't overly insulting, yet it effectively set the tone. A rock-solid balance and even better delivery.

Grade: B+

'I'm not Mike' - April 2014

The coach took it well, but God bless the soul of the reporter that addressed Torts as "Mike." We wouldn't wish the combination of fear and embarrassment in that moment upon our worst enemies.

Grade: A

'Their 2 whining stars' - April 2012

Buckle up, we've reached vintage Torts.

After Brooks Orpik drilled Derek Stepan with a knee-on-knee hit, Tortorella didn't hold back. He lambasted the Penguins organization for its arrogance and called Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin whiners while he was at it. An absolute all-timer.

Grade: A+

'Joe hasn't won a goddamn thing in this league' - November 2011

After Joe Thornton declared Tortorella's Rangers were "soft," Torts said Jumbo Joe needed to shut up, then roasted the veteran for not winning anything. Even though Thornton has an MVP, a scoring title, and an Olympic gold medal on his resume, he doesn't have a ring to match the one the coach earned in 2004, as Tortorella made abundantly clear.

A player-versus-coach feud will always get rave reviews, particularly when it features two of the NHL's best personalities. This one didn't disappoint.

Grade: A

'Shut your yap' - May 2004

As Torts guided the Lightning's Cup run in 2004, he verbally eviscerated Ken Hitchcock after the then-Flyers coach allegedly mouthed off to a Tampa Bay player during the Eastern Conference Final. One of Tortorella's signature tirades, this helped build his reputation as the most fiery coach of the modern era.

We're also going to dish out some bonus points for Torts' scorching usage of "yap." High-quality stuff.

Grade: A+

'Brooksie' - April 2007

Warning: Video contains coarse language

The pinnacle.

New York Post reporter Larry Brooks was the victim of Tortorella's most famous rant, and it hasn't lost its luster after a dozen years. It simply doesn't get more Torts than this.

Grade: A+++

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Los Angeles Kings star Drew Doughty's lasting impression from Thursday's 2-1 win over the rival Anaheim Ducks was a second-period fight between teammate Kurtis MacDermid and Anaheim's Nicolas Deslauriers.

"The highlight for me is Dermy chuckin' em with Deslauriers, that was a great fight," Doughty said. "Got us really pumped up and we were able to get the win."

Doughty was then asked about the decline of fighting across the NHL.

"It can't make its way out of the league, we need fighting," he replied. "I know people don't like it, some of you, but then you're gonna have all those meatheads running around, little guys being rats out there. That's just the way it's gonna go. We need fighting. People need to be able to protect their teammates and themselves. When it's safe like that and no one gets hurt, that's the best way."

Los Angeles was up 2-0 at the time of the scrap and held on to earn two points despite being outshot 37-27.

Doughty recorded one assist in the victory, giving him 21 points in 31 games this season.

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Thursday's OHL game between the Niagara IceDogs and London Knights was cancelled after IceDogs goaltender Tucker Tynan was severely cut by a skate blade early in the second period, the league announced.

Tynan bled profusely after a collision with a Knights player in the crease. He was immediately attended to by trainers and paramedics before eventually being stretchered off the ice.

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Former Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas revealed he stepped away from hockey after the 2013-14 season due to brain damage from a concussion.

"I couldn't communicate with anybody for a few years," Thomas said Thursday ahead of his induction into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, according to ESPN's Emily Kaplan. "I didn't call my dad. I didn't talk to anybody.

"There was a time period, yeah, where I hated the game, so to speak."

Thomas suffered the life-changing concussion while playing for the Florida Panthers in December 2013. He was traded to the Dallas Stars the following March but called it quits at the end of the campaign.

"I woke up the next morning after it and I couldn't decide what I wanted to eat, where I wanted to go," Thomas added. "I couldn't plan a schedule. I survived following the team schedule the rest of the year and just made it through that season."

The 45-year-old admitted he went off the grid for the last several years to deal with concussion-related symptoms. He's undergone many experimental treatments, which have helped with his brain function.

"I couldn't follow the game anymore," Thomas said. "My brain wasn't functioning well enough to be able to keep up with the game, so I sat out in the woods for a few years. I didn't watch much hockey."

Thomas' NHL career spanned just eight seasons after he broke into the league as a full-time goaltender at 31 years old. He helped lead the Bruins to a Stanley Cup in 2011, taking home the Conn Smythe Trophy in the process.

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Defenseman Zach Bogosian has requested a trade from the Buffalo Sabres, reports TSN's Darren Dreger.

The blue-liner has appeared in 10 games this season, recording three assists.

Buffalo has a bevy of right-shot defensemen alongside Bogosian, with Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, Colin Miller, and Henri Jokiharju on the roster.

He is in the final year of a seven-year deal, carrying a cap hit of $5.14 million.

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Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning is hoping to sign pending unrestricted free-agent goaltender Jacob Markstrom to a contract extension and add a top-six winger before the Feb. 24 trade deadline, he told Sportsnet's Iain MacIntyre on Wednesday.

"Yes, that's my plan," he said. "That's our goal. Jacob is an important guy in our locker room. He was a player we thought we could develop into a No. 1 goaltender. We've seen him get better and better every year. He's had some interruptions this year with his father, but we're past that now. We need him to be kind of where he left off last year."

The 6-foot-6 Swede has been remarkably consistent, owning a .912 save percentage for the third straight season.

However, 24-year-old netminder Thatcher Demko, who owns a .906 save percentage and a 3.00 goals-against average in 12 games this season, is also in the fold. If Markstrom re-signs, the Canucks would have to choose between the 29-year-old veteran and the former highly touted prospect when it comes to protecting just one goaltender for the 2021 Seattle expansion draft.

"There's a lot of time between now and the expansion draft," Benning said. "We'll figure that out as we get closer. Thatcher is a young goalie in this league and he's learning what it takes to be competitive and consistent every night. I think this is a good learning experience for him and we think he'll get even better down the road."

Even though the Canucks are three points out of a playoff spot, Benning is also looking to add a top-six winger.

"I try to keep in contact with all the other general managers in the league, and if there's something that fits and makes sense, we'll look at it," Benning said.

Benning attempted to complement his lethal one-two punch down the middle in Elias Pettersson and Bo Horvat by adding a pair of wingers during the offseason. He traded a conditional first-round pick, a third-round pick, and goalie Marek Mazanec to the Tampa Bay Lightning for J.T. Miller. He also signed free agent Micheal Ferland to a four-year contract with a cap hit of $3.5 million.

The addition of Miller has worked beautifully, as the 26-year-old is enjoying a career year with 31 points in 31 games. However, Ferland has been a disappointment, tallying just five points in 14 games while missing time due to injury.

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