Tortorella Suits Up

He’s back!

 

Our favorite brash and aggressive coach, John Tortorella, was named head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets after Todd Richards was fired. The Blue Jackets started their highly anticipated season 0-7-0 leaving the front office no choice but to get rid of Richards.

 

This season was supposed to be a fresh start for Columbus after a not so great 2014-2015 season. They acquired former Blackhawk Brandon Saad. Sergei Bobrovsky changed his workouts and routine to be sharper on the ice. They had everything going for them, although maybe the expectations were too high.

 

Cut to the NHL’s own Bobby Knight signing a new contract with the Blue Jackets. Tortorella took a year off after being fired for his disastrous 2013-2014 season with the Vancouver Canucks where he coached for one year.

 

Richards had been with the Blue Jackets for three seasons, and I guess the front office wanted something more promising. Tortorella is a proven winner. He has the most NHL wins for an American-born coach with 446 wins. He has taken many of his teams to the playoffs. He has even won a Stanley Cup with the 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning.

 

Though the numbers work well and look excellent on paper, can the Blue Jackets handle Tortorella’s coaching style? Many players have been public about their strained relationship with the coach, mainly for his demanding, no holds bar style. Example: the Canucks. He just could not find any trust within that team.

 

Tortorella does have a slight advantage. Brandon Dubinsky played under Tortorella for four years while he was with the New York Rangers. Though it was an intense coach-player relationship, Dubinsky has grown from his experience. He claims Tortorella was tough on him, but it made him a better player.

 

Dubinsky has been with Columbus since the 2012-2013 season. He knows the players and he knows how to communicate with them as their alternate captain. Tortorella says he wants to work with Dubinsky to create a better bond with his future team in hopes to a stronger and winning team.

 

 It seems to be working. Columbus won their first game of the season on Saturday 4-3 against Colorado.